Touring America's PSAPs
An Aussie's Vacation Among US Communications Centers
by Charles Davis
| Charles "Chuck" Davis is a Communications Operator with the New South Wales Police Service in Sydney, Australia. After serving in the US Air Force he moved to Sydney 9 years ago with his wife and children and started his new career in dispatching shortly after arriving. |
| Photographs: (select thumbnail to view detail image) |
 Chicago's E9-1-1 Communications Center is located in this imposing 4-story building just outside of downtown. It is one of the country's largest PSAPs. Chicago E9-1-1 Communications Center |
 Lead Dispatcher Tracy Ecker handling a call at the Alhambra, California, Police dispatch center. Alhambra's console and 9-1-1 equipment is Motorola; CAD workstations are Digital Equipment 133 mhz pentiums running Windows NT 4.0. The CAD software is Altaris by PRC. David O. Nater |
 San Diego, California, Police Communications. Complaint taker Cynthia Hart at 9-1-1 workstation (above) and radio dispatcher Arlene Brooks at an Inquiry Console in the radio room (below).  Margaret Crary |
 The Chicago, Illinois, E9-1-1 Center. Designed by Fluor Daniel, the control room features intelligent workstations with touchscreen capability, CAD integrated with call-recorders, radio, and graphical maps. Chicago E9-1-1 Communications Center |
 The Gahanna, Ohio, Police Department communications center. Laurie Davis |
 The Heath, Ohio, Police Department communications center. Laurie Davis |
 Communications Technicians Paul Richmond and Michelle Rettig at work in the Dublin, Ohio, Communications Center. Brian Wolfe |
This article can be found on
page 52 of the May/June 1998
issue of 9-1-1 Magazine.
Being a dispatcher for a number of years in Australia I was interested in knowing how my American counterparts do their business. During the summer of 1997, I was able to see this first hand by visiting several American agencies, large and small. What I saw from start to finish was nothing short of astounding.
After arriving in the land of the free and home of the brave my first stop was to the Alhambra Police Department located in Los Angeles county, California. Sgt. David Nater, Watch Commander, was very helpful and arranged for me to sit with Lead Dispatcher Tracy Ecker. My first impression of dispatching, American style, was absolutely outstanding.
The Alhambra Police Department has Enhanced 9-1-1, uses a CAD system, and voices all calls over their 470MHz radio system. New dispatchers to the police department can expect 3-4 months training. They go on regular ride-alongs to see how their actions in obtaining information on the phone effect the police in the field, and also keep abreast of hot-spots for criminal activity.
Alhambra PD has an authorized strength of 15 dispatchers to service the 91 sworn officers; they also dispatch for fire and EMS. Normal complement is 3 dispatchers per shift. There is one police radio position, one fire/EMS radio and one call taker. Dispatchers rotate through tasks every 4 hours. Minimum staffing is 2 at fire/EMS and police radio. The fire/EMS dispatcher will usually also take calls as they have minimal radio traffic.
That same night I visited supervisor Dan Householder at the communications center for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
This particular center has a minimum staffing of 15 per shift. The only calls received are transfers from cell phones. Hardwire 9-1-1 are routed to the local sheriff's station where they input the information for MDT dispatching. High priority calls get routed to this center for voice dispatching as well.
The night I visited was very busy. Several times the tour was interrupted by serious activity on the air. According to my host, there were 514 sheriff patrol cars "on air" equipped with Mobile Data Terminals (MDTs). Dan mentioned that, since they installed MDTs in the vehicles, their voice communications over the 15 dispatch channels had been cut by around 75%.
After leaving the Los Angeles area, I headed for San Diego. The San Diego Police Department is the Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) for the city's 9-1-1 system. I was quite surprised at what I found inside the center. There were lots of green plants, soft lighting, and wood furnishings. This coupled with a huge floor-to-ceiling window that looks out over the city achieved a real calming affect. Management seems to have gone to great lengths to help relieve stress by improving the surroundings.
Supervisor Charles Rickman was my host at this center, which employs 160 dispatchers. The San Diego Police Department covers a population of nearly 1.5 million people. The dispatchers work four 10 hour shifts a week and have 75 minutes of break each shift. Each new dispatcher receives 500 hours of initial training on the phones only. For radio dispatchers, there is an additional training period of 14 weeks minimum. This agency uses the 800MHz trunking radio system and the HDS CAD system in conjunction with MDTs.
Nearly half a million 9-1-1 and over one million non-emergency calls are received each year at this facility. These calls are answered in an average of 3 seconds. Although the center receives all 9-1-1 calls for San Diego, those for the fire department or paramedics are quickly transferred to the appropriate agency. Each call taker's computer terminal has been set up to be used as a TDD machine without having to transfer the call to a special terminal.
Next stop on our journey brought me to Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Jim Padar is an operations manager with that city's new 9-1-1 Center and was my point of contact. This center can easily be summed up in one word - awesome! From the size of their operation to the technology used was absolutely mind boggling.
Chicago's Emergency Communications Center is a consolidated E9-1-1 center dispatching for police, fire and EMS. According to a profile supplied to me, the city's 3 million population is serviced by 13,600 sworn police officers, 4,500 firefighters, and 500 paramedics.
The main dispatch center is housed in its own 4 story facility. The radio room itself is laid out in a large arc with 43 primary call taker positions, 37 police dispatch consoles, and 24 fire dispatch consoles. During my particular visit there were 30 call takers and 26 dispatchers on duty. The center is staffed primarily by unsworn staff, but there is a sprinkling of sworn officers as well. Because of the size of the operation, there are also computer and radio technicians on duty 24 hours a day.
Quick to grab my attention was the fact that each workstation has its own environmental controls for heat, cooling, and lighting that is independent of the main room. Each dispatcher or calltaker can make their own adjustments without affecting their co-workers. Also, the keyboard sits on a platform that can be raised or lowered to conform to the person's own needs and comfort.
The police and fire dispatch consoles are very well laid out. In front of the dispatcher is a CAD event screen which contains information on the caller and specific incident. There is also a separate status screen which provides continuously updated status information of incidents in progress, vehicle status and availability. In addition there is a digital map screen which brings up the map location for any particular job that is shown on the CAD event screen.
A quick flight to Ohio took me to Columbus. Sgt. Craig Lee and dispatcher Debra Raver with the Columbus Division of Police were most helpful and gave me a tour of their facility. The police dispatch function is separated from fire in different rooms.
The radio room for Columbus Police is staffed with 30 dispatchers per shift. The city is divided into 18 precincts which are serviced by 4 radio channels controlling 20-30 police cars each. The patrol cars are also equipped with MDTs which would reduce the amount of dispatches needed to be voiced over the air. There are 2 back channels at the disposal of the patrols for doing inquiries such as vehicle, license, and warrant checks.
My next stop was to Heath Police Department, which is about an hours drive east of Columbus. There I met Sgt. Michael Carney who introduced me to some of the staff and I had the pleasure to spend some time with dispatcher Bonnie Flowers, who'd acquired a wealth of experience in her 12 years as a dispatcher. The department consists of 20 sworn full-time officers, 10 auxiliary officers, with 5 full-time and 1 part-time dispatchers. They handle 6 emergency E9-1-1 lines as well as various department phone lines. Being a small agency, the dispatchers also handle counter inquiries from the public.
Heath uses the 800MHz trunking radio system, and monitor an adjoining jurisdiction as well as the county sheriff's radio. They dispatch for the police as well as fire and rescue squad. The agency says they should be going to a CAD system in the near future, but at the moment they still use a card system. Calls are later transferred to a computer disk for storage and future reference.
Another agency visited was the Gahanna Police Department which is a "bedroom" community of approximately 27,000 people located just northeast of Columbus, Ohio. The department has 5 full-time and 2 part-time dispatchers who work 10 hour shifts. The building that houses the department is relatively new and modern. Although the radio room itself is not large, it has enough room for the dispatcher to work and several visitors.
The dispatcher also has the added responsibility of monitoring surveillance cameras throughout the building. Gahanna does have a CAD system for dispatching, though routine radio traffic is handwritten on a log.
A 25 minute drive from Gahanna brought me to Bexley Police Department, where I met with dispatcher Brad McMenamin. Bexley covers an area of 2 1/2 square miles and has 28 police officers and 4 dispatchers, with only one dispatcher on duty at a time. There are 2 lines for E9-1-1 and a number of regular business lines that they answer while also handling all counter inquiries. Bexley dispatchers only dispatch for police, with fire handled by the city of Columbus. There are usually 4-7 police cars on duty depending on the shift and day of the week. Dispatchers use a CAD system as well as LEADS for their want checks.
An invitation was extended by Chief Michael Pearlman to visit his department along the banks of the Ohio River at Martin's Ferry. We of course jumped at the chance and headed for this small steel mill community. The community itself is economically depressed with 2 of the 3 mills closed. This has had a great impact on funds available for new police equipment. Chief Pearlman introduced me to Head Communications Officer Carla Mirich and dispatcher Kim Trigg. Between all them and the other officers on duty we were given a good dose of hometown hospitality.
The police department has a staff of 23 that includes full-time police, auxiliary, and the 4 full-time dispatchers. Martin's Ferry is a satellite center of central control that includes 5 other communities. Each community can take and redirect E9-1-1 calls to the proper agency as well take the overflow of the other centers. Martin's Ferry shares their frequency with 2 other local villages and dispatch police, fire, and ambulance.
Dispatcher Paul Richmond was my contact at Dublin, Ohio. The police department supports a staff of 45 sworn officers and 11 dispatchers. During each 8 hour shift, there is a minimum of 2 dispatchers. One person handles the radio during the shift while the other person takes care of all the E9-1-1 and non-emergency calls. In addition, they also dispatch local fire and EMS. They have gone to the 800MHz trunking radio system, and use a CAD system.
The communications room at Dublin has plenty of room to move around and entertain visitors. It is modern, well lit, orderly, and has good ventilation. The work stations are set in the middle of the room with the dispatcher and call taker sitting besides each other inside a large U shaped console area. In front of the console are a number of security monitors to keep track of what is happening inside and outside the building. Everything is within easy reach, and even the meal room is only a few steps away.
After 5 weeks in America I visited a variety of communication centers. From what I observed the use of the CAD system and Enhanced 9-1-1 would have to be the two most important developments in technology for use in dispatching anywhere, regardless of the size of the center.
Dispatching has changed dramatically over the years worldwide. The job is evolving into such a complex one requiring advanced technology and specialized skills.
Regardless of this technology there was one thing that stood out among all else - the people. I thoroughly enjoyed my visits to those American dispatch centers and found everyone I met to be very helpful, professional, and knowledgeable. Whether it's an emergency or just an inquiry, the first contact the public has with an emergency service is usually with a dispatcher. I believe these American communities will be in good hands if ever the need arises to dial 9-1-1.
