The Communications staff includes 11 full time and two part time dispatchers. Dispatchers answer and dispatch emergency and non-emergency calls for the following agencies:

The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Dep utilizes an Enhanced 9-1-1 (E911) system. When you call 9-1-1 from a land-based telephone, the address, name, telephone number, and other information is displayed to the dispatcher. In January of 2007, we started receiving Phase II wireless 9-1-1 calls. This means that when you call 9-1-1 from a wireless phone, we receive your telephone number, the tower location that your telephone is using, andthe longitude and latitude where you are calling from. The longitude and latitude can be transferred to a map to pinpoint your location.

All dispatchers are NCIC certified by the Kansas Highway Patrol. Dispatchers are required to be certified within six months of employment. They are trained to use the computers to retrieve registrations, driver’s license, criminal history, and other types of information through all 50 states and Canada. They also are required to use NCIC to query, enter, and remove persons, vehicles, boats, and articles and other items that are missing, wanted, or stolen.