Lawrence Township could become the first New Jersey town to privatize its 9-1-1 police dispatching services.
 

Outsourcing the 9-1-1 dispatching could reduce municipal pension and benefits costs.

Raymond Hayducka is president of the New Jersey Police Chiefs Association. He favors sharing the dispatching services among municipal governments rather than privatizing them.
 

“I know who’s answering those calls. It’s our screening process, and we’re comfortable doing a background on the person knowing that the person has passed a very rigorous background check, and they’re not affiliated in any way with any kind of criminal organization.”

Hayducka says some police agencies in New Jersey have already joined together to share 911 dispatching and some parts of the state have a countywide system.

“If you could prove that the shared service will save you money it’s certainly a good concept. It’s not something you can just turn the switch on, but there have been successful shared service models in New Jersey. "