Valle on countrywide dispatcher
I believe it this issue comes down to a difference in service levels. Local dispatchers know the people and are connected to the community. They know who they are talking to on the phone and they know them when they come into the local police departments. They are not detached because they are working locally versus being in one large facility 20 miles away from the community.
At local centers the dispatchers do multiple job tasks – jail matrons, front desk, dealing with walk-in traffic, they monitor audio & video for the safety of inmates. After records personnel go home at 5 p.m., they act as the records department which is needed 24 hours a day. If these local folks are removed these holes would have to be plugged meaning the local departments would have to create and hire for these jobs.
Also, at the local level a Police Chief can walk up the hall to solve a problem at dispatch versus trying to work on problem in a facility that is 25 miles away.