Niles chief calls 911 plan 'Russian roulette'

NILES — Police Chief Bruce Simeone charged that a Trumbull County plan to consolidate 911 emergency calls could result in unacceptably slow responses — or perhaps none at all.

The chief also said that the plan may jeopardize more than $80,000 in reimbursements to Niles for its 911 dispatch upgrades.

Simeone told Niles Council Wednesday that a proposal by the county’s 911 director Mike Dolhancryk would significantly reduce trunk lines that accept emergency calls.

The proposed county plan would reduce the number of dispatch centers, referred to as Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPS) to three, one of which would be Niles.

“That’s going to add more pressure to our dispatchers,” Simeone said, adding that calls under the plan could take longer to get to a dispatch center that may be far from where an accident or incident has occurred. He said there was a possibility that if dispatchers are busy, a call could go unanswered.

“It’s like playing Russian roulette,” Simeone said. “You know eventually someone is going to get hurt.”