Communications
Members of the Santa Cruz County Communications Center provide law enforcement, fire, and emergency and medical dispatch to a geographic area of 1244 square miles. By combining highly trained people with state of the art technology, The Santa Cruz County Sheriff Office Communications Division is under the direction of Commander Gerardo Castillo, it provides a consistently high level of service to law enforcement and residents in need of emergency assistance. The Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system combines mapping and dispatching in a format that enhances the ability of the communications officers to prioritize traffic and emergency responders to arrive quickly on scene.
This new generation of Computer Aided Dispatch not only plots and locates calls for service, it also allows dispatchers to quickly communicate with field deputies and relay information digitally.
Tele-Communication Officers respond to incoming phone calls; dispatch law enforcement personnel to the location of calls for service or crimes via radio; dispatch fire and emergency medical and transport personnel; maintain logs of incoming and outgoing communications and check for outstanding warrants and other pertinent data for field deputies. The Communications division handled over 3,000 emergency phone calls last year and dispatched over 22,000 calls for service.