All phone calls placed to the police department come through dispatch. Non-emergency and routine calls should be placed to 609-737-3100. Emergency phone calls should always be placed to 911 so that they are received on the Enhanced 911 System which will provide the dispatcher important information and added capabilities.

When 911 calls are received, the caller's name, address and phone number are displayed on a computer screen for the dispatcher. Cellular 911 calls may not display the location from where the call is being made.

Once a call is received by a dispatcher, the information is entered into the CAD (Computer Assisted Dispatch) work station and the information is broadcast to patrol officers and other agencies as needed.

Calls that come in on 911 requiring a fire or ambulance response are then transferred to the fire or emergency medical service communications centers for dispatching.

Communication with various police units and outside agencies is made using multiple radio channels and mobile data computers in the patrol vehicles. Complicated emergency calls or major incidents involve multiple officers and various agencies; it is the dispatchers who coordinate communication with all involved.

Record keeping is an important facet of the communications center. Calls must be documented and updated as additional information is received.

Dispatchers must also research and retrieve critical information from several different computer databases to assist officers on calls and investigations.

Each dispatcher also has other duties to perform to assist the department in its mission. These include:

• Alarm and business registrations
• Entering court orders into databases
• Logging summonses
• Maintaining current 911 information
• Updating geographic information into the CAD system

Simply put the dispatchers are the lifeline between the police officers and the public.