Communications

The El Cajon Police Department Communications Center consists of 18 non-sworn personnel. Of those personnel, 4 are supervisors, 9 Police Dispatchers and 5 Communications Operators. A dispatchers main duty is to work the radio sending officers to radio calls, keeping up with and updating officer locations, and doing records checks for officers in the field. A Communications Operator’s main duty is to answer incoming non-emergency and 911 calls. Communications staff work 12 hour shifts.

Duties:

Answer emergency and non-emergency lines
Operate radio equipment and dispatch officers to radio call
In the absence of the records division, complete vehicle, property and person entries into various records systems
Conduct records checks on people for officers in the field
Sign off equipment violation citations at the front counter of the Police Department
Work closely with other agencies to provide the best possible service for the community

Who Should I Call?
911 Information
911 for Kids

Statistics and Training

Communications Center Statistics

On average the Communications Center handles 165,000 calls for service per year. With this yearly average, the Communications Center has 13,800 calls per month. Of those 13,800 calls, an average of 1,750 are wireless 911 calls, and 3,500 are land line 911 calls.

Communications Center Information Technology

The Communications Center is equipped to handle eight positions. Five of the stations are phone stations, which handle the incoming calls. Two of the stations are set up for dispatchers to deal directly with officers in the field. The eighth station is the supervisors station. The two dispatcher stations are set up with four computer monitors each, as not all their work will fit on one screen. Two of the screens deal with the dispatch function, showing the status of calls that are pending, available resources and officer status. A third monitor is used to manage the multiple radio frequencies available to the department. Regionally, we have radio systems allowing us to talk to all other departments in the area. The fourth monitor is used for general purpose computing, connection to our local network and to access to records checks for officers in the field. Each call taker and supervisor station is equipped with three computer monitors. The first monitor shows calls pending and officer status. The second monitor all incoming calls on normal lines and also to manage our 911 system. The 911 system allows us to use the Automated Location Index (ALI) to know the phone number and location of incoming phone calls. A recent upgrade allows us to track both landline and cell phone. The last monitor is the general use computer system for local access and records checks.

Our system is fully integrated, with the Communications Center computer able to communicate with the mobile computers in the police cars. This allows us to send calls over the radio or the computer and to allow for car messages.

Training Program

The El Cajon Police Communications personnel receive professional an on going training to ensure that the best possible service is provided to the citizens of El Cajon.

Our Communications Division is committed to exceeding state requirements, and providing additional training on numerous topics. Training topics include domestic violence training, hostage negotiation and training our staff to provide professional and courteous service to our citizens.