Hi Seal Beach!
The second week of April is recognized as National Public Safety Telecommunications Week. The purpose of this special week is to honor the public safety communications personnel that work so hard to support the community and keep both the public and first responders in the field safe.
Specifically, I want to take this week to recognize the great work of our West-Comm dispatchers. The West Cities Police Communications Center, also referred to as “West-Comm” is located at the Seal Beach Police Department. West-Comm has provided 9-1-1 police dispatching service since 1997 for three major cities in Southern California’s West Orange County area. West-Comm is a Joint Powers Authority owned by the Cities of Cypress, Los Alamitos, and Seal Beach. West-Comm also provides contract communications service to the Orange County Parks.
Needless to say, these dispatchers are busy! West-Comm serves a combined population for its member Cities of over 85,000 people. This doesn’t include the countless people who commute into these cities to work, or the visitors and tourists.
West-Comm dispatchers process approximately 90,000 police incidents annually. Dialing 9-1-1 in any of the cities served by West-Comm will connect the caller to a professionally trained public safety dispatcher who will determine the nature of the emergency and manage dispatch of the appropriate emergency service response. West-Comm dispatchers answer approximately 32,000 9-1-1 calls annually. Calls that require the assistance of paramedics or fire personnel are transferred to the Orange County Fire Authority.
When a call for service is received by West-Comm, a dispatcher will enter the pertinent details into the computer aided dispatch (CAD) system and the information is then immediately available to a radio dispatcher. West-Comm service standards are to dispatch Priority 1 emergency calls within 30 seconds. Emergency personnel en route to the call location remain in constant radio contact with West-Comm as additional details are received.
As I have written about in the past, I’m so honored to work for Seal Beach with such a wonderful and supportive community. There is not a day that goes by where I am not thanked for protecting this community. It is truly humbling. But let us not forget that we would be unable to protect this community, respond to emergencies, or provide the level of service that this community deserves without the dedication of our West-Comm dispatchers. While us police officers and professional staff are visible out in the field, our dispatchers are rarely seen. This doesn’t mean they should be any less appreciated.
Please joining me in honoring our public safety communications personnel this week!
For more information about West-Comm, please visit http://www.west-comm.org/.
Keep your questions coming Seal Beach! Email us at askacop@sealbeachca.gov today!
