Cincinnati Emergency Communications Center Announces Implementation of the Police Priority Dispatch System™

Today, the Emergency Communications Center (ECC) is pleased to announce the implementation of the Police Priority Dispatch System™ (PPDS™) to better serve the residents of Cincinnati in emergency situations. The ECC is the 6^th agency to adopt PPDS™ in Ohio.

The PPDS™ will be used by ECC staff to process emergency calls for police and provide responders with accurate information about the scene. Additionally, they will be able to provide lifesaving and safety instructions to callers and patients before responders arrive.

In August 2022, the ECC implemented the Fire Priority Dispatch System™ (FPDS™). And prior to that, the ECC’s call takers were using the Medical Priority Dispatch System™ (MPDS™) for over a decade to better help those experiencing a medical emergency.

“By expanding the protocol-based call-taking system, the ECC is fully aligned with nationally recognized standards for emergency call taking,” said ECC Director Bill Vedra. “Calls for help will be routed to responders more quickly, thanks to this system, and callers will get a higher level of care from 911 telecommunicators than ever before.”

ECC call-takers and dispatchers were certified in Emergency Police Dispatching through a training course by the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch^® (IAED™) in 2022 and have been honing their skills through scenario-based training in the months leading up to this change. The Protocol includes continual quality improvement (QI) benchmarks that assess the quality of care and inform future training and system adjustments.

“The PPDS™ assures everyone scene safety information is being gathered quickly on every call and appropriate instructions are provided prior to the arrival of help,” said Jason Barbour, Public Safety Specialist, Priority Dispatch Corporation, and past NENA President. “This system ensures all callers are receiving the same level of service during their greatest time of need.”

The ECC answers over 700,000 calls for service every year. With the adoption of the PPDS™, Cincinnati residents and visitors can be confident that when they call 911 for help, ECC staff will be well equipped to provide instruction and deliver responders safely and efficiently to the scene.