Dispatch Supervisor Jerri Tapper The Dispatch Division is Supervised by 911 Central Dispatch Supervisor Jeri Tapper (269-657-3101 Ext. 221). Central Dispatch has 13 full time dispatchers working 24 hours a day and are responsible for answering and disseminating calls to 14 different Fire Departments, 13 EMS Services, and 17 different police agencies throughout the county. 911 Information If 911 service is interrupted for any reason, have a listing by your phone of the local telephone numbers of the police, fire and EMS service in your community. You can find these telephone numbers in your local telephone book. Be prepared, have these emergency telephone numbers posted near your phone! What is 9-1-1? 9-1-1 is the telephone number that provides direct access to police, fire and medical assistance and initiates a coordinated response. When to use 9-1-1? In an emergency call 9-1-1 to report a crime in progress, a fire, a serious illness or injury or any situation requiring immediate response of the police, fire or ambulance services. What the 9-1-1 dispatch needs to know: Speak slowly and clearly. Let the dispatcher ask the questions the responders must know. They include: address where help is needed, nature of the problem, your name and telephone number. IMPORTANT: Call 9-1-1 first in all emergency situations. Do not call family members or friends. Do not attempt to transport a seriously ill or injured person. We can get qualified help to the victim much faster and safer than you can get the victim to help. *Stay on the phone and answer all of the questions. Do not hang up until told to do so. Help is on the way as you are speaking. Do not call 9-1-1 for: Road / travel information, road conditions, legal advise, civil matters, telephone directory assistance or requesting rides. Your telephone book has these numbers. Road and weather updates can be found by calling AAA: 1-800-411-4823 or by calling the MSP Travel Advisory Hotline Number: 1-800-381-8477. Did you know? If you call 9-1-1 using your cellular telephone the emergency operator does not have your address? As you drive down the roadway make sure to check street signs and landmarks in the event you call for help. Help us to help you! Be aware! Due to the type of technology currently in place, you can receive a busy signal dialing 9-1-1 using your cellular telephone. Stay calm, hang up and dial again. Has the cellular telephone you carry in your pocket, purse or on the console next to you dialed 9-1-1 accidentally? A simple touch of the keypad can send a 9-1-1 call. Central Dispatch agencies answer numerous accidental calls each day. When answered, the emergency operator has an open line with the cellular telephone. All conversations, music from your radio, or any kind of noise in your vehicle are heard by the operator. Use care where you put your telephone, especially when traveling. Tours of the Central Dispatch are provided to many groups and individuals of Van Buren County. It is the belief of the administration and staff that by educating the citizens and public safety agencies on 9-1-1 communications, they have a better understanding of the job they do and have the opportunity to meet the telecommunicators. Telephones continue to be the primary means to receive requests for service. The type of technology used has become the major factor in our ability to receive, process and dispatch quickly and efficiently. Currently 9-1-1 calls are received from conventional (landline) and cellular (wireless) telephones. For 2006 the call volume statistics included 14,152 landline calls and 28,064 wireless calls. The wireless calls are at 70% for 2006, while VoIP calls began to be answered in October of 2006 with just 5 calls processed in this manner. Dispatchers must also be aware they may receive 9-1-1 calls from Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) that they could originate from within Van Buren County, the State of Michigan or anywhere within the United States as well as computers that are connected to cellular signals from traditional wireless or satellite. Cellular telephones are still not as reliable as landline telephones. As more and more people disconnect their landline phones for cellular or VoIP, we are receiving an increase in the number of emergency calls from citizens that we cannot hear well enough to determine what type of emergency they are having or are unable to determine their location to respond to their call for help. This is a very frustrating and potentially dangerous situation. Our 9-1-1 center has the capability of processing Phase II cellular location technology from all our known cellular phone providers, providing the cellular phone can send the latitude and longitude and the signal is strong enough. The wireless calls take an average of four to seven times longer to process than a landline 9-1-1 call. This is because the wireless call may only indicate the cellular tower location receiving the call and the telecommunicator has to manually extract the necessary information from the caller. Cellular calls are also subject to “signal bounce”. If the tower closest to you is busy, your call will be bounced to the next tower, and so on, until the signal finds an available tower and is transferred to a landline. Out-going telephone calls made by the telecommunicators are calls generated by a citizen’s request, contacting a wrecker service for an officer, calling the utility company for the fire department, contacting the courts to verify a warrant, or any number of other requests made. Many times an out-going call takes longer for a dispatcher to handle than the in-coming calls. The total number of telephone calls that were processed for 2005 was 191,653. Mission Statement To provide professional services to the community and public safety agencies with team oriented, courteous and trained telecommunicators. 2006 Annual Report - CENTRAL DISPATCH: Central Dispatch disseminates calls for service for 14 fire departments, 13 EMS /Quick Response and 17 law enforcement contracts and agencies In 2006 Central Dispatch received 31,332 - 911 calls for police service, EMS calls totaled 8,688 and 1,541 fire calls. In addition to over 41,500 911 calls for service the Dispatch Center processed 162,330 non-emergency calls. In 2006 we continued to see the trend of 911 calls generated shift from traditional landlines to wireless means. Last year 70% of our emergency calls were made from wireless devices. Thankfully we completed our Phase II deployment that allows us to display the callers location, to within 6 meters, on GPS equipped phones. We were also given a new challenge last year, the introduction of Voice over Internet Protocol devices, which do not automatically display the callers location. Because of the relatively low cost of this service we anticipate a dramatic increase in their use, essentially setting back 911 service 20 years due to the lack of location enhancements. We are also planning for future advances that will allow us to operate a wireless 911 network system and our ability to accept video 911 calls. As you are aware, Van Buren County Central Dispatch was a pioneer in the state with the development of our 800 mhz radio system for all of our public safety agencies and local entities. Our surrounding counties are bringing up their systems so our interoperability is now on a truly regional basis. Helpful Links for Dispatch/Telecommunications: Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO) National Emergency Number Association (NENA) Emergency Telephone Service Committee Police Services for Citizens - Criminal History Background Checks and Sex Offender Registry   < < < BACK TO TOP