Crime & Safety

Montco Marks 20 Years of 911 Service

911 service went into operation in 1993.

Montgomery County officially launched its 9-1-1 emergency phone service on June 28, 1993, and, in doing so, made it simpler, faster, and easier for residents to get help when they need it most.

Prior to 9-1-1, Montgomery County residents had to choose from 88 different seven-digit numbers depending on where they were and whether they needed fire, police, or ambulance. 

The County’s Emergency Communications Center had been dispatching most, but not all, local emergency response units for years leading up the new system.

Find out what's happening in Upper Moreland-Willow Grovewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Over the past two decades, the county has worked diligently to improve the system, from the equipment and procedures used, to the extensive and ongoing training for personnel.

Today, the Department of Public Safety’s Emergency Communications Division is among the top 1 percent of its peers in certification and accreditation, according to a press release issued by the county. Montgomery County is one of only seven agencies in the country that answers emergency calls to achieve both APCO 33 certification and CALEA accreditation, according to the release.

Find out what's happening in Upper Moreland-Willow Grovewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Under normal operations, shifts of 25 telecommunicators work 24/7 to provide residents and visitors with the help they need. They use a Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system to handle 2,100 calls a day, on average.  

During Superstorm Sandy, the county's 9-1-1 center used training equipment and a back-up 9-1-1 center to put 57 telecommunicators to work answering 1,000 calls an hour at the height of the storm.

Montgomery County has had enhanced 9-1-1 from the outset, which immediately identifies the address where calls made from landlines are coming from. But nearly three-quarters of all incoming calls now are from cellular phones. Technology upgrades have offered dispatchers the ability to narrow down the location of most cell phone callers to within 300 meters.

Upgrades in the works now will enable the county to pinpoint the location of a cell phone that calls 9-1-1, according to the release.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.