A years-long dispute between Stanislaus County Sheriff Jeff Dirkse and county leaders over which computer-assisted dispatch system should replace an outdated 911 platform has drawn a critical civil grand jury report, complaints about early glitches and a compromise that remains fragile. The conflict centers on the sheriff’s push for an Oracle system versus a CentralSquare system favored by Modesto police and most county officials.
Here are key takeaways:
• The CentralSquare system went live Jan. 21 and drew immediate complaints from sheriff’s deputies. They say that the deputy-locator function freezes and that CentralSquare fails to flag gated communities and stolen vehicles. SR911 Executive Director Kasey Young said bugs are common during implementation of a new platform.
• A civil grand jury investigation found the dispatch center was “fraught with divisive controversy” and described the Sheriff’s Office as an outlier among SR911 partners. The report said the sheriff’s behavior was described in interviews as intimidating and inflexible.
• The grand jury recommended the county create a civilian oversight commission for the Sheriff’s Office, either through the Board of Supervisors or a ballot measure…