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Department of Public Safety Communications (9-1-1 Center)

Welcome to the Department of Public Safely Communications (DPSC) web page.

PLAY VIDEO - Listen to a message from the Department of Public Safety Communications (DPSC) Director Steve Souder, recently recognized by the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials as 2009 9-1-1 Public Safety Communications Center Director of the Year.

BEGIN TOUR - Take a look inside the new, 114,000-square-foot, state of the art McConnell Public Safety and Transportation Operations Center (MPSTOC), which houses DPSC, as well as three other Fairfax County public safety agencies and two agencies of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Do you have what it takes to be a First of the First Responders? Click HERE to find out more.

Quick Hits

Find out what is involved in processing a 9-1-1 call by viewing the 9-1-1 simulated calls feature.
What is Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD)? Find out HERE.
Learn about 9-1-1 for non-English speaking callers.

Recent DPSC Statistics

In September 2011, DPSC received 70,043 calls from the public.

In September 2011, DPSC received 24,806 9-1-1 calls from cell phones.

In September 2011, DPSC monitored 94,544 public safety events.

Click here for more DPSC stats

Did You Know?

The concept of 9-1-1 was first introduced in the United Kingdom in 1937, using the number 999. U.S. military personnel were introduced to the concept when stationed in the U.K. during World War II.

On February 16, 1968, the first 9-1-1 call in the U.S. was made from Haleyville, Alabama near Birmingham.

Fairfax County adopted 9-1-1 in 1981.

Click here for more useful 9-1-1 facts

When to Call 9-1-1

9-1-1 should only be used in an emergency.

Call 9-1-1 when there is a life or death emergency that requires the immediate assistance of emergency service, such as the police, paramedics, and Fire Department.

When there is a situation that requires police response but is not an emergency, call 703-691-2131 (non-emergency phone number).

Click here for more tips on calling 9-1-1

In the News

On Tuesday, November 1, 2011, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors recognized the Fire-Rescue Department, IAFF Local 2068 and the Department of Public Safety Communications for their efforts in collecting and generating donations to the 2011 Fill the Boot Campaign in support of the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA).

dpsc_frd_fill the boot 2011

On Tuesday, October 18, 2011, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors recognized ten year old Cynthia Almendarez for her heroic efforts in calling 9-1-1 to help save her one year old nephew, Christopher. The Department of Public Safety Communications presented Cynthia with the first ever DPSC Citizen Lifesaving Award. Cynthia and her family were provided a tour of the 9-1-1 Center afterwards.

The Department of Public Safety Communications (DPSC) recruitment video, directed by Dan Cohen (West Street Productions), received the 2011 Silver Telly Award. The Telly Awards honor the very best local, regional, and cable television commercials and programs, as well as the finest video and film productions, and work created for the Web. Dan's nomination was one of more than 13,000 nominations submitted from all 50 states and 5 continents. Congratulations to Dan and all the DPSC employees who appeared in the video. To view the award winnning video, click HERE.

telly award

The Fairfax County Department of Public Safety Communications (DPSC) was recently named the recipient of the 2011 Icon Award at the Hexagon Conference in Orlando, FL on June 8, 2011. DPSC was recognized for their visionary use of the Intergraph enterprise engineering and geospacial software. Read more about the award here.
DPSC Director Steve Souder (left) with John K. Graham, President of Intergraph Corporation, Security, Government and Infrastructure
Congratulations to DPSC Training and Career Development Section Supervisor Laura Erlandson who was recognized as the 2010 Virginia Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO) Trainer of the Year. Supervisor Erlandson was presented the award at the VA APCO Spring Conference on May 19 in Virginia Beach, VA. When Laura was assigned to the Training and Career Development Section, she had two specific goals - establishing DPSC as a satelite training facility of the Fairfax County Criminal Justice Academy and certifying the agency Instructor Development course with the Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS). She not only accomplished both of these goals in 2010, she exceeded her expectations as well as those around her. Her devotion to training has assisted her in reaching these goals and the end result is that DPSC now has the benefit of having many polished new and seasoned trainers for its new recruits who are starting their careers as public safety communicators. Supervisor Laura Erlandson is truly a "trainer's trainer." Laura was nominated by Assistant Supervisor Sherrie White.