One-Year Milestone with Police Priority Dispatch System
Mar 07, 2024
Cincinnati’s Emergency Communications Center One-Year Milestone with Police Priority Dispatch System™
It has been a year since the Emergency Communications Center (ECC) strengthened emergency response capabilities by becoming the 6th agency in Ohio to adopt the Police Priority Dispatch System™ (PPDS™).
This milestone follows the successful implementation of the Fire Priority Dispatch System™ (FPDS™) in August 2022 and over a decade of utilizing the Medical Priority Dispatch System™ (MPDS™).
Under the leadership of Director Bill Vedra, the ECC has sought to advance the level of care provided to 911 callers in Cincinnati and prioritize the safety of first responders.
Director Vedra states that, “The adoption of the Police Priority Dispatch System™ represents our ongoing commitment to ensuring that every call for help receives the appropriate response in a timely manner. These protocols are instrumental in guiding our call takers and dispatchers to effectively handle emergencies and coordinate responses with first responders.
The ECC’s utilization of protocol-based call-taking systems has yielded positive outcomes. Early in its adoption, ECC Call Taker Jose demonstrated the effectiveness of the protocols when he successfully assisted a driver experiencing a stuck accelerator. Jose was able to provide step-be-step instructions using the protocol system, enabling the driver to navigate out of traffic and stop their vehicle safely.
In another recent incident, the ECC handled a call for a child abduction. Protocols helped call takers and dispatchers quickly and correctly prioritize the call so that first responders in the field were able to respond rapidly. This led to the safe return of the child and the apprehension of the suspect.
The thoroughness of these protocols ensures the ECC is prepared to handle any emergency, including active shooter situations. By standardizing instructions and procedures, ECC call takers can ensure a consistent response which is critical for emergencies that generate multiple callers.
The protocol system has also made the ECC’s work more measurable. In collaboration with the Office of Performance Data and Analytics (OPDA), the ECC is actively working to further enhance its operations by participating in the City’s performance management process. Data is being leveraged to improve performance at an individual, team, and agency-wide level. "Our partnership with OPDA exemplifies our dedication to leveraging data-driven insights to improve our services and adapt to evolving emergency response needs," states Director Vedra.
“Bill and the entire ECC team have demonstrated a continuous improvement mindset. Though our partnership we’ve had the opportunity to explore increasingly sophisticated approaches to drive even more efficient and effective service delivery.” states Eric Jamison, OPDA Director.
As the ECC celebrates its one-year milestone of the adoption of the PPDS™, it reaffirms its mission to serve the Cincinnati community and uphold the highest standards of emergency preparedness and response.
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