Requesting Police/Fire Services

The Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety Communications Center is currently staffed with 12 full-time Dispatchers and one Dispatch Supervisor working four ten-hour shifts. The unit's equipment is modern and multi-frequency capable of handling police, fire, and medical emergencies. The Dispatch Center handles all incoming 9-1-1, emergency, and non-emergency calls for service.

Emergency: 9-1-1
For assistance in emergency situations and crimes that are in progress.

Non-Emergency: (707) 584-2600
For assistance in non-life threatening situations.

When requesting services for non-emergency/non-life threatening situations, we ask for your patience in waiting for the arrival of a Public Safety Officer, as emergency calls have priority over non-emergency calls. The officer will respond to your call as soon as possible.

When calling, have the following information ready:

• Type of incident.
• Location.
• Is the crime still in progress? Time Element: How long ago did it happen?
• Number of suspects, if any; and whether they are armed.
• Suspect description (race, sex, height, weight, clothing) and last known direction of travel.
• Vehicle description (color, year, make, model, license plate number), if any; and last known direction of travel.

9-1-1 - Emergency

Here are some tips that callers to 9-1-1 should keep in mind when requesting emergency police, fire, or medical services:

• When placing a call to 9-1-1, if you encounter an extended ring cycle, do not hang up and redial unless the ring lasts more than a few minutes. You will only delay your access to the emergency Communications Center.
• In most instances, calls will be answered before the caller even hears a ring. However, under some circumstances, heavy call volumes will occur and extensive rings can happen. If all call takers are busy, calls are held in the order in which they are received and are distributed to call takers in that order as soon as they become available.
• When providing information about an incident, be as descriptive as possible. You will be asked to give identifying information about any persons or automobiles involved in the situation. The more information you can provide, the more information dispatchers will be able to relay to responding police units.
• Calls for police or fire service are dispatched on a priority basis. Any situation that represents an immediate threat to life, bodily injury or major property damage or loss is a high-priority dispatch.
• Incidents where there is no immediate threat to life; no one was injured in the incident; the incident is not in progress; the offender is not in the immediate area, and the incident does not involve a major loss of damage of property are of a lower priority. If your call is not a high priority, as defined above, you will be informed that a unit will be sent when available.
• Use the police non-emergency number - 584-2600 - when a personal police response will not affect the outcome of an incident. By using the non-emergency number, you will help ensure the availability of adequate resources for emergency situations.
• When calling for emergency medical services, a fire engine or truck will be sent along with an ambulance. Department of Public Safety personnel are trained to administer emergency care until the arrival of the ambulance.

The Do's and Taboos of using the Emergency Number

9-1-1 is designed to be used only in the event of an emergency. Priority is placed on answering 9-1-1 lines above all others. Callers to business lines will often be placed on hold, or might discover long ring times as call-takers answer and screen 9-1-1 calls.

Abuse of 9-1-1 has proved to be an increasing problem for many cities in the nation. It's clear by the type of calls received that there is confusion as to what does constitute an actual emergency. Below are some guidelines to the proper usage of 9-1-1:

If you must dial 9-1-1 be prepared to stay on the line and answer the questions asked of you by the dispatcher. Remember, they are trained to gather the information needed to determine the most appropriate response by police and/or fire personnel. In most cases, even while you are still being asked questions, officers will already have been dispatched and are on the way. Questions that might seem irrelevant to the situation you have called for might be very necessary to their safe response. Stay on the line until the dispatcher tells you it is OK to hang up. If it is not safe for you to stay on the line, set the phone receiver down without hanging up. This will allow the dispatcher to possibly hear any background noises that might assist the responding units.

If you accidentally misdial 9-1-1, do not just hang up. Stay on the line until a dispatcher answers, and then tell them it was an accident. This will prevent them from having to call you back and inquire as to whether there is an emergency, saving them time to handle actual emergencies.If you do use 9-1-1 and the situation is determined to be of a non-emergency nature you will be directed to hang up and dial the non-emergency phone number.