MIAMI -- Miami-Dade County's 911 emergency call center, the fourth-busiest in the country, often cannot trace calls for help made on cellular phones because of shortcomings in a software upgrade, officials said.

A $13 million Motorola software system installed in 2002 and upgraded in August 2005 often directs emergency responders to the nearest cell phone tower, said Kevin Kincaid, a senior technician who maintains the system. He has since been transferred out of the call center to the county's water and sewer department.

The difficulties were highlighted in a December 2006 e-mail obtained by The Miami Herald: "I should mention that a call taker and dispatcher explained to me today that officers (especially in the Hammocks District) have been mistakenly driving to cellphone towers to handle calls that come in from cellphones," wrote 911 systems analyst Josh Brashears to a project manager.

It's unclear which component of the 911 system is failing to pinpoint a caller's location, said Miami-Dade police Maj. Tom Grass, who runs the call center that accepts more than 6,000 calls a day.

Tests were under way, and a software upgrade to fix the problems should be ready by the end of the summer, Motorola spokesman Steve Gorecki said.

Authorities said the call center's previous system was more accurate.

"You could track movement, didn't lose officers, and it didn't have any hiccups. It did work perfectly," said County Commissioner Joe Martinez, who was a county police officer before he was elected to office.

County commissioners last year ordered the county manager to withhold final payment to Motorola until problems with the upgraded system were resolved.

"Payment is based on Motorola achieving certain benchmarks, which have not all been reached," said county spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez.

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20070702/APN/707020627