Communications Division

The Communications Division of the Sheriff’s Office operates the Marin County Public Safety Communications Center located in San Rafael.   The center provides 9-1-1 services to the unincorporated areas of Marin, five local police departments, Marin County Public Works, and many other city and county government service departments. 

When a citizen dials 9-1-1 from any of these areas, a dispatcher in the Marin County Public Safety Communications Center answers the call.   All law related emergency calls are processed by a dispatcher in the center and then dispatched to the appropriate law enforcement field unit.   Should the call require a fire or medical response the call is immediately transferred to the Emergency Command and Control Center (ECC) operated by Marin County Fire Dispatchers.

The employees of Comm Center include:

• 27 Dispatcher positions
• 6 Supervisor positions
• 2 Manager positions (1 – Assistant Manager/ 1-Comm Manager)

The Center operates the Hexagon CAD system, VESTA Phones and Motorola Radio Consoles.

Dispatchers never know what the next call will bring. It could be an armed robbery; an infant not breathing; a house on fire; a vehicle accident with injuries, or a minor noise complaint. Dispatchers are trained to obtain information and dispatch help for any emergency. 

If you call 9-1-1 the dispatchers need to know:

• What is happening?
• Where is it happening?
• What is the callers’ telephone number?
• Who is involved?
• Are there any weapons?
• When did it occur?

You may be asked to stay on the line so the dispatchers can get more information as a situation changes. The Communications Center is the law enforcement mutual aid coordination point for the entire county, and it is the intra-county coordination point for fire and rescue. The center broadcasts law enforcement all points bulletins, and acts as the warning point for large-scale catastrophic events. The communications center provides call out and dispatching services for the Sheriff’s Office Special Response Team (commonly known as SWAT), Critical Incident Team (hostage negotiators), Dive Rescue Team, Search and Rescue Team, and Fire Investigations Team.

Sheriff’s Office dispatchers have rewarding and exciting jobs helping the public and working with emergency personnel. If you are interested working in a fast paced environment that is challenging and rewarding, contact the communications center at (415) 473-4123 or (415) 473-5311 for job openings.

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