Emergency Communications Center

About the Center

The Chisago County Sheriff's Office Emergency Communications Center (ECC) enhances the quality of life of every person in Chisago County by processing emergency 911 and non-emergency calls for service in a prompt, courteous, and professional manner; striving for efficiency; to help save lives, protect property, and to assist the public and public safety response personnel; making Chisago County a safer community in which to live, work and visit.

The ECC provides a vital link to the public and all emergency services. The ECC is generally the first contact the public has with the sheriff's office. The highly trained communications officers assist all callers and emergency services, and are responsible for the deployment and coordination of resources for both emergency and non emergency calls for service. This includes 11 fire departments, medical first responders, medical ground and air ambulances, county deputies, and law enforcement officers from the jurisdictional municipalities of the Lakes Area Police Department, North Branch Police Department, and the Wyoming Police Department. The communication officers multi task in operating a complex Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) system, overseeing multiple radio frequencies and telephone lines, including E911 (enhanced 911 emergency calls for law enforcement, medical, and fire services); monitoring activity of all units; and communicating with other agencies around the state. In addition, they enter and confirm warrants as well as multiple other tasks. In 2017, the ECC had a call volume of 112,027 calls for service; 27,678 of which were 911 emergencies; and 1,413 of those were abandoned. PLEASE NOTE: Abandoned calls may include 911 hang-ups, pocket dials, young children playing with a parent's or caregiver's cell phone, or cell phones that are thought to be deactivated and given to children as a toy (although the service may have been cancelled, the phones themselves are still capable of utilizing 911).

The Emergency Communications Center operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including holidays, and serves as the Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) for the county and all emergency services (law enforcement, medical, and fire) with jurisdiction in Chisago County. There are currently 13 full time and 1 part time emergency communications officers, including one supervisor. At a minimum, 2 - 3 communications officers are on duty per each 8.5 hour shift. The new state of the art ECC became operational in June of 2012 and not only provides E911 dispatch, but is also the jail master control on a remote site. The unique facility supports the 800 MHz Allied Radio Matrix Emergency Response (ARMER) communications system as well as a complex series of redundancies, security systems, and highly efficient mechanical controls, which make for a sophisticated data center as well as comfortable and functional environment for communication officers.

Email Director of Emergency Communications Alicia Stovern that oversees the Emergency Communications Center or call at 651-213-6481.