911 Communications

Communications Division

Communications Division serves the entire Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department and many surrounding agencies. The Communications Division is the primary Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) for the City of Charlotte, the Town of Huntersville, the Town of Davidson, Charlotte Douglas International Airport Operations and surrounding unincorporated areas in Mecklenburg County. As the primary PSAP, the Communications Division is receives all 911 and transferred emergency calls for the above areas.

The Communications Division dispatches all police calls for service for Charlotte, Huntersville, Davidson, the airport, and unincorporated county areas. When a 911 call for the Charlotte City Fire Department is received, the caller is transferred to the Fire Department. If the 911 caller needs an ambulance, the call is transferred to Mecklenburg County Emergency Medical Services (MEDIC).


How 911 Works:

  • Your 911 call will be one of more than 77,000 answered each month by a Telecommunicator in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department

  • Telecommunicators are the specially trained civilians who answer your call to 911.

  • The first question the Telecommunicator will ask is if you need Police, Fire or Medic. It is important to answer that question first to avoid any delays. Calls for Fire and Medic are transferred immediately to those agencies

  • If you need Police, tell the Telecommunicator what type of crime you are calling about. For example, "I'm calling about a robbery...about a car accident...about a fight."

  • Then give the location and the telephone number you are calling from. If you don't know the block number, give the closest street name or intersection
The Telecommunicator is required to have you verify your location and phone number a second time. Please be prepared to repeat your specific location and phone number when requested by the Telecommunicator. This ensures we are sending police resources to the correct location and have the correct phone number to call you back, if your call is disconnected.
  • The Telecommunicator may ask you a variety of questions to determine the priority of the call and the number of officers to send – Answering the questions will not delay police response

  • The more information you can provide the Telecommunicator, the better assistance we can provide and the more information we can give officers before they arrive on the scene

  • One of the last things the Telecommunicator will ask is if you want to be seen by the officer or be anonymous


Types of Police Response

  • Due to the high call volume for police response , the priority for each call is determined by its urgency. If an immediate response is needed, a police officer will be dispatched as soon as possible

  • For less urgent situations, an officer may arrive up to an hour after your call

  • Not every call to the Police Department is an emergency or one that requires sending a police officer to the scene. In that case, you may make a report by telephone to 311 and the Non-Emergency Police Services Unit


Most common Police Calls:
Telecommunicators are trained to get as much information as possible. Here are examples of the three most common 911 calls. For all calls, we need the location where police are needed and the phone number you are calling from. Please be prepared to provide the specific street name and block number (specific street address) or the closest cross-street location, if you do not know the address, and the phone number you are calling from. The Telecommunicator will ask you to verify that information a second time, to ensure we have the correct information.

  2.  Automobile Accident
    -- Injuries - details are not necessary
    -- Fuel spill, a possible fire danger

  3.  Suspicious Person
    -- Give the sex, race and age
    -- Describe the suspicious activity
    -- See any weapons?

  4.  Suspicious Vehicle
    -- Get vehicle description (color, make, model, year)
    -- Is the vehicle occupied? (how many, age, sex, race)
    -- Is the vehicle parked or moving?


Charlotte’s Back-Up PSAP
Charlotte has a fully functional, state of the art back-up center. The center is set up so that should there be an emergency, CMPD, CFD and MEDIC could all work out of one center. This was put to the test during the DNC in September of 2012. The center is tested several times a year and ready at a moment’s notice.


Back to top