Montgomery County sheriff touts faster call times, new challenges ahead

The specifics

Doolittle said he felt the biggest accomplishment was the full staffing of the sheriff’s office and the reduction of wait times for calls to the 911 emergency dispatch center, which means that 94% of calls to the emergency dispatch center are now answered within 15 seconds.

“We were spending about five minutes on the phone with those people trying to transfer those calls; but through working with IT and with our software, we're now able to move those calls more efficiently,” Doolittle said.

MCSO has also launched an automatic callback system for its emergency dispatch, which will call a phone number back if it disconnects.

“It's just amazing what will happen when you put a fresh set of eyes on a problem and think outside the box and look with people for common-sense solutions,” Doolittle said.

The real-time crime center, which monitors trends and current crime levels, is also operating 24/7, and Doolittle said the office is working with the Conroe Police Department and Sam Houston State University to bring in additional interns and specialists.

Going forward

Doolittle said the department is still facing a number of challenges, with the largest being the county jail.

“The jail is going to be one of the biggest challenges that we have. This is a statutory requirement for us to man it, supervise it, and there's a demand from our community to keep us safe,” Doolittle said. “And if we can't keep people in jail, we can't keep people safe.”

Additional challenges Doolittle said the department will be working to address include:

• Replacing inmate transport buses
• Staff and support space
• Pay parities