For Immediate Release: April 14, 2022

April 10–16 is National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, when the City of Alexandria  recognizes its 911 call takers and dispatchers. National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week is an annual recognition dedicated to raising appreciation and awareness of the hard-working public safety call takers and dispatchers across the country. 

Public Safety Telecommunicators are the “first of first responders” and the initial points of contact for those seeking emergency services. In an emergency, every second counts, from those dealing with intense personal crises to communitywide disasters, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Telecommunicators save lives by providing critical information to police officers, sheriff’s deputies, firefighters, and paramedics using advanced 911 technology, and safety profiles through Smart911, which allows users to create profiles that provide critical information about health, pets, locations, and more to dispatchers in advance of emergencies. 

In 2021, the City’s Department of Emergency and Customer Communications handled more than 500,000 combined calls and service requests, 71,000 of which were requests for 911 emergency services. Our Public Safety Telecommunicators are dedicated to helping every caller through any emergency 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Your worst day is their workday.

Alexandria’s 911 center is accredited through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. Alexandria is one of three 911 centers in the region, and one of only nine in Virginia, to hold such an accreditation.

Visit alexandriava.gov/911 for more information about Smart 911.

For media inquiries only, contact Andrea Blackford, Editorial Communications Manager, at andrea.blackford@alexandriava.gov or 703.746.3959.

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This news release is available at alexandriava.gov/go/3553.