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REQUESTING POLICE
ASSISTANCE To call the Police Department in an
EMERGENCY, To request 24-Hour Police service in a NON-emergency,
For Police Department Administrative and Business
matters, The Los Alamitos Police Department lobby is open for administrative business Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. After hours, an officer can be summoned to the police department lobby by using the red phone located inside the lobby and requesting police service. When you call the police, be prepared to give the dispatcher the exact location and nature of the emergency. Tell the dispatcher whether you need police, fire or paramedic service. The 9-1-1 number can be used to summon emergency assistance from any of these agencies. After providing the nature and location of the problem, be prepared to provide the following information to the dispatcher. The dispatcher will ask specific questions based on the information you provide. Please answer the questions and listen closely for the follow-up questions as the dispatcher is trained to elicit not only the most accurate information but in an order most useful for responding police, fire, and paramedics. Do no become frustrated with the questions and think this is delaying your assistance. With the aid of state-of-the-art CAD capabilities, other communication personnel are in concurrent communication with emergency responders who will already be enroute to the emergency. You will need to provide a description of the situation and when it occurred. You will need to report if anyone is injured. If the incident involves a suspect, you should try to provide a description including sex, race, clothing, hair color, facial hair, eyeglasses, hat, etc. Did the suspect have a weapon? When giving a vehicle description, provide the color, type of vehicle, make, model, license number, and direction of travel. If the emergency call is for medical aid, be prepared to brief paramedics as they arrive by providing such information as the patient’s age, gender, and nature of the complaint or injury, including pertinent health history if known. If safety permits, open the entry doors and turn on adequate lighting. If there are double doors, open both to facilitate moving in equipment and evacuating the patient. If someone else is in need of paramedic service, tell them assistance has been called. Make the patient as comfortable as possible, and if you are able, loosen tight clothing such as belts and neckties. If there are sufficient people at the scene, direct a volunteer, or draft someone to go outside and direct responding emergency personnel to the location. Remember, the responders will probably be familiar with the area and know which hundred block they are responding to, but if someone is there to wave them down, it can save precious seconds. This is especially important in multi-tenant housing areas or business complexes. Dispatch services for the Los Alamitos Police Department are provided by West Cities Communications (West-Comm). |
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