Richard McGuire, director of the Calcasieu Parish Public Safety Communications District, told the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury on Aug. 7, 2025, that the district answers roughly 10,000 to 12,000 calls a month, that about 90% of its 911 calls now come from cell phones, and that residents can create a Smart911 safety profile to help responders.

McGuire said the district, created by the police jury in 1988, operates with a staff of 27 — 20 telecommunicators and seven administrative employees — and a yearly budget approaching $4.5 million. "It's called Smart 9 1 1. And that allows someone you go to smart911.com, and you can create a safety profile for yourself," he told jurors and attendees.

The update explained operational details and performance measures. McGuire said about 85% of the agency's monthly call volume is 911 calls and roughly 15% administrative calls; of emergency calls, about 65% are law-enforcement-related, 25% medical and 10% fire. He said the center answers approximately 95% of calls within 10 seconds and 99% within 20 seconds; the average 911 call lasts about 90 seconds.

McGuire also described the district's infrastructure: a primary answering point in downtown Lake Charles, a full backup center in Moss Bluff, and dispatch service for 13 fire departments (excluding the City of Lake Charles) plus the Ward 3 marshal's office. He noted the office is the notification point for outdoor warning sirens and hazardous-material ring-down alerts and serves as mutual-aid communications headquarters for the Southwest Louisiana Mutual Aid Association.

The director highlighted accreditation and experience. "We are a CALEA accredited agency," he said, referencing the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies; he added the agency has maintained accreditation since 2006 and is in the middle of a sixth reaccreditation process.

During a brief question-and-answer period, Police Juror and liaison Mary Kay Eason suggested publicizing Smart911 through the parish public information officer. "Maybe through our our public information officer, this would that app to to get that out to the public would be really, really good," Eason said. McGuire described Smart911 features that let users add medical information, emergency contacts and photos of a residence to assist responders.

McGuire closed by thanking the district's telecommunicators and the police jury for support. No formal action or vote was taken; the presentation served as an informational update to the jury.