This week we are recognizing King County’s 911 Communications Center employees and the KCIT employees who support the 911 system during National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, Sunday, April 11 through Saturday, April 17.

911 Communications Center employees are the primary link between people who desperately need help and people who provide it. The King County Sheriff’s Office handles 911 calls from unincorporated King County, 12 cities, Metro Transit Police, King County Airport Police, and Regional Animal Services of King County.

More than half a million people rely on the County’s call receivers, dispatchers, and other personnel who answer and dispatch calls for police services, take police reports by phone, research “tape” requests, support the computer aided dispatch (CAD) and E-911 systems, and manage a host of special projects and functions.

The E-911 Program Office is within KCIT and is responsible for ensuring correct routing of a 911 call to the appropriate Public Safety Answering Points (PSAP), which provide 911 call answering and dispatch services for local jurisdictions

If you ever need to make a 911 call, you can find crucial information on what to do when you call 911 on the Enhanced 911 website and the Sheriff’s 911 Communications Center website.