Communications Center

Who we are:

The El Cajon Police Department Communication Center consists of 22 non-sworn personnel.  Of those 22 personnel, 12 are Dispatchers and 10 are Communication Operators.  A Dispatcher’s 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 Communication Operator’s main duty is to answer in-coming non-emergency and 911 calls.  Communications staff work three 12-hour shifts and an extra 8 hour shift every other week.

Duties:
 ~ Answer emergency and non-emergency lines
 ~ Operate radio equipment and dispatch officers to radio calls
 ~ In the absence of the records division handle vehicle, property and person entries
 ~ 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

Special Services Offered

In 2003 the El Cajon Police Department Communications Center implemented the 911 For Kids Program.  This program is offered to elementary schools in the City of El Cajon.  The Program is targeted for second grade students and educates them on the proper use of the 911 system.  The program includes a 20 minute video and a 20 minute question and answer session.  We encourage student interaction and provide prizes for those that get involved.

Communications Center Technology Notes

The Communication 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 the officers in the field. The eighth station is the supervisor's 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 is the 911/Phone monitor.  This computer interacts with our phone system to 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 Computers able to communicate with the Mobile Computers in the Cars.  This allows us to send calls over the radio or the computer and to allow for car to car messages.

Communication Center Statistics

On average the Communications Center handles 165,648 calls for service per year.  With this yearly average, the Communications Center has 13,804 calls per month.  Of those 13,804 calls, 3,500 are 911.