STANDARD

OPERATING
PROCEDURES
(SOP)
MANUAL
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

100 OVERVIEW
101 Agency profile
102 Employee conduct and professionalism
103 Department positions
104 Operations

200 PERSONNEL INFORMAITON

201 Shifts and scheduling
202 Reporting for duty / Relief of duty
203 Dispatch center security
204 Visitors to CCEC dispatch center
205 Personal Cell Phone use
206 Meal breaks
207 Requesting Leave
208 Dispatch center cleanliness

300 PHONE SYSTEM & CALL TAKING

301 Phone system
302 Phone system malfunctions
303 General call taking
304 911 Hang up and abandoned calls
305 Transferring emergency calls
306 TTY System
307 Text to 911
308 Referring callers to agency direct numbers

400 LAW DISPATCHING

401 Law dispatching
402 Emergency traffic (10-33)
403 Pursuit traffic (10-32)
404 Domestic violence
405 Officer requests for assistance
406 Tow service requests

500 FIRE AND MEDICAL DISPATCHING

501 Fire and Medical dispatching
502 Pre-alerting Fire and Medical calls
503 Air Ambulance Requests
504 Hazardous materials
 505 Controlled burns
506 Mayday Calls and Panic Alarms

600 INFORMATION RETENTION AND DISEMINATION

601 Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) and Records Management System (RMS)
602 Paging / Emailing Photos

700 CRITICAL INCIDENTS

701 Dispatch Center Fire Emergencies
702 Train derailments
703 Aircraft emergencies
704 Severe weather warning sirens
705 Active shooter incidents
706 Amber Alerts
707 Missing Persons
708 Escapee Protocol

800 OTHER
801 Media
802 Everbridge mass notification system
803 Records request
804 Incident Dispatch Team (IDT)
805 South Central Kansas Medical Center (SCKMC) Panic Alarm
Introduction

This document is the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) Manual for Cowley County
Emergency Communications (CCEC).

This document is available to employees in the CCEC drive on the Cowley County server
network.

Employees are responsible for knowing and following the policies and procedures set forth in
this manual.

Issues or situations may arise that are not specifically addressed in this manual. In these
situations, employees should reference the Cowley County Personnel Rules manual. If
questions still arise, employees should contact the CCEC director for clarification.

Failure to exercise proper decision-making procedures and/or failure to follow this SOP and the
Cowley County Personnel Rules may result in disciplinary action up to and including
termination. Some failures to properly perform duties may also be subject to criminal and/or
civil liabilities.

The SOP manual will be maintained by designated administrative personnel.

All employee suggestions for updates or grievances regarding this SOP manual should be
submitted to the director.

Employees will be notified of changes to the SOP manual via email. It is the responsibility of the
employee to familiarize themselves with all changes.

Deleted, replaced, or modified sections of the SOP manual will be archived by the director and
accessible in the CCEC drive for reference purposes.
SECTION: 101
TITLE: Agency Profile

CCEC is the exclusive public safety answering and dispatch point (PSAP) for all emergency
services in Cowley County, Kansas.

MISSION
Cowley County Emergency Communications serves as a vital link between the citizens and
public safety agencies for Cowley County. When receiving and processing 9-1-1 emergency and
non-emergency calls, our mission is to dispatch Emergency Services in a prompt, efficient,
courteous, and professional manner. With continued education and a commitment to
excellence, we help save lives, protect property, and assist the public in their time of need. As
Communication Officers, we will proudly make Cowley County a safer community in which to
live, work, and visit.
SECTION: 102
TITLE: Employee Conduct and Professionalism

POLICY
Employees will always maintain the highest standards of ethics, confidentiality, honesty, and
integrity.

Employees will always maintain a professional, respectful, and courteous relationship with co-
workers, agency partners, and members of the general public.

Employees will exhibit prompt and accurate performance of all duties. Always remain alert and
observant.

Behavior to include creating a disturbance, engaging in altercations, directing insulting, profane,

or abusive language at others will not be tolerated.

Employees will refrain from revealing any confidential information to anyone unless authorized
to do so and then only to a person who is authorized to receive such information.
SECTION: 103
TITLE: Department Positions

POLICY
CCEC uses the following chain of command:
• Director of Emergency Communications
• Communication Supervisor
• Communication Officer (levels I and II)

All operational issues are to be brought to the attention of the on-duty Supervisor and/or the
Director.
SECTION: 104
TITLE: Operations

POLICY
The following information provides a basic guideline regarding CCEC operational duties and
staffing configurations. The director or on duty supervisor can modify the guidelines as needed
in order to meet the operational needs of the center. Subject to approval, training officers may
request a modification to operations if necessary, to facilitate the training process.

The minimum staffing level is two employees.

Console 1 is the primary receiving terminal for OpenFox messages and must be staffed 24/7.

All employees work as call takers and dispatchers.

During normal operations each employee will monitor a selected law enforcement channel and
all employees will share monitoring the dispatch channel for fire and medical traffic.

If notified in advance, the director may request additional staffing to assist with pre planned
events such as DUI check lanes, saturation patrols, festivals, and special events.

In cases of major incidents that occur without warning, the director or supervisor may contact
off duty employees and request they report in for additional help as needed.
SECTION: 201
TITLE: Shifts and Scheduling

POLICY
The director will maintain and post the work schedule in the CCEC drive. To maintain
operational status, CCEC will schedule adequate staffing levels at all times, requiring employees
to work; day and night shifts, as well as weekends, holidays, and overtime.

Employees work schedules will be adjusted as necessary to meet the operational needs of
CCEC. Schedule adjustments may occur with little or no advance notice, including the following:
• Denial of requested vacation leave.
• Mandatory overtime
• Moving or canceling regular days off
• Alternate shift assignments.

Shift assignments will be decided at the discretion of the director. Attempts to lighten the
burden of shift work on employees’ families will be taken into consideration, however all
employees are hired with the understanding they may have to work less than desirable shifts to
provide complete coverage.

The following represents the shift setup for CCEC:

• 4 crews of 3, working 2 day and 2 night shifts, at 12 hours per shift
• 2 crews of 1, working 1 day and 1 night shift, at 8.5 hours per shift
• Additional assignments may be made on a temporary basis to assist with
shortages or for initial training of new hires
SECTION: 202
TITLE: Reporting for Duty / Relief of Duty

POLICY
Employees must be at their work position and prepared for duty at their scheduled starting
time.

Employees will be physically and mentally alert and able to perform their duties at all times
while on duty.

Employees shall not be under the influence of alcohol, illegal drugs or other intoxicants while
on duty.

Employees shall immediately notify the supervisor or director of any factors that may impair
their ability to perform the required duties of the job; employees found to be unfit for duty will
be sent home.

Employees will provide as much notice as possible if tardy or otherwise unable to report for
duty as scheduled.

Employees will not leave their position at the end of their shift until they are relieved by the
oncoming shift.

PROCEDURES
Employees should not relieve the on-duty shift more than 15 minutes before the end of the
shift unless otherwise directed by a supervisor or the director.

Off-going employees will not be dismissed until the minimum staffing level is met for the on-
coming shift. If not able to be relieved as scheduled, employees need to contact the supervisor
or the director.

Employees from the on-coming and out-going shifts will be responsible for communicating
pertinent information.

Employees who must leave prior to the end of their scheduled shift must notify their
supervisor.
SECTION: 203
TITLE: Dispatch Center Security

POLICY
Employees will comply with all CCEC security measures. Employees will ensure that the dispatch
center always remains secure.

CCEC will always maintain and follow security procedures to ensure that the security of KCJIS
information is not compromised. Additional information policy and procedures are available in
the CCEC KCJIS SOP.

PROCEDURES
Employees can gain access to the dispatch center through the employee south entrance to the
Cowley County South Annex using their security key fob. Permission settings for CCEC
employees allow entry to the employee south entrance, the basement south and north
entrance doors, the elevator access to the basement, and the door to the dispatch center.

The door to the dispatch center will not be propped open.

The door to the dispatch center will only be held open long enough for entering or leaving the
center.

The hallway door to the director’s office must always be locked and closed.

Employees are issued and required to carry their Cowley County employee identification card
with them under the following circumstances:
• On duty while in the Cowley County Courthouse campus (main courthouse,
South Annex, North Annex), during any ride along, and during off-site duty
assignment.
• Off duty while inside any non-public areas of the Cowley County Courthouse
campus.

Employees will wear their identification card on a lanyard or clipped to any article of their
clothing so long as it is displayed and clearly visible from the front.

Employees will immediately report loss of a security key fob or identification to the supervisor
or the director.
SECTION: 204
TITLE: Visitors to the Dispatch Center

POLICY
All visitors to the dispatch center must be authorized by the on-duty supervisor or the director.

Personnel of authorized agencies may enter the dispatch center as needed; unless otherwise
restricted by the on-duty supervisor or the director.

Vendors may enter the dispatch center for the purpose of making deliveries, repairs, etc.

PROCEDURES
Anytime non law enforcement visitors are in the dispatch center, employees will minimize their
KCJIS related screens so no criminal justice information will be visible. Visitors, to areas where
CHRI is stored and where KCJIS terminals reside, shall always be escorted by an employee.

While in the dispatch center, responsibility for family members will be assumed by the
appropriate employee; responsibility for a tour group will be assumed by the agency who
requested the tour.

All visitors will conduct themselves in a professional manner and speak in a normal tone of
voice in order to not distract or interfere with employees who are talking on the phone or
radio. The on-duty supervisor and/or the director can cancel a tour without notice if it is
interfering with operations, a major incident is occurring, or the call load is high.
SECTION: 205
TITLE: Personal Cell Phone Use

POLICY
Employees will turn off all audible indicators on all personal cell phones.

Employees will not use personal cell phones to communicate with field personnel regarding
work related information.

Employees will step out of the dispatch center if it becomes necessary to place a call from their
personal cell phone.

Employees may send and receive messages on their personal cell phones, with the following
limitations:
• Texting may not interfere with any duties or cause the employee to become inattentive
to their assigned position.
• Personal cell phone use must be avoided when visitors or tour groups are in the
dispatch center.

Employees will avoid the following in regards to personal phone calls:

• Excessive calls, either through numerous calls and/or excessively lengthy calls.
• Calls during busy periods in the dispatch center.
• Failure to answer incoming work phone calls or radio traffic.
• Leaving the dispatch center frequently and/or for extended time periods.

Abuse of personal cell phone usage or failure to follow the above guidelines may result in loss
of cell phone usage in the dispatch center and/or disciplinary action.
SECTION: 206
TITLE: Meal Breaks

POLICY
CCEC shifts are built with an automatic 30-minute meal break. It is the responsibility of the
employee to step away from work duties for a 30-minute break during the shift.

Prior to leaving the dispatch center for a meal break the employee will approve the break with
the supervisor.

If the employee choses to take a full hour break, they will have to clock out and in for the meal
break and email the director so the automatic 30-minute meal break can be canceled.
SECTION: 207
TITLE: Requesting Leave

POLICY
For details regarding accrued vacation, sick, and other leave, employees should refer to the
Cowley County Personnel Rules.

When practical, employees should request vacation at least two weeks in advance of the time
requested off. Approval of advanced request for vacation leave will be made at the discretion of
the director.

In some situations, the need may arise for an employee to request leave with short notice,
these requests will be approved or denied at the discretion of the supervisor or the director.

PROCEDURES
Requests for vacation leave must be submitted electronically using the time tracking software
employed by Cowley County for time keeping.

To ensure staffing requirements are met, the following guidelines will apply:
• If two employees request the same time off the employee who submitted the request
first will be given priority.
• If the requested leave time will result in the shift being below staffing requirements and
coverage cannot be found, the vacation may be denied.

In a case of an employee using sick leave for medical appointments, the employee shall provide
as much notice as possible by submitting the request electronically using the time tracking
software employed by Cowley County for time keeping.

In a case of an employee requesting to use sick leave for a unexpected illness, the employee
shall provide a minimum of one hour notice prior to the start of their scheduled shift. The
employee must make direct verbal notification to their supervisor for all unscheduled sick leave
requests, unless the medical condition has incapacitated the employee. If direct verbal contact
is not made, the leave will be considered an unauthorized absence. Once the employee returns
to work, they will be required to submit the leave request electronically using the time tracking
software employed by Cowley County for time keeping, unless the pay cycle ends before the
employee will return to work. In these situations the director will submit the appropriate leave
for the employee.

Employees who do not have leave available my request leave without pay by contacting the
director.

Supervisors shall contact the director if they are needing to use sick leave.
SECTION: 208
TITLE: Dispatch Center Cleanliness

POLICY
To promote a professional work environment, all employees are responsible for working
together to ensure all the areas of the dispatch center and the common areas of the south
annex basement are clean and clutter free. This includes the following areas:
• Dispatch center, to include all consoles
• Dispatch center bathroom
• Quiet room
• Locker area
• Main restrooms
• Kitchen

PROCEDURES
Prior to leaving work, the off-going shift will ensure their consoles are clean and free of clutter
and personal items.

Food and drink items and containers will not be left at the console. If food items placed in the
console trash cans are emitting odors, the trash bag will be removed from the center, disposed
of in the dumpster, and a new trash bag placed in the trash can.

Each shift is responsible for cleaning up after themselves in the kitchen. Dirty dishes are not to
be left in the sink, on the stove, or counters. The counters and stove should be wiped clean of
any spills or food items. Periodically employees should check the refrigerator for old food items
of theirs and dispose of them properly.
SECTION: 301
TITLE: Phone System Overview

POLICY
CCEC utilizes multiple phone systems for emergency and non-emergency call taking.

PROCEDURES
The following phone systems/configurations are used for call processing:
• VESTA 9-1-1: This phone system is maintained by the Kansas 911 Coordinating Council
and AT&T. This is the primary phone used by employees to answer 911 calls, non-
emergency number calls, and internal Cowley County government calls from other
departments.

• CISCO: Each console has a CISCO phone available for calling internal Cowley County
government departments and making out going calls as a back up to the VESTA 9-1-1
phone. If an interruption occurs with the VESTA 9-1-1 phone system, Cowley County MIS
can have the calls redirected to the CISCO phones for continuity of operations and call
taking.

• Transferred phone lines: Lobby phones from the Arkansas City and Winfield Police
Departments are forwarded to the dispatch center. The non-emergency numbers for
the Arkansas City (441-4444) and Winfield (221-5555) Police Departments are
forwarded to the dispatch center.
SECTION: 302
TITLE: Phone System Malfunctions

POLICY
CCEC must maintain phone communications with the public and outside agencies. Outages
must be addressed quickly and take top priority.

PROCEDURES
The phone systems utilized by the dispatch center are maintained by individual agencies.
Outages on any of the phone systems should be handled as outlined below:
• VESTA 9-1-1: As soon as an outage is discovered a call shall be placed to AT&T resolution
center. If asked about diverting 911 calls to another center the request should be for
911 calls to roll to Butler County Emergency Communications. A call should then be
made to Butler County Emergency Communications to notify them calls are being
routed to them. The director should be called after the above actions are complete.

• Administrative county phones: If an outage is discovered on the administrative phone

system the director should be contacted first. If the director is unavailable, the Cowley
County MIS department should be notified. If this occurs during non-normal business
hours (M-F, 8am to 5pm) or on a weekend, a call should be placed to the Cowley County
MIS on call number.

• Transferred phone lines: The phone lines transferred to the dispatch center from the
Arkansas City and Winfield Police Departments belong to those agencies. If it is
discovered that any of those lines are experiencing outages the director should be
notified to address the outages with the respective agencies. If the director is
unavailable, the Cowley County MIS department should be notified.
SECTION 303
TITLE: General Call Taking

POLICY
Employees will handle phone calls promptly, courteously and in compliance with all procedures.

911 lines always take priority over administrative lines.

Employees will complete the following for incoming calls for service:
• Verify the address with the caller to ensure the correct location is obtained.
• Enter the reporting person’s name and call back number in the CAD system.

Employees are responsible for accurately entering address information provided by the caller in
the CAD system.

PROCEDURES
At times the dispatch center may be experiencing a high volume of calls. If this happens
employees will verify with callers that they do not have an emergency before placing them on
hold.

When answering 911 calls employees should answer as follows:

Cowley County 911, what is the location of your emergency?

When answering non-emergency calls employees should answer as follows:

Cowley County dispatch, this is (state name).

Employees have the option to use the prerecorded greeting feature on the Vest 9-1-1 phone
system.

If at any time during a call the caller asks for the employee’s name, they shall tell the caller their
first name.
SECTION: 304
TITLE: 911 Hang up and Abandoned Calls

POLICY
Employees will use the following procedures when dealing with 911 hang up calls:

• Landline 911 calls: If contact is made with the caller, the employee should question the
caller to determine if an emergency response is necessary. If there is no answer on the
call back, a call should be created in the CAD system and an officer should be dispatched
to check the call location. The address should then be researched in the CAD system and
any pertinent information relayed to responding officers.

• Wireless 911 calls: If contact is made with the caller, the employee should question the
caller to determine if an emergency response is necessary. If there is no answer on the
call back, a call should be created in the CAD system with the location provided by the
map system and an officer should be dispatched to check the call location. The address
should then be researched in the CAD system and any pertinent information relayed to
responding officers.

• Wireless 911 only calls: Calls from 911 only phones (phones without cellular service) are
not able to be tracked in the map system and will provide no call back number. CAD calls
should not be created for hang up calls from these phones.

Any time a potential emergency may exist, the employee should initiate the appropriate
emergency response. The employee should listen to what the caller is saying, background
noise, and reference the address for past calls to assist in determining if a response is needed.
SECTION: 305
TITLE: Transferring Emergency Calls

POLICY
If a phone call received by the dispatch center needs to be transferred to a different agency or
jurisdiction, the employee taking the call will always attempt to transfer the call to the correct
agency.

PROCEDURES
Before transferring any calls, employees shall verify the address the caller is needing assistance
at is in the jurisdiction being transferred to.

Prior to starting the transfer, the employee will ask the caller to state their name and phone
number so this information is retained on the recorder incase the call is lost.

During the transfer, the employee will stay on the line until the receiving agency picks up and
the employee will verbalize, they are handing the call over to the receiving agency.
This is Cowley County 911, I have a transfer call for you, go ahead sir or ma’am.
SECTION: 306
TITLE: TTY System

POLICY
The dispatch center utilizes the Vesta 9-1-1 phone system for emergency and non-emergency
calls. To provide service to all potential callers, the phone system includes a TTY option to
communicate with callers utilizing a TTY system.

TTY stands for teletypewriter and may also be refereed to as a TDD (telecommunications device
for the deaf).

The dispatch center may receive calls directly from a TTY/TDD system or through the Kansas
Relay Center.

Each employee shall be trained on recognizing and handling calls via TTY during their new hire
training.

PROCEDURES
Incoming TTY calls may be identified in the following ways:
• A series of tones may be heard.
• “TDD call” or “TTY call” may be announced.
• Silent line or faint background noises. When a TTY user makes a call, they may
wait until they are prompted from the call taker via the dispatch center’s TTY
system before they begin typing. Because of this the employee taking the call
will attempt a TTY contact.

If not contact is made, the employee should disconnect the call and attempt a call back. If there
is no answer or if after the line is picked up it’s a silent line, the employee should treat the call
like a 911 hang up and dispatch an officer.
SECTION: 307
TITLE: Text to 911

POLICY
The dispatch center will provide Text to 911 as a service available to the public when a voice call
to 911 is not possible, such as due to a speech or hearing impairment or when the caller’s or
another’s physical safety could be in jeopardy by making a voice 911 call.

I lieu of voice communications, callers may opt instead to contact the dispatch center via SMS
messaging, also known as “texting”. Calls received via text will be handled in the center on the
Vesta 9-1-1 Phone System under the 911 Text tab.

PROCEDURES
Each employee shall be trained on handling calls via Text to 911 during their new hire training.

After answering the Text to 911 call, the employee should continue the conversation with the
caller gathering information the same as they would with a voice call, creating a CAD call as
needed, dispatching units and continuing to gather information and entering it in the CAD
system.

If during the conversation the employee does not understand the caller’s statement or
response the employee should seek clarification.

The employee will not use “text” lingo, slang, shortcuts, acronyms, or emoji’s, so as to help
eliminate confusion on the part of both parties. Callers are not required to oblige with this
ideal, however they should be encouraged to communicate in plain English

The employee should not make a voice call to the number of the text caller. By doing this they
may put the caller in harm’s way. If a responder dispatched to the call asks that a voice call be
placed to the caller, the employee should advise the responder that the call was placed to
dispatch via text message. If the officer still requests a callback, the callback request will be
honored if the supervisor or the director feels the totality of the circumstances warrant a call
back and there is no reason to suspect a voice call will place the caller or another in harms way.
SECTION: 308
TITLE: Referring Callers to Agency Direct Numbers

POLICY
The dispatch center receives calls via rerouted phone lines from the Arkansas City and Winfield
Police Departments. Because these numbers are the original numbers from these agencies,
callers believe they will be able to speak with an officer or administration directly at these
numbers.

PROCEDURES
Employees shall question callers who request to speak to someone at the police departments
to determine if they need an officer response or call for a new case or if they need to speak
with the agency records departments or administration. Only after this questioning and
determining they need to speak with records or administration, the employee will provide them
with the direct phone number for the agency in question.
SECTION: 401
TITLE: Law Dispatching Overview

POLICY
CCEC personnel will broadcast calls for service in accordance with established procedures,
including responding to radio traffic and entering appropriate CAD updates to document
related activity.

PROCEDURES
CCEC is the exclusive dispatch for Cowley County and provides dispatching for all public safety
agencies inside its boundaries.

CCEC regularly provides dispatching services for the following agencies:

• Arkansas City Police Department
• Burden Police Department
• Cowley County Sheriff’s Office
• Udall Police Department
• Winfield Police Department

CCEC assists the following agencies as needed:

• Kansas Highway Patrol
• Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism
• Kansa Bureau of Investigation
• Any other agency operating within Cowley County.

Arkansas City Police and Winfield Police Departments operate on their own respective
channels. Each of these channels are always monitored.

Cowley County Sheriff’s Office, Burden Police and Udall Police Departments operate on the
Cowley County Sheriff’s Office channel. This channel is always monitored.

State agencies report through their own dispatch; however, they will contact dispatch and
officers on any of the three primary law enforcement channels.
SECTION: 402
TITLE: Emergency Radio Traffic (10-33)

POLICY
Emergency Traffic is utilized when any of the law enforcement channels need to be kept
available for a specific in-progress emergency incident.

PROCEDURES
Emergency Traffic can be put in place on the specific channel by any officer declaring 10-33
traffic on the channel.

As soon as an officer declares 10-33 traffic, the dispatcher shall broadcast on the channel “10-
33 TRAFFIC ONLY”.

When Emergency Traffic is in effect, only radio traffic related to the specific incident, or
radio traffic of an emergency nature, will be permitted.

If another officer starts to give non-emergency traffic on a channel designated as emergency

traffic only, the dispatcher should advise the officer the channel is under 10-33 traffic only.

When the incident is clear an officer can request Emergency Traffic be cancelled. The
dispatcher will then advise normal traffic may resume.
SECTION: 403
TITLE: Pursuits (10-32)

POLICY
Pursuit calls include, but are not limited to, vehicle pursuits and foot pursuits. Whenever
possible, multiple dispatchers should work together using the team dispatching approach
to verify all information is recorded and to assist with information dissemination to
support officer and public safety.

PROCEDURES
If an officer announces they are in a pursuit, the dispatcher shall:
• Acknowledge the officer’s traffic and declare 10-33 traffic only on the channel.
• Verify the on-duty supervisor for the pursuing agency is aware of the pursuit.
• Check status, wants, and warrants for any vehicle involved and occupants, if the
information is available, through NCIC and local records.

During the pursuit the dispatcher should repeat the officer’s traffic of direction and
updates, as well as log this information in the CAD call.

The dispatcher should monitor radio traffic for the officer or supervisor calling for the
pursuit to be cancelled.

All radio transmissions should be brief and to the point.

If during the pursuit, it appears officers will enter another jurisdiction, dispatch should contact
that jurisdiction and advise them of the information pertaining to the pursuit.

If the pursuit is cancelled by officers, the dispatcher should relay over all law enforcement radio
channels that the pursuit has been terminated.
SECTION: 404
TITLE: Domestic Violence

POLICY
CCEC employees will process domestic violence calls for service in order to maximize the safety
of victims, responders, and others immediately present.

Related statute KSA 22-2307

PROCEDURES
Employees will utilize information directly provided by the reporting party as well as the
following definitions to assist in determining if the call for service is classified as domestic
violence:
a. Domestic violence means an act or threatened act of violence against a
person with whom the offender is involved or has been involved in a
dating relationship, or an act or threatened act of violence against a
family or household member by a family or household member. Domestic
violence also includes any other crime committed against a person or
against property, when directed against a person with whom the
offender is involved or has been involved in a dating relationship or when
directed against a family or household member by a family or household
member.

b. Family or household member means persons 18 years of age or older

who are spouses, former spouses, parents or stepparents, and persons
who are presently residing together or have resided together in the
past and persons who have a child in common, regardless of whether
they have been married or lived together at any time. Family or
household member also includes a man and woman if the woman is
pregnant and the man is alleged to be the father, regardless of whether
they have been married or have lived together at any time.
c. Dating relationship means a social relationship of a romantic nature. In
addition to any other factors the court deems relevant, the trier of fact
may consider the following when making a determination of whether a
relationship exists or existed: Nature of the relationship, length of time
the relationship existed, frequency of interaction between the parties
and time since termination of the relationship, if applicable.

Upon receiving a report of domestic violence employees will complete the following:

a. Initiate and dispatch a domestic violence call for service.

b. Attempt to elicit any and all information from the caller that may help
 the responding and investigating law enforcement officers assess the
situation. This includes information clarifying the identity of witnesses,
victims and suspects; information to help responding officers quickly
identify the victims and suspects; the nature and extent of any injuries;
the nature and extent of any threat or actual physical violence; the use
or availability of weapons; relationship between the persons involved;
prior problems between the parties; information that will assist officers
in locating the suspect; and the existence of any protections from abuse
or other relative court orders.
c. Relay all known relevant information to the responding officers.
d. If contact is lost with the complainant, attempt to reestablish contact. Do
not reveal information about the call to a third party contacted during
this process unless necessary to establish additional information useful to
the responding officers.
e. Relay any requests to cancel the call to responding officers; the response
to a domestic violence call will not be canceled at a caller’s request.

If employees receive a call with open air, but back ground that sounds like a disturbance,
officers should be dispatched and the address should be researched through local RMS for
history of violence at the address. If the call is from a cellular phone and no address information
is available, the employee should stay on the open air call until the 911 map can plot the phone.
SECTION: 405
TITLE: Officer Requests for Assistance

POLICY
CCEC employees will dispatch additional officers to all requests of officers needing
assistance.

PROCEDURES
Upon the request for additional officers, employees will advise the next beat officer or
supervisor to respond to an officer’s call for assistance.

At times the Kansas Highway patrol dispatch may request officers’ check on a trooper in Cowley
County that they cannot reach on their radio. Once the appropriate officers have been
dispatched the employee should attempt to contact the Trooper on the sheriff’s office channel.
SECTION: 406
TITLE: Towing Vehicles

POLICY
CCEC employees will contact tow service companies when requested to do so by law
enforcement personnel.

Employees will use the rotation schedule when contacting a tow service; unless a specific tow
service is requested by law enforcement personnel.

PROCEDURES
Owner request – If law enforcement personnel request a specific tow service and declare this is
by owner request, the employee will log this request in CAD, listing the vehicle to be towed
with the company requested followed by a notation that this was per owner request.

No preference – If law enforcement personnel request a tow service and declare this is no
preference, the employee will contact the next on call tow service for the area and log this
request in CAD listing the vehicle to be towed, the company notified, and a notation that this
was no preference.

Tow services used in Cowley County are in the “Wrecker” tab of the VESTA phone dial directory.

Should the need arise for a tow service that is capable of handling large commercial vehicles,
the closest tow services are B&L Towing and Strickland’s Towing. In case of these types of
incidents the employee should ask the law enforcement personnel which tow service they
prefer. This information should be documented in the CAD call.

If a property owner calls regarding towing a vehicle from private property; the employee should
advise the caller, they can call a tow service and request the vehicle be removed.
SECTION: 501
TITLE: Fire and Medical Dispatching Overview

POLICY
CCEC employees dispatch fire and medical calls for service, respond to radio traffic, and process
other radio requests as needed in accordance with established procedures.

PROCEDURES
Employees will dispatch fire and medical calls according to protocol.

CCEC is responsible for dispatching all fire and medical calls for the following agencies:
a. Arkansas City Fire / EMS
b. Winfield Fire / EMS
c. Atlanta Fire
d. Burden Fire
e. Cambridge Fire
f. Dexter Fire
g. Udall Fire

Pre-Alert toning will be used when fire and EMS units are dispatched.

The following radio channels are for Fire and Medical use:
• Dispatch: For initial dispatch of fire and medical calls. Also used by units when
contacting the dispatch center.
• OPS 1: Dexter Fire Department operations channel
• OPS 2: Atlanta Fire Department operations channel
• OPS 3: Burden Fire Department operations channel
• OPS 4: Udall Fire Department operations channel
• OPS 5: Arkansas City Fire Department operations channel
• OPS 6: Arkansas City Fire Department operations channel
• OPS 7: Winfield Fire Department operations channel
• OPS 9: Winfield EMS operations channel

The dispatch center will always monitor the dispatch channel. If units are involved in a structure
fire or other major event and staffing allows, the OPS channel designated by the scene
command may also be monitored.
SECTION: 502
TITLE: Pre-Alerting Fire and Medical Calls

POLICY
CCEC employees shall provide a pre alert before toning fire and EMS units to calls for service. The
pre alert information allows fire and EMS units to prepare for their response by providing them
with basic information to allow them to decide what units and equipment may be needed.

PROCEDURES
The following information is given during the alert stages of a fire / EMS dispatch:
a. Pre-Alert – Give the primary agency, additional agencies, location, and nature
of the call.
b. Alert – Tone all agencies that should be responding.
c. Additional information – Repeat the Pre-Alert information and provide
information asked for by responders.
d. Follow-Up Information – Once units advise they are responding, give
additional information as you receive it.

The information in the pre-alert should be brief and to the point. Save the additional detailed
information for the Follow-up information after units have acknowledged they are responding.
SECTION: 503
TITLE: Air Ambulance Requests

POLICY
CCEC will notify Eagle Med and Air Evac Life Team when requested to do so by fire / medical
units.

PROCEDURES
Unless otherwise directed, contact will be made with Eagle Med or Air Evac Life Team via the
dialer in the Vesta phone system.

Fire / Medical units may request one of the following regarding an air ambulance and may
upgrade, downgrade or cancel their request:
a. Availability – Asking if an air ambulance is available to fly due to conditions.
b. Standby – Asking that an air ambulance stand by to launch if needed.
c. Launch – Asking for launch and response of an air ambulance to a scene or
predetermined landing zone.

Relay information to the air ambulance dispatch as needed. You may be asked for information
regarding patients, type of incident, scene location, etc.

Ask the flight dispatch for the estimated time of arrival and relay this information to fire /
medical units.

The dispatcher should also ask the fire scene command requesting the air ambulance what
radio channel and unit number the air ambulance should use when arriving on scene. This
information should be relayed to the flight dispatch.
SECTION: 504
TITLE: Hazardous Materials

POLCY
CCEC employees will gather all necessary information and dispatch appropriate agencies to
respond in a timely manner to Hazmat situations.

PROCEDURES
As soon as it is determined to be a hazardous materials call notify the appropriate fire response
agency.

After fire agencies have been dispatched, contact should be made with the emergency manager
or their designee to alert them of the potential for a Hazmat emergency. The director should be
notified after these contacts are made.

Information to gather may include the following:

a. What chemicals are involved? (liquid, solids, gas )
b. Are there any placards or markers to identify the materials?
c. What kind of container was it in?
d. How big was the spill?
e. Is there a noticeable odor?
f. Is anyone getting sick or is anyone injured?
g. Is the material in or near a body of water?
h. Is the container damaged?
i. Is there a fire?
j. Are there any clouds, smoke, or vapor visible?
k. What color is the cloud, smoke, or vapor?
SECTION: 505
TITLE: Controlled Burns

POLICY
Controlled burns are allowed in Cowley County outside the city limits of Arkansas City and
Winfield.

Burn permit numbers are issued through CCEC.

PROCEDURES
Callers will be issued a burn permit number when they call in to make dispatch aware of their
intentions to burn.

The following information will be gathered and added to the controlled burn report:
a. Name
b. Location
c. Fire District
d. Phone number
e. Items to be burnt
f. Date

If the district to be burnt in is at level 2 the caller must contact the fire department for the
district to get permission to burn.

If the district to be burnt in is at level 3 the caller will be advised that burning is not allowed at
this time.

Burn status will be displayed on the Cowley County Emergency Communications website and
updated as needed by CCEC staff.
SECTION: 506
TITLE: Mayday calls and Panic Alarms

POLICY
CCEC employees can hear emergency alarms and “Mayday” calls from fire and EMS responders.

CCEC employees will use all available resources to assist personnel during an emergency alarm
or “Mayday” call.

PROCEDURES
Emergency Button Alarm
Fire and EMS portable radios are equipped with emergency alarm buttons. When the button is
pressed it emits an alert tone over the channel the radio is on. In most cases this will be the
dispatch channel.

CCEC employees should attempt to contact the responder who depressed the button and ask
their status. If the responder answers with anything other than “Code 99” than law
enforcement should be dispatched to the responder’s location. In these incidents “Code 99”
means they are 10-4.

Until the responder states “Code 99” or law enforcement arrives consider the responder in a
position of risk.

Mayday call
The emergency call for firefighters who are needing assistance is “Mayday”. This will be
verbalized on the radio by the firefighter needing assistance or another firefighter who is near
the firefighter needing assistance.

If a CCEC employee hears a “Mayday” call on the radio they are to announce on the channel of
the call a “Mayday” and advice the channel should be used for emergency traffic only related to
the “Mayday” call.

CCEC employees have to listen closely to understand what the firefighter is saying as they will
probably be wearing a Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus and a Personal Alert Safety System
that will emit an audible tone when a responder is down for more than 30 seconds.
SECTION: 601
TITLE: Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) and Records Management System (RMS)

POLICY
CCEC uses Spillman Technologies FLEX for computer aided dispatch (CAD) and records
management.

CCEC staff will use CAD to assist agencies we support by recording law, fire, and medical calls
for service.

CCEC staff will use RMS to locate information to assist agencies we support.

PROCEDURES
CCEC staff will ensure that all CAD records are accurate and complete.

CCEC staff are responsible for receiving, verifying, and correctly entering address information,
as it is received, from callers when initiating CAD call for service.

CCEC staff shall investigate address and name alerts as well as name notices associated with
calls, and relay pertinent information regarding alerts and notices to responding units.

CCEC staff will not release information from CAD or RMS to non-agency partners without
permission from the director.
SECTION: 602
TITLE: Paging / Emailing Photos to Field Units

POLICY
On occasion law enforcement officers in the field may request a driver’s license photo or a
Spillman photo of a subject to assist them with identification of that subject. The following
procedures shall be used when filling these requests.

PROCEDURES
Kansas Driver’s License (DL) photos: Guidelines provided by the Kansas Criminal Justice
Information System (KCJIS) and Kansas Department of Revenue prohibit DL photos being sent
electronically through none secure sources. If an officer requests a DL photo be sent to them
the dispatcher shall advise the officer the photo will be sent through secure email only to the
officer’s official agency email account.

Spillman photos: An agreement was made during the January 2019 Emergency
Communications Advisory Board (ECAB) meeting that all information in Spillman should be
allowed to be shared with all law enforcement officers in Cowley County.

If an officer requests a photo from the Spillman records management system the dispatcher
can send the photo to the requesting officer through the paging system. Prior to sending any
picture the dispatcher shall verify that the photo to be sent is not an official State of Kansas DL
photo that has been saved in Spillman.

Personal electronic device: At no time will a dispatcher use their personally owned electronic
device to send DL or Spillman photos to officers.
SECTION: 701
TITLE: Dispatch Center Fire Emergencies

POLICY
To protect life and property CCEC staff should be aware of what actions should be taken during
a fire emergency in the dispatch center or other parts of the South Courthouse Annex.

PROCEDURES
CCEC employees should make themselves familiar with the following:
• North stairwell emergency exit
• South stairwell emergency exit
• DO NOT use the elevator during a fire emergency
• Fire extinguishers are located inside the north and south doors
• Fire alarm pulls are located in the stairwell of the north and south doors

If a fire occurs in the dispatch center:

• An employee should immediately activate the fire alarm pull in the south
stairwell and retrieve the fire extinguisher.
• Winfield, Udall, Burden, and Arkansas City Fire Departments should be
dispatched to the South Courthouse Annex for a structure fire.
• A simulcast broadcast should be made on the dispatch and primary law channels
advising that dispatch is being evacuated.
• If the fire is unable to be extinguished by CCEC employees evacuation should be
completed following the evacuation plan:
o Contact AT&T (888-243-1911) to roll 911 calls to Butler County
communications.
o Notify the KCJIS Help Desk (785-368-6382) to forward traffic to
KS0180000.
o Exit the building and meet in the west parking lot.
o Contact the Communications Director.

EMPLOYEES SHOULD NOT PUT THEMSELVES AT RISK TO MAKE NOTIFICATIONS

SECTION: 702
TITLE: Train Derailment

POLICY
CCEC employees shall be knowledgeable in how to handle reported train derailments.

PROCEDURES
CCEC staff shall gather the following information when receiving a call of a train derailment.
• Location
• Injuries (severity and number)
• Type of train (HAZMAT, passenger, cargo)
• Size of train (how many cars and engines)
• Environmental emergencies (fire, chemical release of HAZMAT, explosions)

The following agencies shall be dispatched in the below order:

• Fire, Medical, and Law, based on the location.
• Cowley County Emergency Management
• Railroad Police, if the company is known
SECTION: 703
TITLE: Aircraft Emergencies

POLICY
CCEC employees shall be knowledgeable in how to handle reported aircraft emergencies.

PROCEDURES
In cases of overdue aircraft that may have landed at Strotherfield, CCEC employees should ask
the caller for the description of the aircraft, the tail number, and known occupants. A Cowley
County Sheriff’s Office deputy should be dispatched to Strotherfield to verify if the overdue
aircraft is at the airport or has been.

In case of reports of an aircraft crash the dispatcher will gather the following information from
the caller and advise fire and medical units when dispatched; location, known injuries (severity
and number of patients), and type and size of the aircraft.

The dispatcher should contact the Kansas Highway Patrol and relay the information of the crash
to their dispatch. The Kansas Highway Patrol is the primary investigating agency of aircraft
emergencies in the state of Kansas.

The dispatcher should notify the director of communications and Cowley County Emergency
Management.
SECTION: 704
TITLE: Severe Weather Warning Sirens

POLICY
CCEC employees shall be trained in the operation of the Cowley County outdoor warning siren
system. In cases when the Emergency Management staff may not be able to sound the sirens,
CCEC can sound the sirens for them as directed.

PROCEDURES
All CCEC staff will be trained on how to sound the outdoor warning sirens from their work
station.

The Zetron radio system will be used to sound the outdoor warning sirens.

The sirens will only be sounded with authorization of the emergency manager or his/her
designee or by authorization of the communications director.
SECTION: 705
TITLE: Active Shooter Incidents

POLICY
CCEC personnel will work to handle active shooter / killing incidents in a manner to reduce the
number of casualties involved by quickly and accurately dispatching law enforcement and
medical resources.
CCEC will assist the agencies we serve during an active shooting / killing incident by dispatching
resources, collecting information, notifying support elements, etc.

PROCEDURES
Upon receiving a call of an active shooter / killing incident dispatch will dispatch all law
enforcement assets by broadcasting via simulcast on the primary law enforcement channels
(Cowley County Sheriff, Arkansas City and Winfield Police).
a. The broadcast should provide the location and nature of the incident.
i. Example “ All officer respond to 123 Any Address, Arkansas City for an
active shooter”

After law enforcement has been dispatched Arkansas City and Winfield EMS should be
dispatched with the same information.

As time allows after dispatching units, calls should be made to South Central Kansas Medical
Center and William Newton Hospital emergency departments advising them that there is an
active shooter situation and that they should prepare to receive patients via ambulance and
possibly personal vehicle. Eagle med should also be contacted to launch and respond to the
hospital of the town the incident is occurring in. If the incident is occurring in the county or a
rural town the fire commander should be asked where they want Eagle Med to respond to.

There will be an expectancy that the 911 calls will overload CCECs ability to handle calls causing
calls to roll over to our back up centers.

Dispatchers that receive 911 calls from occupants of the incident location should try to gather
as much information about the shooter(s) to relay to responding law enforcement. Dispatchers
should also advise callers to move to safety and if necessary, provide EMD instructions to have
callers help victims as available.

During the post incident the director will be responsible to gather all available data and
recordings to provide to law enforcement for evidence purposes.
SECTION: 706
TITLE: Amber Alerts

POLICY
CCEC staff will assist all agencies whom request issuance of an Amber Alert.

The decision to declare an Amber Alert must be made by the law enforcement agency
investigating the abduction, based upon the established criteria:
• Confirmation that abduction has taken place.
• Belief that the child is in danger of serious bodily harm or death.
• There is existing information to disseminate to the general public which could assist the
recovery of the victim or apprehension of the suspect.
• The child is 17 years of age or younger, or the individual has a proven mental or physical
disability

PROCEDURES
After the decision to declare and Amber Alert is made by local law enforcement, CCEC
personnel may be asked to assist in one or more of the following capacities:
• Sending a teletype with the Amber Alert information to the surrounding counties.
• Entering the information into the Amber Alert form on the Kansas web portal KCJIS
website; form is electronically submitted to the KBI.
• Calling out additional law enforcement personnel (for searching, handling hotlines lines
in the EOC, etc).
• Providing other assistance as needed/requested throughout the duration of the
incident.

CCEC personnel will complete the following for any Amber Alert teletypes received from other
jurisdictions:
• Broadcast the information to all law enforcement channels and page the same
information to all on duty LEOs.
SECTION: 707
TITLE: Missing Persons

POLICY
CCEC staff will utilize its available resources to help thoroughly investigate all reports of missing
persons. All reports of missing children will be considered at risk until significant information is
confirmed negating the report.

PROCEDURES
CCEC staff will create a CAD call for all reports of missing persons and dispatch an officer from
the agency with jurisdiction.
If the report is believed to be an abduction that has just occurred, the information shall be
broadcast over all law enforcement channels with the available information.

In cases of a missing child believed to be associated with a child custody dispute, the call shall
still be created, and an officer dispatched. It is the responsibility of the responding officer to
determine if the call is a valid abduction or missing child. CCEC staff will not try to interpret
child custody orders.

For guidelines regarding the entry of a missing person into NCIC, see the CCEC KCJIS SOP.
SECTION: 708
TITLE: Escapee Protocol

POLICY
CCEC staff will assist the Cowley County Sheriff’s Office and Kansas Department of Corrections if
receiving a report of an escape from either facility.

PROCEDURES
CCEC staff shall broadcast the information and description over all law enforcement channels
immediately when the information is gathered.

If CCEC staff receive notification from the Cowley County Jail or the Kansas Department of
Corrections Winfield facility, an Everbridge Alert with the escapee description shall be
generated for a 2 mile range from the facility.

The Director should be notified as soon as possible to assist with notifications and media
release.
SECTION: 801
TITLE: Media

POLICY
CCEC understands the importance of providing information to the media for public
dissemination; however, because of the privacy of the information received, processed and
stored by CCEC, caution has to be taken when releasing information to media sources.

PROCEDURES
Release of information from CCEC will only be done by or with the authorization of the director.

No employee of CCEC shall release information from the dispatch center to the media without
the authority of the director or their designee.
SECTION: 802
TITLE: Everbridge Mass Notification System

POLICY
Cowley County will utilize Cowley Alerts for the distribution of emergency messages to citizens,
and emergency and non-emergency messages to government personnel.

PROCEDURES
Each agency wishing to utilize Cowley Alerts must have a written agreement in place with
Cowley County outlining who is authorized from the agency to request an alert to be sent out.
This agreement must provide the names or positions of those personnel authorized to request
an alert.

Emergency alerts will be used if immediate action is required of citizens to protect life and
property. Examples of these situations would include Amber Alerts, Silver Alerts, evacuations,
manhunts, or community-wide notifications involving safety.

Emergency Alerts: The authorized authority may request that an alert be sent out by contacting
Cowley County Emergency Communications (via recorded radio, phone, or email) and providing
the appropriate information, which will include, but is not limited to the following:
a. Nature of situation
b. Message to be sent
c. Location specific address
d. Radius of broadcast
e. Action requested of citizens (i.e. evacuate, be on the lookout, etc.)
f. Duration of alert

Emergency alerts when sent out are sent to all business and residential phone lines, as well as,
to those citizens that have registered their cellular devices and emails and are currently within
the broadcast radius.

Weather Alerts: In the event of a tornado warning being issued by the National Weather
Service the Cowley Alerts system will automatically send an alert out to the MSAG and all
citizens registered in the system. Other weather alerts (i.e. severe thunderstorm watch or
warning, flash flood, tornado watch, etc.) are available as opt in options during the registration
process.

Event Specific Alerts: There may be times when it is decided that a specific event in the
community may bring a large number of non county residents into the area (i.e. Walnut Valley
Festival, Arkalalah, etc.). These types of events will create situations involving large numbers of
people in a concentrated area. For these events an option can be added to the opt in process to
allow a citizen to register to receive alerts specific to this event. The event specific opt in will be
set to start on a specific date and time and also expire on a specific date and time. In cases of
the need for information to be sent as a alert to citizens in these event specific situations the
requesting authority would follow the same guidelines as when requesting an emergency alert.

Employee Alerts: The Employee Alert portion is a separate part of the Cowley Alerts System
and is reserved for Cowley County employee use only. The Employee Alert System is reserved
for the notification of county employees for various reasons. Employee Alert may be used for,
but not limited to emergency and internal notifications, recalls, hazardous weather closures,
disaster response request, meeting reminders, etc.
SECTION: 803
TITLE: Records Requests

POLICY
All records maintained by Cowley County Emergency Communications Department
(“Department”) belong to the agencies for which it contracts to serve. To that end, all requests
for records contained in the Department’s databases, along with a copy of the requested record,
shall be timely forwarded to the Records Custodian for each agency to which the records pertain.
Once the Department timely submits the request and/or records to the respective agency’s
Records Custodian, that agency shall be liable and responsible to comply with the Kansas Open
Records Act, by ensuring a timely response regarding production of the records is returned to the
original requestor. The Records Custodian for each agency shall maintain a file of all record
requests received from the Department.

PROCEDURES
DUTIES OF DEPARTMENT: All persons requesting inspection of or a copy of open public records
contained in the Department’s databases must make such request in writing, to either the
Department or the agency to which the request pertains. The written request should include the
requestor’s name, phone number, email address, address and a reasonable description of the
record(s) they desire to inspect and copy; and if the request is submitted to the Department, it
shall include the name of agency to which the record pertains. Although no particular form is
required, the Department or the Records Custodian shall provide a form for the requestor’s
convenience. If the Department receives the request, the Department shall submit said request,
along with a copy of the requested record(s) within 24 hours of receipt (excluding weekends and
holidays per K.S.A. 45-215 et seq.), to the Records Custodian designated below. If an agency
served by the Department receives the request, all records requested by the agency shall be
provided by the Department within 24 hours of request by the agency (excluding weekends and
holidays per K.S.A. 45-215 et seq.). If the Department cannot fulfill the request within 24 hours,
the Department must forward the requestor’s form and an estimation of how long the request
will take to fulfill to the agency who owns the records.

DUTY OF AGENCIES: The Records Custodian shall:

(1) Comply with all provisions of the Kansas Open Records Act, K.S.A. 45-215 et seq., as amended,
including the provision of full access to open records and assistance in a timely and efficient
manner to persons requesting access to open public records;

(2) Adopt and apply procedures to ensure the protection and preservation of public records with
respect to the manner in which such records are inspected and copied;
(3) Take necessary measures, not inconsistent with their duties, to provide full public access to
open public records and to ensure the essential functions of the custodian’s office, department
or agency are not disrupted by requests for record inspection and copying; and

(4) Perform and/or supervise all inspections and copying of open public records.

DESIGNATED RECORDS CUSTODIANS: The following officials are appointed Records Custodian for
the agency served by the Department:

a) Arkansas City Fire/EMS Chief

b) Arkansas City Police Chief

d) Cowley County Sheriff

e) Rural Fire Chiefs

f) Rural Police Chiefs

g) Winfield Fire/EMS Chief

h) Winfield Police Chief

Each of the custodians appointed above is hereby authorized to designate any subordinate
officer or employee to serve as Records Custodian. Such Records Custodian shall have such
duties and powers set out in the Kansas Open Records Act and this agreement. The Department
shall submit all request for records to the Records Custodian listed above, unless an agency
designates an alternative employee in writing to the Emergency Communications Director.
SECTION: 804
TITLE: Incident Dispatch Team (IDT)

POLICY
CCEC employees will be trained to respond as an Incident Dispatch Team (IDT) in support of
preplanned and unplanned incidents when the need for trained communications personnel on
scene arises.

These incidents may include response to assist law enforcement in emergency situations (man
hunts, tactical team deployments, etc.), to assist fire response in emergency situations (search
and rescue operations, large structure fires, large area wildfires, etc.), and preplanned
deployments in support of emergency services (festivals, community events, etc.).

PROCEDURES
A communications supervisor or the director will always deploy with the IDT, and will act as the
point of contact with the incident command.

IDT duties may include the following:

• Monitoring and logging radio traffic
• Relaying information via radio, phone, and page as required to field units
• Provide data and geographical resources to command and field units as needed
• Other duties as assigned by the communications supervisor or the director

Primary responders will be off-duty CCEC staff.

If staffing allows, on-duty staff may be directed to respond. At no time will an IDT callout result
in taking the dispatch center below minimum staffing levels.
SECTION: 805
TITLE: South Central Kansas Medical Center (SCKMC) Panic Alarm

POLICY
SCKMC maintains a panic alarm in the Emergency Room for officer response when dealing with
out of control or disorderly patients or guests to the hospital.

PROCEDURES
Dispatch receives a call from the automated system identifying the need for officers to respond
to South Central Kansas Medical Center.

Dispatch will broadcast to ACPD and CLSO “officers need to respond to the hospital ER for a
panic alarm activation, additional information to follow”.

Dispatch will call the hospital main number, advise we had an ER panic alarm activation and ask
them for additional information. If they cannot give additional information ask to be
transferred to the ER. Gather what information you can regarding the situation.
Broadcast to units additional information or if you are unable to get information from the
hospital let the officers know you have not been able to make contact for additional
information.

Use plain talk when dispatching these calls so there is no question of what we are sending
officers to.