Communications/Dispatch
Communications, also know as dispatch, is contact central for the Hopewell Township Police Department. The communications department is staffed by six full time civilians who work rotating shifts, covering the "desk" 24 hours a day, including weekends and holidays. Good dispatchers must have excellent verbal skills, lots of patience, be computer proficient, and be able to multi-task. Above all, they must also be able to remain calm under pressure.
All phone calls to the police department come through dispatch. Non-emergency and routine calls are received on the regular seven digit line, 737-3100. Emergency calls should always be placed to 9-1-1 so that they are received in on the Enhanced 9-1-1 system. When these calls are received, the caller's name, address and phone number are displayed on a screen. It should be noted that at this time, cell phone calls placed to 9-1-1 will reach the communications center, but will not display the location the call was placed from. Once a call is taken and entered into the CAD (computer assisted dispatch) it must be handled. Calls that come in on 9-1-1 that require fire or ambulance response are usually transferred to the proper agency to be dispatched - however HTPD dispatchers are fully trained and have the capability to dispatch those calls from our communications center. Dispatchers must be able to quickly assess the type of call received and send the proper units. Communication with the various units and agencies is made via multiple radio channels, MDT's (mobile display terminals in the vehicles) and cell phones. On complicated calls or major incidents, many officers and agencies may be involved, and these calls can take hours to complete.
Record keeping is also an important facet of the communications office. Calls must be updated in a timely manner as officers relay information. Dispatchers research and retrieve information to assist officers on calls and detectives conducting investigations. Each member of the dispatch staff also has other duties, including alarm and business registrations, correcting 9-1-1 information, keeping track of summonses and domestic violence orders, and updating phone and geographic information in our CAD system.