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81A-Communications Center (E-911 & EMD) <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Policy & Procedure Page 2 of 19 <br />PROCEDURES <br /> <br />A. Definitions <br /> <br />1. Availability Status: The ability of an employee to respond to a call for service <br />at a given time (in service, out of service, off at a call, etc.). <br /> <br />2. Public Safety Dispatcher/Tele communicator: Members within the <br />Combined Dispatch Center handling and dispatching Police, Fire and EMS <br />calls for assistance; this includes E-911 and Emergency Medical Dispatch <br />(EMD). These Public Safety Dispatchers will be referred to as Dispatchers <br />for the rest of this policy. <br /> <br />3. Unit: Type of Police, Fire or EMS personnel response, depending on the <br />nature of the call. <br /> <br />B. Organization and Administration <br /> <br />1. The Combined Dispatch Communication Center for the Town of Lexington is <br />located at 1575 Massachusetts Avenue and is continuously staffed to operate <br />twenty-four hours per day. It is housed at the Police Station and is under the <br />direct and immediate supervision of the Department’s Commanding Officer <br />on duty. The Police Chief and Fire Chief jointly share responsibility for policy, <br />review and control. [74.1.3(f)] <br /> <br />2. Dispatcher <br /> <br />a. The dispatcher is responsible for performing the communications <br />function. Although not a complete list, dispatcher duties include: <br /> <br />i. Answering business lines and E9-1-1 telephones; <br />ii. Providing emergency medical dispatch (EMD); <br />iii. Communicating with and providing information and resources <br />to employees in the field; <br />iv. Monitoring Police, Fire and EMS status indicators in the <br />Computer Aided Dispatch System; <br />v. Coordinating public safety response to calls for service; <br />vi. Advising the Commanding Officer of important incidents and <br />unsafe situations; <br />vii. Fielding inquiries from the public and, where appropriate, <br />responding to or directing them to the appropriate person or <br />agency; <br />viii. Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS) operation; <br />ix. Keeping data bases associated with dispatch operations up-to- <br />date, <br />x. Communicating with other public safety agencies and service <br />providers; and