In January, I had the opportunity to meet with Ryan Baxter, the owner of Modern Auto. We talked about my background and issues facing our community. Over the next three videos, you will have an opportunity to hear about some of these issues and the work that the Payette County Sheriff’s Office is doing to address them. In today’s video, we discuss my background, 911 phone system, and radio communication challenges.
Background
I was raised in Nampa, Idaho, by my parents, the late Nampa Police Chief Alan Creech and Laura Creech.
After graduating from high school in Nampa, I moved to Twin Falls, Idaho, to study criminal justice and business management at the College of Southern Idaho. I graduated with a technical certificate in law enforcement.
While attending college, I was a Reserve Police Officer for the Kimberly Police Department and worked as a Jail Technician at the Twin Falls County Criminal Justice Center.
In 1997, the City of New Plymouth hired me as a Patrol Officer. I worked for the City of New Plymouth for two years before transferring to the Payette County Sheriff’s Office. I advanced through the department as a supervisor and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in 2014.
My wife and I live in New Plymouth, Idaho, where we raised our two children, Aaron and Ashlyn. We have developed a professional family photography hobby. For several years, we’ve taken photos for Treasure Valley Community College Athletics and competitive sports teams for families and high school seniors in our community.
Law enforcement and community involvement have always been important to me. Community partnerships have allowed me to share the knowledge, training, and insight I have gained throughout my law enforcement career. I have spoken at New Plymouth, Fruitland, and Payette High Schools about the United States Constitution, State Laws, Local laws, vehicle safety, driver safety, and what to do when an officer pulls you over.
I have talked to a high school physics class about how physics is used by law enforcement to investigate vehicle collisions. I have also spoken with the health classes in New Plymouth and Fruitland High Schools about making smart decisions when operating a motor vehicle. I firmly believe having our deputies involved with our youth is beneficial. I have talked to the New Plymouth High School Criminal Justice Class in the last several years. This class has students who have an interest in criminal justice, and I have enjoyed sharing my experiences as a law enforcement officer and an administrator.
In addition to this involvement at our local High Schools, I have been an Adjunct Instructor at the Treasure Valley Community College, teaching students Crime Scene Investigations, Patrol Procedures, Traffic Law, and Traffic Crash Investigations. I have taught the Introduction to Crash Investigation class to officers and deputies at the Idaho Police Officers Standards and Training (POST) Basic Academy.
Over the last four years, I have helped the Sheriff’s Office transition through several retirements and the largest staffing shortage law enforcement has experienced in my career. We have continued to offer competitive wages to attract new applicants. The Payette County Sheriff’s Office staff has stepped up to ensure that all shifts have been covered. We continue to recruit and select applicants that we believe will serve our communities well.
I have served our community on several statewide committees. These committees affect the way of life that we enjoy in Payette County. I have used these opportunities to speak up for our community. The committees that I have been on are the Idaho Public Safety Answering Point Committee (Chair), Idaho Public Safety Communications Commission, Idaho Public Safety Answering Point Grant Sub-Committee, Idaho Sheriff’s Association Legislative Committee, and the Idaho Association of Counties Legislative Committee. These committees relate to our 911 dispatch center and grants that we receive annually and help suggest legislation that benefits our citizens.
The experiences throughout my life have shown me the importance of continual learning, improvement, and development within our department and community. I bring this approach to my work, community volunteering, and family every day.
I have diligently served in law enforcement for over 27 years. I believe that community involvement is essential in law enforcement, and I take the initiative to reach out to our community to provide more complete services to our community members. I value integrity, service, dedication, and commitment to our community.
My highest priorities focus on the safety of our community, the care and well-being of the Payette County Sheriff’s Office Employees who serve the community, and fiscal responsibility. I will protect our citizens and their rights by upholding the Constitution and the Laws of the State of Idaho.
Dispatch
The Payette County Sheriff’s Office has operated a consolidated dispatch center since 1982. The consolidated dispatch center was formed when the Payette City Police Department and the Payette County Sheriff’s Office joined efforts by combining their dispatch centers and combining their efforts.
The Payette County Dispatch Center dispatches for ten emergency response agencies within Payette County. They are also a backup dispatch center for Malheur County and Washington County Sheriff’s Offices. In 2019, the Payette County Dispatch Center received all 911 calls from July 3rd to 5th for the Malheur County Sheriff’s Office when they had an unexpected outage in their 911 phone system. The Payette County Sheriff’s Office has worked with these other dispatch centers so that we are able to share resources and provide for not only Payette County but also the region. We have expanded our 911 phone system to include Payette, Washington, Adams, and Valley County. This allows all four counties to back each other up on a daily basis. The benefit to our citizens is that no matter what emergencies are happening in Payette County, someone will always be available to answer your 911 call.
The Payette County Dispatch Center handles 61,000 non-911 phone calls and 11,000 emergency phone calls each year. The number of phone calls has increased as Payette County’s population has continued to grow.
Our Dispatch Center is a highly technical center with many pieces of modern technology. Our Dispatchers run three computers with six monitors at each Dispatch position. They use these systems to answer emergency and non-emergency phone calls, talk to emergency responders on the radio, answer text-to-911, track the locations of our emergency responders, and dispatch emergency responders.
These systems track the location of callers and responders, which helps Dispatch give turn-by-turn directions to our responders to each emergency. They also have a multitude of resources available to them to help patrol deputies find property owners, cattle owners, vehicle owners, landlords, and general citizens. They use a mass notification system to alert neighborhoods to police activity when they believe there is a specific threat to the public in that area.
In addition to the computer software that Dispatch uses, they monitor 18 radio channels and take radio traffic from law enforcement, fire, and EMS units. Sheriff Creech has been able to improve radio communications in Payette County. Payette County has started transitioning to a statewide radio system. This radio system is allowing Payette County emergency responders to coordinate with surrounding jurisdictions. More work is expected to add additional coverage in Payette County; however, Payette County Deputies and the Payette County Consolidated Dispatch Center are using these new systems today.
As technology in our world continues to change, so will our dispatch center. We are planning for the future and will make changes to be ready to accept new technology as it becomes available to help us continue to provide the services that our citizens expect from the Payette County Sheriff’s Office.
Radio Infrastructure
Our radio infrastructure was purchased in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. First Responders rely on this infrastructure every day in order to communicate with dispatch and each other. Over the last 20 – 30 years, this equipment has started to degrade and sometimes fail. This equipment is old enough that it can no longer be repaired and has to be replaced. The Payette County Sheriff’s Office has been planning to upgrade the system over the last ten years. This upgrade will bring our system into a newer and more modern system, which is more reliable than the current one. Payette County has been able to implement this new radio system in phases, which has helped it become a reality. We are within two years of having this project completed.
In addition to the age and reliability of the equipment, we have also experienced an increasing amount of interference and people talking on our frequencies. Moving to this new system will provide a private radio network that actively fights both of these issues. When the radio network is interfered with, it interferes with responders handling emergencies in our communities. This new radio system will provide a more secure radio network that is reliable for the first responders in Payette County.