DCC Emergency Dispatching

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Dakota Communications Center (DCC)

The City of Apple Valley has partnered with Dakota County and the cities located within the county to provide a consolidated single public safety dispatch center, the Dakota Communications Center (DCC). Previously, the City of Apple Valley provided dispatching services internally from 1974 until January, 2008.

Residents should still dial 9-1-1 for emergency response service requiring police, fire, or emegency medical services. The opening of the consolidated dispatch facility simply routes the call to dispatchers in a different building. The same dispatchers answer all emergency and nonemergency telephone calls.

This change, however, means that the Apple Valley Police Facility is no longer staffed with dispatchers who could assist with non-emergency questions. Residents with informational questions for the police department can call 952-953-2700, Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (excluding holidays). Residents with informational questions after hours can call the DCC at 952-322-2323 and ask that an Apple Valley Police sergeant call them.

Further Information from DCC on When to Call 911: If someone calls a police station in one of Dakota County’s cities for an emergency, they are often asked to hang up and dial 911 or the call is transferred. Why? The Dakota Communications Center’s 911 dispatchers are responsive. They use state-of-the-art equipment to automate data entry, and track the response to the emergency.

“If you need someone to respond–law enforcement, fire or medical–emergency or otherwise, it’s OK to call 911,” emphasized Kent Therkelsen, the executive director for the Dakota Communications Center, an emergency 911 joint dispatch center serving Dakota County. Please call 911 for any situation that requires
a police officer at the scene: traffic accidents, burglaries, property damage, parking complaints or ordinance violations. Calling 911 is also the right thing to do to request an ambulance, receive medical assistance, report a fire, or signs of a fire such as smoke or fire alarms. Also use 911 to report suspicious or criminal activity such as shouts for help, breaking glass or a suspicious vehicles or people.

Contact your local police department or sheriff’s administrative phone line for information about city ordinances, the status of reports or investigations, contacting a specific officer or employee, about a person under arrest or about impounded vehicles or animals.
“Dispatchers skillfully evaluate each call ensuring that we handle emergencies before lower priority calls,” Therkelsen said. So if you need someone to respond, call 911. However, for those who just can’t break with old habits, or those calling the Dakota Communications Center from outside the County you can call 322- 2323, which will work in both 651 and 952 area codes.

After operating for 14 months and receiving nearly 200,000 emergency calls, dispatchers at the Dakota Communications Center continue to remind the public that they should call 911 not just for emergencies, but anytime they need law enforcement, fire, or medical personnel to respond. Calling 911 when you need someone to respond helps dispatchers to be more efficient. When residents call 911 from a conventional telephone line, the dispatcher receives information from an automated system that helps them respond quickly. The efficient dispatching of law enforcement, fire and medical personnel is demonstrated by shorter response times.

Link to DCC Web Site >>>

Code Red Emergency Nofitication Program >>>

Content updated on: 25-Aug-2009

City of Apple Valley
7100 West 147th Street | Apple Valley, MN 55124
(952) 953-2500 | info@ci.apple-valley.mn.us
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