Background

Prior to April 1983, Springfield Police Department, Springfield Fire Department, and Sangamon County Sheriff's Office each had their own dispatch centers.  The Sangamon County Sheriff's Office was responsible for dispatching rural police departments and rural fire departments. In 1983, the individual dispatch centers co-located into one center.  Although combined, dispatchers from each agency were still employed by their respective agencies. 

In 1997, Sangamon County Central Dispatch System was created taking away the direct authority of each agency and forming a separate governmental entity.  The dispatchers from each agency fall under the authority of SCCDS management.  The Emergency Telephone System Department provides funding for SCCDS with the exception of personnel.  SCCDS provides salaries for personnel. 

Operations

SCCDS provides emergency and non-emergency dispatch service for agencies throughout Sangamon County.  The Center is equipped with the Enhanced 911 phone system providing Automated Number Identification (ANI) and Automated Location Identification (ALI).  Some cell phone service providers allow us to locate activated cell phones using longitude and latitude coordinates. Our computer aided dispatch (CAD) vendor is New World Systems.

If necessary, operations can be moved to a redundant system located in downtown Springfield.  During the time of transition to our backup center downtown or for any other reason, an alternate Sangamon County police agency would answer 911 calls.

Personnel

SCCDS personnel consists of an Executive Director, one Center Manager, one Training Coordinator, six supervisors, approximately 45 Dispatchers and four Call Takers.

When hired, dispatcher trainees normally spend six weeks of classroom training before being assigned to one-on-one training.  Training is usually completed anywhere between six to nine months. 

Dispatchers and call takers are required to complete Emergency Medical Dispatch training courses certified by the National Academies of Emergency Dispatch (NA-ED).  Once NA-ED and CPR certification is completed, personnel become licensed EMD Dispatchers through the State of Illinois. EMD Certification allows dispatchers and call takers to provide pre-arrival medical instructions to callers during medical emergencies.  Examples of medical calls where pre-arrival instructions may be used:  Severe bleeding, seizures, heart attacks, diabetic reactions, electrocutions, assisting a mother with child birth, or providing CPR instructions to a caller for a victim not breathing.

No matter what the situation, SCCDS personnel are ready to provide a service to the community and the public safety agencies of Sangamon County, Illinois.

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