Trained 911 dispatchers will answer calls to Crime Victims and Sexual Abuse Hotline | Crime

Through a cooperative agreement between the Sheriff’s Department and the Albany County Crime Victim and Sexual Abuse Center, trained 911 Dispatchers will now answer all calls to the Crime Victims and Sexual Abuse Hotline and disperse them to certified rape counselors.

Albany County Executive Dan McCoy and Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple announced the agreement Tuesday.

According to Karen Ziegler, director of the County Crime Victim and Sexual Abuse Center, all the calls will go to a special phone line at the sheriff’s sub-station in Voorhesville. This is where the trained dispatchers will send the caller to a rape counselor.

“Beginning this afternoon, all calls to the Crime Victim and Sexual Abuse Hotline will be answered by the professional men and women of the Sheriff’s Department,” said McCoy in a statement. “Up until now, the calls were handled by a contracted answering service in New Mexico. We are looking for ways to share services and save money without losing the quality of services we provide and this arrangement will not only put the caller in immediate contact with a trained emergency dispatcher familiar with the area, but will also save the county over $3,000 each year. The only difference is that the call will be routed through a trained, local 911 dispatcher as opposed to a call center that is 1700 miles away.”

Apple added that “the most critical issues during any emergency have always been rapid response and reliable service and I am confident that our dispatchers can use their training to aid the residents of Albany County who need to use this service. I also want to emphasize that all calls are treated with strict confidentiality and will in no way involve law enforcement, unless the caller asks for law enforcement intervention.”