Overview
The Communications Division provides services to the public by answering 911 and business calls. Communications Officers (COs) quickly assess and initiate services to respond, whether that be a trooper, a tow truck, medical aid, fire, or the Department of Transportation. COs provide dispatch, data request services, and other support functions for our troopers, commercial vehicle enforcement officers, and multiple contracted state and federal agencies.
COs are true first responders. Located in eight communications centers throughout Washington, COs provide around-the-clock professional emergency support. Additionally, they dispatch for major events such as Seafair, Rod Run, Presidential visits, emphases performed for Driving Under the Influence, Boating Under the Influence, and Telecommunicator Emergency Response Taskforce (TERT) deployments.
Key Measurements and Statistics
In 2019, WSP Communications Officers entered close to a million incidents into our Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system. Those incidents included 911 calls and non-emergency (business) calls as well as Field Initiated (self-initiated) incidents such as traffic stops and emergencies that troopers on the road viewed and reported.
In addition to the law enforcement support work accomplished by our COs, is the growing requests for public disclosure by prosecutors and the public. The Communications Division receives requests for recorded audio of traffic stops, 911 calls, and business calls, as well as the report within CAD for incidents and associated correspondence etc. This workload has been accomplished by one employee since 2016. The workload has tripled since then and now requires additional assistance from other staff to meet the demands and required deadlines.
Successes of 2019
In 2019, the Communications Division saw the following successes:
- New consoles replaced aged equipment in the Bremerton, Bellevue, and Marysville Communications centers. The equipment is state of the art and offers modern ergonomics along with additional lighting features, two types of power sources, and accommodates two phone systems and multiple computer monitors with sound bars.
- Communications staff received much needed pay raises which are already resulting in improved retention and recruitment throughout the state.
- The Communications Training Team was nationally recognized for their newly certified training program by the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials-International (APCO). They provide the national/international standards for Communications Officers and their applicable training.
- Assistant Division Commander Vanessa Barnes received the Governor’s Award for Leadership.
- The Marysville Communications Center received an upgrade to their Viper E-911 equipment. The E-911 equipment in all eight centers has now been upgraded to the most current software versions.
- A quality assurance program was implemented that meets both APCO and The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) standards. This program allows the Communications Division to address lessons learned and celebrate excellent service through review of employees’ records 911 and business calls and dispatch work.
- Bremerton and Bellevue Communications received new static-free carpet.
- The Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) program received a software and mapping upgrade.
- Every Communications Officer completed the required 24 hours of applicable training for calendar year 2019 (146 staff).
- The division received funding to pay for the rising costs of maintenance for CAD.