Police Department
Police and Fire Telecommunications Center
The Dispatcher is usually the first person on the scene of all emergencies. The Solon Police & Fire Departments' Telecommunications Center consists of highly trained, professional dispatchers. They are proud to have Dispatcher Janice Tippen on their team, who earned the title "Dispatcher of the Month" for July of 2000 by a nationwide training agency. Her skill and professionalism is a reflection of the entire department.
The following does not include ALL functions of Solon's Police and Fire Dispatchers. It does however, cover a portion of the responsibilities that fall on them. It is necessary that they perform most of these duties simultaneously, with speed and precision. It is a demanding profession, upon which lives depend. Our city is fortunate to have a competent staff of Telecommunication professionals on whom our Policemen and Firefighters can count, and most importantly, to whom our residents can turn to in their time of need.The intense training program that the dispatchers must complete prepares them for the fast paced, highly stressful environment where they must be the "eyes and ears" of responding Police and/or Fire personnel. There are always two dispatchers on duty at a time, except for during the midnight shift
, when there may be just one. The Telecommunications Center is responsible for dispatching the Glenwillow Police Department in addition to the Solon Police and Fire Departments. Solon's Dispatchers are responsible for answering nine emergency lines (four Solon Police lines, four Solon Fire/EMS lines, and one Glenwillow Police line.), all 911 calls, and non-emergency calls that ring into dispatch. The dispatcher obtains important information from the callers, prioritizes calls, and sends Police and/or Fire personnel as required. Some examples of calls for assistance which are fielded by the dispatchers include animal complaints (which are turned over to the city's animal control officer), residential and commercial alarm drops, crimes in progress, public disturbances, traffic complaints, automobile crashes, fire and medical emergencies, and a myriad of other calls for help.
The Dispatch Center fields a high volume of "walk-in" traffic also, with requests for emergency and non-emergency help such as providing permit forms for parades, block parties, station tours, etc. The Dispatcher assists citizens when reporting incidents in person, furnishing them with the proper paperwork to complete for anything from lost property to assault reports, then dispatches an officer to take the report at the station. Additionally, the dispatcher assists the public in completing private property automobile accident reports, which they may need for insurance purposes.
Radios and Alarm Panels
The Dispatcher monitors nine radio frequencies, which include the Solon Police, Solon Fire, and Solon Service Department's band. Also monitored are several surrounding communities' police and fire frequencies and two statewide radio frequencies. Additionally, the Dispatcher is required to oversee an alarm panel connected to city-owned buildings and all Solon Schools. There are several alarm panels located in the Telecommunications Center also, which monitor the police station for fire and carbon monoxide. The Dispatcher must know how to understand the different alarms and readouts on these panels and must dispatch the proper personnel when necessary.
When a portion of the city is experiencing a power outage or other interruption of any utility service, the Dispatch Center is overwhelmed with calls from residents inquiring as to how long it will be before their service is restored. Unfortunately, utility companies such as CEI do not keep the dispatchers apprised of their progress in repairing trouble spots. Therefore, if residents have a problem with their power or any other form of utility, it is best that they, the consumers, call their appropriate provider directly.
The provider can more accurately target the problem area and answer any questions that the consumer may have. (Please note, if the situation has the potential to be an emergency or life-threatening incident, such as a gas leak or downed power lines that are arcing, call the Solon Fire Department at 440-248-1212 or dial 911.)
Wanted? Stolen? Officer Safety
The Dispatcher is responsible for knowing the location of six to ten police cars per shift and maintaining a daily log of all shift activity. The daily log includes locations of the incidents and the times that the Officers are dispatched, arrive on scene, and complete the given assignment. The log also contains other pertinent data such as the complainant information and the dispositions of the calls.
Included in the numerous computer programs and systems that the Dispatcher is required to use and understand, is the State of Ohio Law Enforcement Automated Data System (also known as LEADS). The Dispatcher runs license plates, names or social security numbers of drivers and/or other people, VIN numbers from cars, and just about any item through LEADS at the officers' request to check the state and/or nationwide computer systems (National Crime Information Center, or NCIC) for validity or to ascertain if a person or an item is wanted or stolen.
The dispatcher is responsible for disseminating pertinent information back to the officers in a timely manner. In addition to checking wanted, missing and stolen files, the Dispatcher is capable of and responsible for entering warrants, protection orders, missing persons, stolen vehicles, stolen license plates, stolen guns, and stolen articles (i.e.: cell phones, stereos, computers, etc) into the LEADS and NCIC computer systems. The Dispatcher is responsible for logging all entries made into the LEADS and NCIC systems in a written journal in addition to keeping organized hard copy files of all entries.
Additionally, they are responsible for validating all entries when necessary. The logs are audited every two years by the state, and occasionally by the national authorities, for accuracy and legitimacy. The Dispatchers are held accountable for any errors. The Dispatcher is also required to check persons through the national Computerized Criminal History files (CCH) at the request of Patrol Officers, Detectives, or Correction Officers. Every search performed must be accurately logged, and a valid reason for each search must be listed. These records are also audited by the state and national authorities. The CCH files assist police personnel in investigative leads and are crucial for officer safety.
Another duty of the Dispatcher is that of Deputy Clerk of Courts. When a citizen or an officer finds it necessary to sign a warrant for the arrest of an individual, the Deputy Clerk is required to witness the party's swearing of the facts of the warrant to be true, and to witness their signing of the warrant before they imprint the seal of the court on the document.
Critical Incidents...When to Page the SEALE Team
There are critical times when it is necessary for the dispatcher to page out one of the South East Area Law Enforcement (SEALE) groups. The SEALE team consists of the SWAT Team, Bomb Squad, Crisis Intervention Team, SEALE Communications Unit, and the Chiefs' group. These units consist of the Chiefs and a select few Officers and Communication personnel from the following communities in addition to our own: Bedford, Bedford Hts., Garfield Hts., Maple Hts., Oakwood Village, and Walton Hills.
These team members are always on call and can be paged out at any time when an extraordinary situation necessitates the use of their expertise. It is the responsibility of the dispatcher in the community where the incident is occurring to activate one or more of these teams and relay specific instructions via an alpha-mate paging system when a Commanding officer deems it necessary.
When help is needed from the Solon Fire Department, the Dispatcher obtains the necessary information to determine the nature of the emergency, then dispatches the appropriate personnel and equipment from the appropriate fire station(s). (Otherwise known as "apparatus".) They then initiate a "run sheet" in the computer and log all times for the responding apparatus. The Telecommunications Center receives notice whenever area hospitals impose restrictions on the types of medical emergencies they are able to receive. It is the Dispatcher's responsibility to log such information in the computer and relay the details to the responding paramedics. The Dispatcher is also responsible for providing life-saving pre-arrival instructions to the callers as necessary while the Paramedics are enroute to the location of the emergency.
Several areas of our city receive automatic mutual aid from neighboring communities. The Telecommunicator is responsible for contacting the appropriate city's fire department and requesting the correct apparatus as the need arises. Conversely, our city has mutual aid agreements with other communities and we may be called upon to assist a neighboring community. The Dispatcher also fields calls for help from Glenwillow and sends the appropriate fire personnel to assist.HAZ-MAT Dispatch Center for Southeastern Cleveland Suburbs
In February of 2000, the Solon Police and Fire Telecommunications Center was selected to dispatch for the Chagrin/Southeast Regional Hazardous Materials Response Team, also known as the "Haz-Mat Team". This team serves twenty-nine communities from the southeast suburban Cleveland area. When any of these communities has an incident involving hazardous materials, they call the Solon Dispatch Center, and the dispatcher obtains crucial information relating to the incident and the materials involved. The Dispatcher then dispatches the Haz-Mat Team via an alpha-mate paging system and provides them with critical information. Several telephone calls are then made to notify participating agencies that their equipment is needed. The Haz-Mat Team consists of thirty-five team members from Solon and nearby communities. Sometimes a community requests only a consultation with the on-duty Haz-Mat Control Officer. (Known as the HCO.) When such a request is made, the Dispatcher(s) pages only the on-duty HCO, instead of the whole team, and provides him with the name and callback number of the requesting party.
A tornado warning system is installed in our city. It will be the Dispatcher's responsibility to monitor the proper radio weather band and activate the warning sirens when necessary. Click here for Tornado Warning System Information...
