Emergency Communications & Citizen Services Vital to Public Safety and Community

As part of National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, April 13-19, the City of Virginia Beach is recognizing the unsung heroes of public safety — emergency dispatchers. 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.  

“Our employees in the Emergency Communications & Citizen Services Department remain ready to assist callers who find themselves in dangerous and difficult situations with both care and compassion,” said ECCS Director Jada Lee. “They 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 people of Virginia Beach. We’re beyond grateful for their dedicated service.” 

In 2024: 

• Virginia Beach emergency dispatchers fielded approximately 544,995 calls for service.  
• VB311 dispatchers fielded more than 110,000 service calls. 
• They also issued 16 emergency notifications via the City’s reverse 911 system and VBAlert (text and email).  

Help Our Dispatchers 

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

Smart911 allows you to share critical data with emergency responders, so they know in advance about special circumstances such as household members living with developmental disabilities, medical conditions, mental health challenges and more. Registered Smart911 profiles allow dispatchers to share vital medical information with first responders.  

VBAlerts are the City’s official emergency alert notification system. VBAlerts may include severe weather watches and warnings, evacuation announcements, boil water advisories or major traffic disruptions.  

Learn more about Smart911 and VBAlert at ECCS.VirginiaBeach.gov/VBAlert. 

For more information about careers in Emergency Communications & Citizen Services, visit VirginiaBeach.gov/ECCScareers.