The Sacramento Police Department is proud to recognize our Public Safety Dispatchers during National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, April 8-14, 2018. Our dispatchers work tirelessly in providing 911 services to the residents and visitors of the Capital City.  Last year, these dedicated professionals handled over 760,000 phone calls of which almost 600,000 of these calls were citizens reporting emergencies, requesting police, fire or medical service or asking general questions. When the phone rings our staff is ready to handle any situation!

Public safety dispatchers are one of the initial points of contact with the community during an emergency. The role of the dispatcher is crucial in gathering information, assessing, and deploying appropriate emergency response when time is of the essence. The skills, knowledge, and dedication each dispatcher exhibits while assisting the public deserve recognition, not only during this week of celebration, but throughout the year.

Each year in recognition of National Public Safety Telecommunicators week, two employees are selected for outstanding performance and identified as Supervisor and Dispatcher of the Year.  During the regional Dispatcher Week Banquet last Friday, Sacramento recognized Supervisor of the Year, Kelly Joy and Dispatcher of the Year, Janee Dabrowski. 

In addition to National Dispatcher week, April is 911 Education Month.  The Sacramento 911 center would like to share these guidelines for calling 911:

·         911 is for police, fire or medical emergencies.

·         Know the location of the incident.

·         If you accidentally call 911, don’t hang up; stay on the line and speak to the 911 call taker.

·         The 911 call taker is highly trained to ask questions needed to generate the appropriate resource to provide help.  Answer the questions as they are asked so that we can help you.

·         Text-to-911 is not yet available in our area, however, it is coming soon! A phone call is the only method to ensure you reach 911 for an emergency.