Emergency Communications & Citizen Services Receives Reaccreditation Earning 'Meritorious’ Status

Virginia Beach Emergency Communications & Citizen Services was first accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) in 2005, and last month it earned that recognition again.

ECCS was among a group of agencies to receive a prestigious Certificate of Meritorious Award for having been accredited for 15 or more continuous years. Organizations are required to repeat the accreditation process every four years to ensure more than 200 standards are being met. 

Virginia Beach’s dedicated telecommunicators assist residents in multiple ways from dispatching first responders to an accident or helping to connect them with services. Dispatchers are integral members of the City’s first responders.   

“I want to congratulate all the dedicated staff in the Emergency Communications & Citizen Services Department for upholding the high standards of CALEA,” said ECCS Director Jada Lee. “Our telecommunicators staff the Call Center 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, working overnight, through bad weather and holidays, to ensure the safety of the residents and visitors of Virginia Beach. We’re beyond grateful for their dedicated service and helping us maintain accreditation.” 

By the Numbers 

Last year, Virginia Beach emergency dispatchers fielded approximately 202,143 emergency calls. They also issued 16 emergency notifications via the City’s reverse 911 system and VBAlert (text and email).   

To help aid dispatchers, residents are encouraged to create a Smart911 Profile and register for VBAlert.  

ECCS provides efficient, accurate, professional processing of emergency, non-emergency and information requests to residents and visitors to Virginia Beach 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Visit ECCS.VirginiaBeach.gov for more information on VB911, VB311 and VBAlert.   

• ECCS