Emergency Communications Center (E911)
The Police Department’s Communications Division is responsible for the combined Police, Fire and EMS (Emergency Medical Services) dispatching operations. The Division utilizes state-of-the-art Enhanced 911 (E911) and computer aided dispatch to log and route emergency vehicles in response to calls. The E911 system immediately captures the phone number, address, and name of the person where the telephone is registered. If the caller cannot communicate their location, an operator will be able to determine the address of the call from the E911 system and give it to the appropriate public safety unit for response.
In January 2007, the Communications Division started an Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) system. Telecommunicators will be able to triage medical calls for service to determine the appropriate EMS/Fire response. Callers will be able to receive medical care instructions to provide first aid until professional medical help arrives at the scene.
A new 800MHz radio system, a state-of-the-art computer aided dispatch system, and mobile computer terminals in police patrol vehicles, assist in keeping response times low. These new technologies will help the Communications Division become more efficient in receiving and dispatching calls which should translate into response times staying within statistically acceptable ranges for all facets of public safety. The targeted response rate for Priority I calls for service is 6 minutes. The Police Department is currently close to meeting this rate with an average response time for Priority I calls of 6:24 minutes. The Fire Department calculates its response times based on the time from when the alarm is received to the time the apparatus arrives on scene. In 2005, the Fire Department averaged 4.55 minutes to arrive on scene; while the EMS units average response time was 5.26 minutes. These response times do not include the length of the initial phone call.
In 2000, the Communications Division began direct receipt of wireless (cellular) 911 calls originating in the City of Newport News. Previously, these calls were routed to the Virginia State Police. The Newport News 911 Center now receives wireless calls from seven different wireless vendors and is able to determine the latitude and longitude positions of wireless calls for each vendor, if the subscriber’s telephone is GPS (Global Positioning System) equipped. In 2005, the Division also began processing Voice over Internet Protocol 911 telephone calls. Newport News is a member of the Hampton Roads Public Safety Answering Point Manager’s Group, which works with vendors to ensure that developing technologies can safely and efficiently deliver 911 calls to the proper answering point.
Because citizens frequently are uneasy about calling and reporting suspicious activities in their neighborhoods, the Police Department initiated the “Concerned Citizen Program.” The Communications Division has a dedicated, non-recorded line that is used for calls from citizens enrolled in the program. When the call is received, the caller gives the information and their assigned Concerned Citizen number, guaranteeing complete anonymity in their call.