The Communications Center is the direct link
between citizens and the Township's Emergency Response Services. The
dispatchers screen and handle all calls for service and provide
support for all field operations. 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 they must also monitor multiple radio frequencies,
dispatch calls to the police units, access a variety of local,
state, and federal databases, assign report numbers, and track
officer's activity in the field.
We hope this site will better prepare you to
answer the questions a dispatcher will need to ask in an emergency
situation and make you better able to receive any additional
instruction as necessary. We understand that you, as citizens, must
rely on a group of nameless, faceless voices to assist you through
some of the most helpless, frustrating moments of your life and we
hope this brief introduction to who we are and how we operate will
make that process easier for you should the need ever arise.
Since the early 1970’s, Voorhees Township has
benefited from having its own Communication Center. The Township
has experienced enormous growth through out the years and the
Communication Center has grown proportionally. The Communication
Center currently handles approximately 50,000 calls per year. The
men and women who serve at the Communication Center are responsible
for answering all life threatening and non-emergency calls. They
handle thousands of walk-in complaints per year.
The dispatchers collaboratively work with
police, fire and medical personnel in order to reinforce our
continuing commitment to excellence and to provide quality service
to the citizens and visitors of Voorhees Township. Our dispatchers
are expedient, professional and compassionate and they support the
delivery of quality Police, Fire and Emergency Medical services
through the application of the industry's best public safety
communications standards, operational guidelines, administrative
practices as well as the utilization of cutting edge technology.
The dispatchers are highly trained, proficient, dedicated and
self-motivated personnel. They enhance the quality of life of every
person in Voorhees Township by receiving and processing 9•1•1
emergency calls, non-emergency calls and by dispatching Police, Fire
and Emergency Medical Service units in a prompt, efficient,
courteous and professional manner which in turn save lives, protect
property and assist the public, thus making Voorhees Township a
safer and more enjoyable community in which to live, work and visit.
Before someone is given the opportunity to
dispatch at the center, he or she is required to go through a
vigorous and comprehensive 250 hour training session. They are then
monitored and evaluated frequently. Voorhees Township Police
Department is committed to providing exceptional service.
What is 9•1•1?
9•1•1 was established as a National number for
notifications of emergencies in late January 1968, by a
Congressional declaration. It was tested in Haleyville, AL in early
February of the same year and by 1972 the FCC established that 9•1•1
should be implemented nationwide to provide expedient, professional
assistance to citizens in immediate need.
When do I dial 9•1•1?
