The Tehachapi Police Department has launched its own dispatch center after years of using the one at Bear Valley Springs. The center started handling all emergency calls as well as the department’s radio traffic June 30th, and lead dispatcher Matt Murphy thinks it has made them more responsive to the community.

The phone numbers to reach emergency services or the police have not changed. The center costs $425,000 a year to operate and is funded for the next five years.

Kelli Forsch