The Communications Unit serves as the “nerve center” of the Buena Park Police Department. From the centralized dispatch center, all calls for service are received, evaluated, and prioritized by highly trained personnel (Dispatchers). Eight full-time dispatchers, two full-time "Lead" dispatchers, and one police sergeant staff the communications center 24 hours per day.The dispatchers who work in the Communication Unit receive specialized training in a variety of critical topics such as hostage negotiations, interviewing and interrogating techniques, and managing emergency and critical incidents. Two dispatchers have additional specific training as tactical dispatchers and are members of the SWAT team.
Dispatchers must be able to field hundreds of incoming calls each day, determine the best course of action, and forward that information to the appropriate resource. Not only must dispatchers be able to handle these calls for assistance, but be able to do so as they monitor multiple radio frequencies, dispatch calls to the police units, access a variety of local, state, and federal databases, assign case numbers, and track officer activity in the field. The dispatcher often encounters the irate, frustrated, or frightened citizen needing help. During emergency situations, dispatchers must operate with the utmost calm and efficiency in order to control the flow of information.
In addition to these daily duties, dispatchers must have a strong foundation of knowledge regarding city, county and state laws. Dispatchers are often called upon as a vital resource for officers who may not have access to law references in the field. Dispatchers must also be knowledgeable in area geography, including locations of significance within the city limits and areas that border the city. The women and men working as dispatchers are part of the police team, designed to provide quality public service to the community of Buena Park.
The technology in the Dispatch Center utilizes a Computer-Aided Dispatch system. The Dispatch Center also contains the video monitors for the department’s CCTV equipment, which provides observation of the police facility 24 hours a day.
Every year, the Dispatch Center takes in over 150,000 phone calls, of which 20,000 can be 9-1-1 calls. These phone calls join with officer-initiated field activity to generate over 50,000 Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) events.