Police response to non-emergency calls in Anne Arundel will be delayed today as workers fix a severed fiber optics cable that allows operators to dispatch calls quickly to county police officers.
A contractor accidentally cut a fiber optics cable in the police department’s computer-aided dispatch system today during renovation work to the system, said Sgt. John Gilmer, police spokesman.
Gilmer said the mishap in no way affects responses to emergency calls, as the dispatch center still can receive calls for service and manually dispatch officers and emergency personnel.
But calls will be prioritized based on their severity, which may lead to a delay in responding to non-emergency calls, police said.
“This will enable patrol officers to be accessible to respond first to emergency incidents arising within the county,” Gilmer said.
Police said they hope the dispatch system will be back to normal later this afternoon.
