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Communications
Mission Statement
It is the mission of the Atlantic City Communications Bureau, a 9-1-1 Public Safety
Answering Point, to provide rapid and convenient access to Public Safety for the citizens
and visitors of this city.
We shall respond to their cries for assistance in a timely manner with the appropriate
response.
We shall be committed to responder safety and offer assistance to all other agencies,
when requested, and within our means.
We shall strive to accomplish this by employing only those who demonstrate a desire and
aptitude for public safety. We shall attract them with a competitive salary, provide them
with the proper training and the latest technological resources within our means.
Who are we?
The Communications Division is comprised of members of the Communications 9-1-1
Center, the Radio Shop, Information and Technology Section, Administrative Offices and
the Training Division. The Communications 9-1-1 Center is the Public Safety Answering
Point (PSAP) and the Public Safety Dispatch Point (PSDP) for all 9-1-1 calls that
originate or involve the geographic boundaries of Atlantic City, N.J. Our city is Unique.
Although we have a population of just less than 50,000 residents, on any given day, our
population can swell to more than a quarter of a million visitors and guests.
The Bureau is staffed twenty-four hours, seven days, by approximately fifty civilian
employees to handle any and all requests for public safety services. All of our personnel
face an extremely difficult, challenging but rewarding career choice. Their jobs require
them to possess a tremendous amount of knowledge and ability in responding to the
needs of the citizens, visitors and uniformed personnel each and every hour of every
single day. They are the nameless, faceless professionals who are diligently performing a
highly stressful and fast paced job. In addition, they must possess, or quickly acquire,
many critical skills from multi-tasking to proper extraction of information to the
immediate prioritization of emergency requests, just to name a few. It takes a very
special type of person to do this type of job. As you see, it is not a job for everyone.
What do we do?
We are the Primary First Responder. All calls for Police, Fire, Medical, general
information and just about anything else you could imagine are directed to
Communications. We receive, record, prioritize and dispatch all requests for service
from emergency and, as necessary, non-emergency telephone callers at five permanent
telephone consoles with a provision for two more in times of crisis. The
Communications Officers at these consoles will ask a detailed series of questions to
determine the location, nature and urgency of the request. As they gather the information
on emergency calls, they enter it into a Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system and it is
sent to the appropriate dispatcher who relays the information to the responding units.
Calls for non-emergencies and general information (usually those that are not received on
a 9-1-1 line) are documented, as is necessary, and provided with the proper disposition of
services or information. Last year there were over 160,000 responses sent to the more
than 250,000 calls received by the Communications Bureau.
Our Communications Officers also respond to the needs of our uniformed personnel, on
the job. They may require a telephone notification, a look-up of a driver’s license or
registration. Some may depend on Communications personnel for information on
available resources they may require for their case. Others may call for a search of all
records to determine if an individual is wanted for any offenses by any other jurisdiction
in the country or the world. Just about any task the official cannot perform on the street,
is performed by the Communications personnel in this Bureau.
The dispatch function also records the general activity as well as self-initiated calls and
actions which the uniformed personnel encounter during their tour of duty. This is not
only a function of record-keeping, it is another safety procedure to account for the
location of personnel who are assigned to various tasks all over the city.
In the Communications Center, there are also a host of other duties and responsibilities,
depending on the individual’s shift assignment for the day. They may dispatching police
officers or just be monitoring a group of public safety or public service radio channels
and communicating with the surrounding jurisdictions. Today, someone will be
dispatching the police department’s tow trucks, tomorrow they may dispatch fire
apparatus. Someone will have to monitor the burglar and fire alarm console. No two
days are ever the same in the Communications Bureau.
Additionally, the Bureau has other extensive responsibilities which overlap many areas
and departments. Our Information and Technology Department is the source of
recordings which are supplied and used for criminal justice proceedings and purposes.
The Radio Shop is responsible for a vast array of equipment for the Police and Fire
Departments and all of the city’s support services. Not only do they install and maintain
the mass of radio equipment in every fixed and mobile location, they also deal with the
installation and maintenance of all electronic additions (sirens, loudspeakers, warning
lights, flood lights, etc) for Atlantic City’s entire vehicular fleet. Radio Shop personnel
are also responsible for the installation and upkeep of all the fire and burglar alarms
safeguarding every municipal location in the city. The Administrative unit coordinates
all telephone and communications related lines, equipment, services and repairs for the
various offices and municipal locations throughout the city. Additionally, they provide
the same services for all city employees who have been assigned cellular telephones or
pagers.
How do you contact us?
Any emergency call should be directed to9-1-1, the number that brings you
the quickest response in instances where there is an immediate
threat to life or property. This would include, but is not
limited to, fires, crimes in progress, medical emergencies, motor
vehicle accidents with injuries, gunshots, suicide, fights, domestic
disturbances, audible alarms, structural collapse, weapons seen, odors
of gas, suspicious persons and
immediate dangers or hazards to yourself or others.
All other calls, business or questions should be directed to our regular incoming lines at
347-5780. These calls, for instance, may also include illegally parked vehicles,
information or a report about a crime that is not in progress, a loud party, someone late
coming home from work… If there is ever any doubt of the urgency or danger involved,
dial 9-1-1. If the circumstances are not appropriate for a 9-1-1 call, the Communications
Officer will direct you to hang-up and dial 347-5780 so we can keep the emergency lines
clear and available to callers with bona-fide emergencies.
Administrative inquiries may be addressed to the appropriate department and individual,
as listed:
9-1-1 Tips
9-1-1 can be dialed from any telephone that is connected to standard telephone service.
This includes cellular telephones and pay telephones, with no cost to the caller
Always call 9-1-1 from a safe location. For instance, don’t stay in a burning house.
Leave and report the fire from the closest safe location.
Do not hang-up until the Communications Officer tells you to do so.
If you call by mistake, stay on the line and explain. We may still send a responder to
check on your welfare.
Teach your children to use 9-1-1. Make sure they know their address and telephone
number. Our Communication Officers are well trained in assisting children and
extracting the necessary information in a positive, non threatening manner. Tell them to
follow the pre-arrival, safety or life saving instructions the Communications Officer may
provide to the caller.
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Public Safety
