he computer assisted dispatching of first responders and E911 technologies that the public takes for granted today became available through some surprising turns of events, and that story will be shared in October by one of its most knowledgeable participants. On October 19 Robert Shumate a pioneer in bringing public safety and first responders into the computer age will reflect on that watershed, life-saving process. The Christian Regenhard Center for Emergency Response Studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice will host Shumate’s delivery of the Hovey Memorial Lecture.
Shumate’s work included bringing the first real time, dedicated city police computer in the country online for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department in the 1960s. He followed that with overseeing the installation of the first and second generation information systems for many public agencies in the US and, for much of his career, internationally. Shumate’s prior familiarity with the issues of policing and leadership in computing helped establish the Institute for Justice Information Systems and other vehicles to move public service computing back to the cutting edge.
With this lecture to bring attention to 911 administrative leadership issues John Jay College of Criminal Justice celebrates the legacy of Scott W. Hovey Jr., who directed the first computer center Shumate devised for its first decade. While in St. Louis, Hovey recognized the shortcomings of the mechanical 911 system that AT&T then offered, and proposed an automated system, “enhanced 911.” With federal funding for a study and trial, Hovey launched “E-911” in Alameda County, California and it became the system relied upon nationwide. Hovey provided an oral history to the John Jay College Oral History project and the College has acquired his professional papers.