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 driver, 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 State, 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 2020, 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, major incidents, 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 more than tripled since then and now requires additional assistance from other staff to meet the demands and required deadlines. In 2020, staff completed 10,117 requests for information that vary from a quick report to hours and days’ worth of review and preparation.
Successes of 2020
In 2020, the Communications Division saw the following successes:
- Tacoma Communications received a much needed new static-free carpet initialization
- The Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) application received a complete hardware and software refresh for both in house and our back up facility that support eight communications centers
- CAD received multiple mapping updates to support updated location data for the eight communication centers
- Every Communications Officer completed the required 24 hours of applicable training for calendar year 2020 (146 staff)
- The Division received funding from the legislature to cover a loss of funding that pays for personnel in our District 2 Bellevue Communications Center
- Assessed and updated the CritiCall testing application and modules – Communications applicants can now test online
- Moved to Zoom interviews for all applicants
- Added a hearing, vision, and psychological test to the hiring process for Communications applicants
- Implemented batch hiring for all Communications Officer academies
- Preparation for Law Enforcement CALEA and Communications CALEA assessments in 2021
- Application updates to NICE audio logging software that maintains 90 days of business line, 911, and radio traffic recordings
- Completed 10,117 individual requests for public disclosure
- Created a new flipbook resource for each workstation in all eight centers for Communications Officers to use as a quick reference during emergencies
- Online trainings were offered to Communications staff on improving resiliency, emotional intelligence, leading for influence and mental health basic care
- Updated position descriptions and expectations for Communications Officers
- Reviewed and updates made to multiple procedures
- All centers completed quality assurance reviews biannually for all staff
- Completed a legislative request to replace aged workstation consoles in five remaining centers