Westfield honors public-safety telecommunicators; dispatch center reports more than 5,000 911 calls in 2024

The Westfield Town Council declared a week in April 2025 to be National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week and recognized six dispatchers from the Westfield Emergency Communication Center for their work and recent accreditation.

“Public safety telecommunicators are the first and most critical contact our citizens have with emergency services,” Mayor Shelley Brindle said while reading the proclamation.

Chief (name not specified) told the council the town operates its own public-safety answering point and public-safety dispatch point. The chief said the center answered more than 5,009 911 calls in 2024, handled over 30,000 administrative phone calls, and processed more than 53,000 calls for police, fire and emergency medical services.

“We are one of only 10 agencies in the state of New Jersey” accredited by the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police for both the law-enforcement agency and the public-safety answering point, the chief said, thanking the dispatchers Michael, Alexa, Thomas, Robert, Joseph and Kim by name for their efforts.

The proclamation noted the dispatchers’ role in coordinating responses, monitoring responders and supporting officer and firefighter safety. Council members congratulated the dispatch team and highlighted the department’s accreditation as a “proud moment.”

Ending

Council members presented the proclamation and congratulated the dispatch staff; the council also noted the center will undergo a reaccreditation examination in May.