The UC Santa Cruz Police Department is following the lead of many police agencies in California that deploy automated attendants for non-emergency phone calls. This new system will have no impact on the dispatch center E9-1-1 system, which allows callers who dial 9-1-1 for an emergency to be directly connected to the UC Santa Cruz Police Department dispatch center. Cell phone callers can call 9-1-1 for an emergency, with major cell service providers routing calls directly to UC Santa Cruz Police Department dispatch center rather than going through CHP. Cell phone users are also reminded to keep the non-emergency number of 831-459-2231 in their phone so they can utilize this phone service in a non-emergency situation.
The department will monitor how successful this automated attendant is, but believes the public will be pleased with this new assistance. The automated phone attendant will provide more efficient assistance to the public by providing various forms of information and options for a wide range of services; the service is available 24 hours a day. The automatic attendant will quickly get the caller to the appropriate person who can help them.
Phone calls will be answered by the automated attendant starting the morning of Monday, April 15, at 9 a.m. Those needing to talk to a dispatcher for a non-emergency police, fire, or medical response will be able to do so through this attendant.
As always, we encourage anyone with an emergency threat to life, safety or property to call 9-1-1 for immediate connection to our Dispatch Center.
