Law enforcement in the Upper Peninsula just got a much-needed boost with the long-awaited opening of the new Negaunee Regional Communication Center.

Sited at the Michigan State Police post along U.S. 41 in Negaunee Township, the facility has been several years in the planning and construction phases, MSP officials tell us.

NRCC Dispatch Director Benjamin Watson said for a Mining Journal story on the matter that the center represented a $4 million investment from the state.

“It was an investment for the entire Upper Peninsula,” Watson said. “This will serve as the whole 8th district for the Michigan State Police. We are also the main answering point for 911 for six counties in the Upper Peninsula.”

The new center is 6,000 square feet, roughly five times larger than the previous 1,100-square-foot room located at Negaunee MSP post.

The $4 million project will provide dispatchers with up-to-date technology, a wall-to-wall display screen and a huddle room that allows dispatchers to use during their shifts as a way to debrief after dealing with high-stress situations, the Journal story detailed.

“We have all the available technology that Lansing would have in the U.P.,” Watson observed. “So any major disaster or major event, we would be able to run everything from here.”

The NRCC provides full service 911 call taking and dispatch for all MSP, local law enforcement and EMS and fire services for Baraga, Gogebic, Houghton, Keweenaw, Ontonagon and Schoolcraft counties.

That includes 61 fire agencies, 34 emergency services, 24 law enforcement agencies and 7 rescue services.

When time can mean lives, this kind of dispatch center should streamline the availability of police, fire and ambulance services to some significant degree, never mind the once-in-a-century storms of various kinds happening, it seems, with troubling frequency.

This is money well spent by the state.