CITY OF SHAWNEE
How Does 9-1-1 Work?

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With  the citizens telephone call is instantly routed to our communications center. The communications center is responsible for dispatching the city of Shawnee emergency services. County calls are transferred to the appropriate service. 911 callers do not have to know which municipal service responds to the location they are calling from, the computer aided dispatch system uses the automatic number and location identification to help the communicator send the proper agency.

A screen at the 911 center displays the telephone number as soon as the call is received. Within seconds the display will indicate the exact address the call is originating from. It will also display the proper fire, police and ambulance service for the address. Coin telephones will provide access to the 911 system free of charge.

If you accidentally dial 911 or hear the communicator answer "911 Do you need Police, Fire, or Ambulance"  please don't hang up.   All you need to do is explain you have dialed the wrong number. The communicator will confirm this with you by asking a few questions, to ensure you are safe and that there is no problem. If you do hang up without talking to a communicator, you will have company stopping in. It is this centers policy to send police officers when a 911 caller hangs up.

Additionally our 911 center is equipped with a Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (T.D.D./T.Y.Y.). This device will detect an in coming B.A.U.D.O.T or ASCII call and allow hearing impaired persons to report an emergency via a keyboard device directly to a 911 dispatcher.

The device is interfaced with the telephone system in our 911 center and will automatically alert the dispatcher of an incoming T.D.D./T.Y.Y. call. Our 911 communicators have been trained on the operation and use of the T.D.D./T.Y.Y. Hearing impaired customers will not have to call a translation service in an emergency; they too can dial 911.