The Sun City Posse will see some changes in the coming months.
One of the biggest changes will be in dispatch. Posse officials will test a new program that will allow for patrol vehicles to be tracked in real time. The program features a large monitor in the Posse dispatch area that will show all the patrol vehicle locations, according to Jean Schmitt, Posse communication officer. The fleet tracking will allow Posse officials to locate patrol members’ location if headquarters personnel lose contact with them via radio or phone.
“This will keep our patrols safer,” Ms. Schmitt said. “With this system, we can see where the car is and get someone there quicker.”
The tracking program also includes a feature that alerts officials to maintenance needs for each vehicle, she added.
Danny Moore, Posse commander, said the idea for the tracking system was inspired from possible falls or accidents while Posse members are conducting house checks.
“If someone is walking around home and falls and drops their radio out of reach, we would have no way of knowing,” he explained.
Posse officials were researching the system for eight months before it was installed, he added.
“This isn’t meant as a ‘Big Brother’ type of thing,” Mr. Moore said. “Patrol safety is our main concern.”
Keeping patrols on the streets and improving their safety, in turn, increases residents’ safety.
The Posse also alerts residents to possible problems they may encounter. Vicki Foelsch, the Posse board of governors member, told members during the May 7 general membership meeting of a new scam just getting started in the area. People could receive a call from a 222 area code at night.
“This is a scam from South Africa,” she said. “If you call the number back, you will get a huge charge on your phone bill.”
The Posse is also researching other options for fueling their vehicles, Mr. Lambin said. The Posse has a fuel tank at its headquarters and has used that for refueling patrol vehicles.
“There are a few new requirements for onsite fueling, so the board decided to remove the tank from our grounds,” Mr. Lambin said.
That removal is expected sometime in July, he added. That gives Posse officials two months to research and implement a new fueling procedure. There are several retail gas locations in Sun City and officials will be talking to managers of each to determine the best option, or multiple options, according to Mr. Lambin.
Information from article By Rusty Bradshaw, Independent Newsmedia, Your Valley.net, 5/15/19,
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