The personnel at the 911 Emergency Communications center consists primarily of Public Safety Dispatchers (also known as emergency dispatchers or 911 dispatchers). While on duty the dispatchers receive calls from individuals who need assistance from Firefighters, Law Enforcement, and Emergency Medical Services. Once information is obtained from the caller, these dispatchers activate the services necessary to respond to the nature of the call for help.
The 911 Center was reassigned to the Sheriff on July 1, 2008. Since coming under his operation, the 911 Center has gone through a number of changes including retraining and certification of each dispatcher to meet state minimum standards as established by the NC Sheriffs' Training and Standards Commission; new training on Emergency Medical Dispatch; and just recently the contracting with a new provider for the first major upgrade of equipment and software in over five years.
There are always at least two dispatchers on duty at all times, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. In 2011, 911 handled 23,732 calls. Holly Mullis is the Director of 911 and she reports directly to the Sheriff.