Communications

• 9-1-1 is the number to call for help when you have police, fire or medical emergencies.
• 9-1-1 is for EMERGENCY use only.
• 9-1-1 connects you to your local Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP).
• A team of well-trained and highly skilled emergency services dispatchers will coordinate the response of police, fire, medical and other emergency services to assist you.
• If you do not have an emergency but require the response of police, fire or ambulance personnel to your location, please call the non-emergency request for services line at: (310) 379-5411
• These are the same emergency services dispatchers that answer 9-1-1 calls.

• An emergency is any situation that requires the immediate assistance of personnel:
  • Police
  • Fire
  • Medical (paramedic / ambulance)
• To protect life, physical well-being or property from danger
• If you are in doubt if a situation is an emergency, you should call 9-1-1.

• Stay calm
• Speak clearly and at a normal pace
• Know the address, intersection or business name from which you are calling
• Tell the call taker if the situation or incident is occurring at a different place than from where you are calling 
• When giving addresses, include the exact address with the suite or apartment number
• Tell the call taker about business names or landmarks if you do not know where you are
• Tell the call taker your name and telephone number if asked
• Wait for the call taker to ask you questions
• Let the call taker guide the conversation
• Follow all directions
• Keep watching what is happening.
• Do not hang up until the call taker tells you to hang up.

• Hang up and call 9-1-1 again
• Call 1-(310) 379-5411
  • Program this number into your cellular phone or to speed dial.

• An emergency incident with many callers is occurring in Redondo Beach
• Multiple emergency incidents are occurring simultaneously in Redondo Beach
• You are using a cellular telephone and accessing the California Highway Patrol or other large agency with significant simultaneous 9-1-1 calls for service. Depending on the time of day and the number of incidents occurring in these large jurisdictions, they could be operating at their call answering capacity. 
• The Redondo Beach Communications Center emergency services dispatchers answered approximately 25,000 9-1-1 calls in fiscal year 2010-2011 in less than 6 seconds 98% of the time. 

• Yes.
• The Redondo Beach Communications Center has TTY/TDD text telephone capability for the hearing and speech impaired.

• If a caller uses TTY/TDD, the caller should:
  • Stay calm, place the phone receiver in the TTY and dial 9-1-1
• When the call taker answers the call, press the TTY keys (spacebar) four (4) times. This will help the call taker to recognize your call as a TTY call.
• Give the call taker time to connect their TTY.
• Press the TTY (spacebar) keys four (4) times again if necessary.
• If you are calling 9-1-1 you will receive the pre-programmed message
  • "9-1-1 what is your emergency q ga" (q for “question mark” and ga for “go ahead”).
• The call taker sees a different font and color of the text to represent each speaker.  For most TTY calls, the outgoing text for the police/fire department appears in lower case text, while incoming caller text appears in upper case text to us)
• Tell the call taker if you need:
  • police services
  • fire services 
  • emergency medical services
• The call taker will provide you with a series of questions specific to each type of emergency.
• They will ask the questions in an order that will ensure important information is received quickly, and the correct services can be dispatched immediately based on crucial information provided by the caller.

• 9-1-1 do you need an ambulance q ga
• Where do you need ambulance q ga
• When did this happen q ga
• What is wrong with person q ga
• Is more than one person hurt q ga
• How old is person q ga
• Is person conscious q ga
• Is person breathing q ga
• Stay on phone with me pls ga

• Examples of fire service questions are:
  • 9-1-1 do you need fire dept q ga
  • Where is fire q ga
  • What floor is on fire q ga
  • Is anyone hurt q ga
  • Any people inside q ga
  • Wait outside for fire dept ga
  • What kind of house is it q ga

• Examples of Police service questions are:
  • 9-1-1 do you need police q ga
  • Where do you need police q ga
  • What is going on there q ga
  • What does person look like q ga

• If you are calling (310) 379-5411 or calling through a service, you will receive the pre-programmed generic message, "Redondo Beach PD emergency, ga".
• Provide the address where the emergency is occurring.
• State whether you need police, fire or emergency medical services.
• Provide your address if it is different from the location where the emergency or incident is occurring.
• Provide your name and telephone number.
• Stay on the telephone if it is safe and answer the call taker's questions.a

• If you are hearing or speech impaired and you do not have TTY/TDD, you may still call 9-1-1 from a wired, land based telephone.
• You may generate a police response by:
  • Keeping the line open and not hanging up
  • By hanging up without providing any voice contact
• The dispatcher should be able to see the caller’s subscriber information (address and name) to the wired, land based wire telephone.
• With this information available, the dispatcher will send a police unit to assist you.

• When using a cell phone, the ability to capture a name and location address is not always available. 
• Depending on your service provider, only the address of the cell tower that receives the strongest signal from your cell phone call is provided to the local PSAP. 
• This may be miles from your actual location depending on the local topography 
• It is critical when using a cell phone for callers to be able to provide an address for their current location.

We encourage our citizens with TTY's to call us at (310) 379-5415 with your TTY to practice with us. You are helping us to serve you better by allowing us to practice. You can arrange this practice by calling the Communications Supervisor at (310) 379-2477 ext. 1-2374 and arranging a time at your convenience and our operators' availability.

• Stay on the line to speak with the call taker.
• Tell the call taker that 9-1-1 was dialed by mistake
• The call taker may ask you some questions to confirm that it is an error
• If you hang up, we must:
  • Return calls to you, and/or
  • Send police officers to check on your welfare
• If we send the police officers when an emergency is not occurring, we deplete resources that would be used for real emergency situations
• Many people misdial 9-1-1 when they mean to dial 4-1-1, or accidentally hit a speed dial function
• We understand these errors; don’t be afraid of the mistake.

• Fires or smoke are seen
• A strong smell of natural gas in your home or neighborhood
• Life threatening situations are occurring
• Someone is injured, such as: 

• • Bleeding
  • Seizures
  • Heart problems
  • Unconscious
  • Hypo and hyperglycemia
  • Lacerations
  • Blunt force injuries
  • Broken bones
• A traffic collision with injuries or unknown injuries has just occurred within the last few minutes.
• Crimes are occurring or have just occurred within the last few minutes: 

• • Physical assault
  • Robbery (a suspect takes property by force or fear and the suspect is present or just fled)
  • Burglary (a suspect is in your home now)
  • Rape
  • Vandalism
  • You return home to find your door open and believe that a stranger may be in your home
• Fallen trees or wires
• Vicious animal running loose
• Hazardous chemical spills
• If you are unsure if your situation is an emergency, call 9-1-1 anyway.
• If the dispatcher determines that your call is not considered an emergency, you will be asked to hang up and call our ten digit telephone number for services.

• For general information about police or fire business practices, calendar events, etc.
• To report parking violations
• To report panhandlers
• To report cars blocking streets or driveways unless there is an imminent danger to life or property
• To ask for the telephone number of another police or fire department.
• To report a non-injury traffic collisions.
• To report a neighbor’s loud party
• To ask if an earthquake just occurred.
• To ask for information about a child custody dispute
• To report a theft (when the suspect is not present or never seen)
• To report that your neighbor’s dog is barking incessantly.
• To report that the power is out in your home. (Call Southern California Edison)

• For any reason that you need the services of, to speak in-person with, or to request enforcement of the law by a police officer, firefighter, animal control officer, parking enforcement officer to include but not limited to:
• To report parking violations
• To report dogs off-leash
• To report suspicious circumstances regarding a person or vehicle
• To report people drinking alcohol in a park
• To report panhandlers
• To report cars blocking streets or driveways
• To report a non-injury traffic collisions.
• To report a neighbor’s loud party
• To ask for officer's assistance to keep the peace or report a child custody dispute
• To report a theft when the suspect is not present or never seen
• To report that the neighbor’s dog is barking incessantly.
• To report a hit and run traffic collision that occurred the previous day
• To report items stolen during an unknown time period
• Any other incident or situation where you want the in-person response of public safety services. 

• To request general information:
• About anything involving police department policies, procedures or activities
• About police or fire business practices, calendar events, etc.
• About the enforcement of the law
• About a city event
• About obtaining a police report
• About recovering your property
• About obtaining a restraining order
• About victim assistance information
• To refer a commendation for or complaint against a police department member
• To seek referral to resources
• To obtain a copy of a police report
• To determine the status of an inmate in the jail
• To refer a concern about a person, place, or thing related to possible criminal conduct
• To obtain information about the status of an investigation
• To request any other services or information that does not require the immediate response of an officer to assist you.

• The Public Safety Answering Point dispatchers may see your:
  • Automatic Number Identification (ANI)
  • Automatic Location Identification  (ALI)

Automatic Number Identification:

The ANI feature provides your billing address number to the dispatcher for your land-based, wired telephone service or the telephone number for your cellular telephone.

Automatic Location Identification:

The ALI feature provides your address location to the dispatcher for your land-based, wired telephone.  ALI also provides the billing name for the residence or business.

• ANI and ALI information does not always work with 9-1-1. 
• This failure may occur when the originating telephone number is not passed to the dispatcher.  This may occur:
  • When you are transferred from another Public Safety Answering Point to the Redondo Beach PSAP,  or
  • When the telephone number is not in the ALI database of the telephone company
• The Redondo Beach Police Department works with the telephone company and 9-1-1 authorities to update the Automatic Location Identification and Master Street Address Guide databases when this occurs.

• Yes.
• However, your anonymity is less apt to happen if you dial 9-1-1.
• Your call may be more anonymous if you call the eleven digit number, 1-310-379-5411.
• You can report illegal activity or information about a crime without telling the dispatcher your name. However, it is important to remember that you play a significant role as a citizen in assisting police and fire personnel to realize the successful outcome of a call.
• If you are willing to provide your information as a victim or witness, the ability of police officers to apprehend and prosecute criminals will be greatly increased.
• In some instances, police officers may be unable to make arrests without a witness or victim who is willing to come forward.
• Your name, address and phone number are not routinely released to the public.
• Every attempt is made to keep your information confidential within the restrictions of law.
• It may be necessary for us to contact you, even if only by telephone, to obtain additional or updated information regarding a call for service.

• Yes.
• Land-based wire line telephones: the dispatcher will see the address where the telephone company shows the telephone is installed and/or the account is billed.
• Wireless cellular telephones: the location may see:
  • A set of coordinates
  • The physical address of the cellular tower that received and forwarded the call
  • An area in the direction the cellular tower antenna is facing
  • An address location near where you have made the call
  • The ability to show your location depends on the type of technology used by your cellular provider.
  • If you call from a cellular telephone, you must assume the dispatcher does not know where you are when you call. Depending upon the type of phone and level of service, it may be possible for dispatchers to know your general calling area, but that is not guaranteed. Therefore, you MUST stay on the line and give the dispatcher your location when calling from a cellular telephone.
• Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephones: the dispatcher will see the address that you programmed as your 9-1-1 address, not necessarily the location from which you are calling. 
  • If you take your laptop and VoIP service on the road to a different city, it will still probably show that you are calling from your billing address.
  • Make sure to update your location with your service provider as needed.

• Yes.
• A pay telephone does not require money to dial 9-1-1.

• Yes.
• If the cellular telephone is charged and has access to a cellular tower, it will call 9-1-1, even if the account is canceled.

• All calls for service are coordinated in a Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system.
• The CAD system has pre-designated rankings of each type of call for service.
  • Priority I:   Emergency calls for service such as a crime in progress or just occurred or a traffic collision with injuries
    • Examples: robbery, burglary, assault, fights, fires, medical aid, traffic stops, etc.
  • Priority II:  Urgent calls for service such as a crime that recently occurred or a traffic collision that occurred with no injuries
    • Examples: noise disturbances, vandalism, suspicious persons or vehicles, reckless drivers, alarms, 9-1-1 call when the caller does not speak with the dispatcher, traffic control, traffic or safety hazards, etc.
  • Priority III: Calls for service that require personnel to respond to write a report or provide information
    • Examples: property crime reports, area checks, illegal parking, lost and found property, patrol requests, security checks, etc.
  • Priority IV: Calls for service that provide general information to public safety personnel
  • Priority V:  Calls for service that provide notices to public safety personnel about current conditions

• Act carefully and safely.
• Do not put yourself in danger, if it is not necessary.
• Do not become a new victim.
• Be a good witness; your information may do more to solve the crime than your intervention.

• Try to remain calm.
• Talk clearly.
• Be patient with the call taker/dispatcher.
• Make mental or written notes of what you see (persons, vehicles, suspicious activity, etc.)
• Stay out of harm’s way.
• Remain at the scene to speak with officers.

• Officers will usually respond directly to your location.  However, officers do consider the following and more when they respond to an emergency incident:
  • Is the scene of the incident safe for victims and witnesses?
• If officers believe that the emergency nature of the incident has stabilized at the scene, they may choose to:
  • Go to primary escape routes to look for the described suspect or suspect vehicle.
  • Search the immediate area streets for the suspect or evidence.
  • Recover evidence abandoned by the suspect.
  • Surround an area with multiple officers to prevent the suspect's escape.
  • Search the last area where the suspect was seen to apprehend him/her.
  • Interview persons who last saw the suspect as he/she fled and act on this information.
• If you are safe and not injured, officers may ask the call taker to obtain as much information as possible from you that will allow them to find and arrest the suspect.
• The police departments of the Los Angeles County South Bay region work closely together and share all of this information by telephone and radio with field units.
  • When you report a crime that has just occurred in one city, the information is monitored, shared and used in multiple cities.

• Display your address number on your building so that it can be seen by emergency responders.
  • In an emergency every second counts.
  • Use numbers that contrast in color with the background wall color.
  • Put them under a light fixture if possible.
  • If your property is on an alley, display the numbers on the garage or fence on your alley property.
• When reporting a crime, have as much information ready as possible.

• There are five patrol areas in the city.
• The police department assigns officers to the same patrol areas (as much as possible) on their work days.
• This allows officers to know the people and unique crime, nuisance and other activities of that area.
• Officers respond to calls in their patrol area based on priority.
  • See the explanation of priority calls on this page.
• Example: an officer may be responding to your request to make a theft report of a stolen bicycle.  The officer's estimated arrival time would be five minutes.  A domestic violence incident with physical violence is occurring and is reported by a neighbor.  The officer will be diverted to this in-progress crime.  The officer would be delayed due to a probable arrest and booking of a suspect prior to returning to your report call.  If other officers are available in the areas near your location, they may respond to take your report.  However, similar priority calls for service may apply in their response to calls in their area.

• Yes.
• The Communications Center has translation capability through a telephone service with access to more that a hundred languages and dialects.

Communications Unit Telephone Numbers

Calls for Emergency service: 9-1-1
Calls for Police and Fire response: (310) 379-5411
Communications Supervisor Number: (310) 379-2477 x 1-2374

Hours of Operation

The Communications Unit operates twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days a wee

• Almost all information is important.
• Do not presume that something is not important, especially when giving the description of a person, of a vehicle or of a person’s actions.
• The dispatcher will ask you questions to help you.
  • Be patient with the dispatcher and answer all the questions. These questions are necessary to ensure the safety of everyone involved.
  • Even if the dispatcher’s questions seem unrelated or repetitious, let him or her lead the conversation and answer their questions as directly as you can.
  • Dispatchers are trained to gather information in a certain order and to assess the situation quickly to decide what assistance will best help you. All calls are recorded.

The call taker will ask you basic questions about where, what, when and how is or did the incident occur. Be prepared to answer the following questions:

• Where is the incident occurring?
  • An address (with an apartment or unit number if it is inside a building)
  • An intersection
  • A business name
  • A name of a park, school or attraction.
• What is occurring or has occurred?
  • A Crime
  • A Medical emergency
  • A fire emergency
  • A property damage emergency (flooding, sewer overflow, etc.)
• When did it occur?
  • It is happening now.
  • It happened two minutes ago.
  • It happened between 10:00 a.m. and noon
  • Don’t know when it happened.
• What occurred?
  • A person is injured
  • A fire started or smoke was seen
  • A person is choking
  • A crime is occurring/occurred
  • Are weapons involved?
    • A person had a gun
      • A rifle
      • A shotgun
      • A handgun
  • How many people have weapons?
  • A person had a knife, baseball bat, etc.
    • Did they use them or just display them?
    • Where did they hide them?
• Who is the suspect?
  • Do you know them or are they a stranger?
• What did they look like?
  • Sex
  • Race
  • Clothing (from head to foot: a hat, shirt, jacket, pants, shoes; color, type, condition, etc.)
  • Approximate age, height, weight, facial hair, hair style, hair color
• How did they leave?
  • Did they leave in a vehicle, on a bicycle, motorcycle or on foot?
  • Make, model or size, color, condition of the vehicle; any traffic collision damage, decals, racks,etc.?
  • How many other people were in the vehicle?
• What direction did they leave?
  • North, south, east, west
  • Toward the airport, toward Palos Verdes, away from the beach, toward the beach
  • Know the direction your home faces
  • Know the directions of your street
  • Know the name of the street and the houses immediately behind you

• There are several reasons that this occurs:
  • There are a team of call takers and dispatchers handling your call, not just the person talking to you.
  • The “call taker” is speaking with you to obtain as much information as possible for first responders.
  • The call taker is typing your answers and important information into the computer record of the call.
  • The call taker is sending the information to the dispatcher and to the field units via computer and by voice every few seconds.
  • This ensures that the proper number of people, the correct equipment and other resources will arrive immediately at your location.
• You will not hear the communication between the dispatcher and the first responders, but they are most likely on their way if it is a priority call.
• Your responses to the dispatcher’s questions increases the chances of a suspect being caught, a crime being solved or a firefighter/paramedic being able to render the correct assistance immediately.

• Sometimes, there are more incoming phone calls than there are call takers and dispatchers to answer them. So, it is important for them to get "just the facts."
• Call takers and dispatchers are coordinating multiple responses for service in addition to yours.
• Call takers may place you on hold multiple times to allow them to screen incoming emergency calls to ensure they do not require immediate assistance.
• Your safety and the safety of the emergency responders is our primary objective.
• The call taker may have to interrupt your story to get the essential facts into the computer record early, so that we can send the best help to you as quickly as possible.
• Call takers should make every attempt to do so politely and professionally.
• Customer service is very important to us.

• Call takers are trained:
  • To remain calm
  • To obtain accurate and useful information as quickly as possible
  • To treat callers with respect and dignity
  • To take control of situation to elicit information for the safety of the public and officers
• Call takers do understand the trauma and urgency of your call.
• Call takers cannot allow themselves to express their own feelings until the situation is over.
• Call takers have dealt with serious and sometimes horrific situations on the telephone many times before.

• The call taker could attempt to estimate the amount of time, but it would not be accurate.
• Officers respond to emergency calls first and all others based on a priority rating.
• For emergency calls, it is likely that officers will respond from all areas of the city to assist you immediately.
• For report calls or for meetings with officers to discuss a situation, the time to respond is subject to change based on the call priorities in your patrol area and throughout the city.
• The number of calls for service and their priority level are constantly changing. These will affect the response times of officers to your request for service.

• No.
• The Redondo Beach Public Safety Answering Point does not currently provide emergency medical dispatch services.
• Our operators will not provide medical care instructions before the arrival of emergency services personnel.