Kitsap 911

About

This page is NOT monitored 24 hours per day. It is checked periodically by CENCOM employees. CALL 911 TO REPORT AN EMERGENCY.

Story

CENCOM was founded in 1973 as an effort to improve emergency medical dispatching within Kitsap County.

In 1976 CENCOM wen...t live as the first consolidated police, fire, and EMS dispatch center in Washington State. Callers dialed 911 but the system did not include any of the features associated with 911 today. In 1983 CENCOM became the 2nd dispatch center in Washington State to deploy "Enhanced 911" which included a display of the caller's address for the dispatcher.

The initial intent was to provide:
• A single emergency reporting number (9-1-1) for all Kitsap County citizens
• Expanded emergency communications network for centralized coordination of police, fire, and medical
• A reduction of response time
• Elimination of 29 seven digit emergency numbers
• Consolidate 12 separate dispatch systems
• The ability for emergency response agencies to exchange information
• Enhancement of overall public safety functions
• The ability to meet increased demand for services
The first staff included a director, supervisor, administrative staff, and 20 dispatchers to manage the 24-hour, 365-day operation. Site design, facility construction, formation of operational policy and procedures were completed by the end of 1976, as well as installation of the electronics system, which included implementation of a "geofile". By 1993 9-1-1 had expanded to provide coverage to the entire county and dispatch function for all public safety agencies. Ongoing funding came from the passage of the telephone tax initiative in 2003. In 2015 CENCOM was the first 911 center in Washington State in implement text to 911.

In July 2015 the CENCOM Board decided to bring our leadership under a single organization so that Kitsap 911 is more responsive to the changing needs and demographics in our region, more effective at managing our resources, more nimble (increasing our ability to quickly solve problems and take advantage of opportunities, and more transparent (making our plans and decisions more visible). Since that time CENCOM has been working through a transition plan to move from Kitsap County Central Communication, a department of Kitsap County, to Kitsap 911, Public Authority. Kitsap 911 Public Authority began operations on 12/26/2016.

Continued exploration into ever changing technology and broader funding mechanisms along with proactive long term planning continue to remain the mainstay of the organization.

Mission

We are Kitsap 911 providing exceptional public safety emergency communications services every day.

Impressum

CENCOM is excited to be a part of social media so we can more easily communicate with you in your online communities. In order to do this effectively here are some things you need to know when using this site:

Comments posted in response to posts are the opinions of the contributor and do not reflect the opinions of CENCOM. CENCOM is not responsible for and does not endorse any content or advertisements posted by social media sites or of third party sites or applications that may appear on those social media sites. CENCOM is not responsible for the privacy or security on social media sites and other third-party sites that may be linked to social media sites. Content posted or submitted for posting is subject to public disclosure. To submit a public disclosure request go to kitsap911.org. Posted comments will be monitored and CENCOM reserves the right to remove obscenities, off-topic comments, and personal attacks.

If you have a question or a comment for us, post away! Please note that this page is not monitored 24 hours per day. It is checked periodically by CENCOM employees. We make every effort to respond to questions and comments in a timely manner, however we are a 911 emergency center and that is always our priority. For emergencies, CALL 911.