Communications

The Brunswick County Emergency Communications Center (ECC) is the public safety answering point (PSAP) for Brunswick County, Virginia serving nearly 600 square miles and a population of 15,849.  The ECC answers emergency and non emergency calls for  Brunswick County including the towns of Alberta, Brodnax, and Lawrenceville. 

The Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office, Lawrenceville Police Department, Alberta Police Department, and Brodnax Police Department are dispatched by the ECC along with local Virginia Department of State Police troopers, the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, and Animal Control.  In addition, the ECC dispatches the county’s seven fire departments, three rescue squads and one EMS first response agency. 

In 2003, Brunswick County began accepting wireless and wireline 911 calls and began using a Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD), mapping, and records management system (RMS). In 2017, the BCSO changed CAD/RMS vendors and added enhanced capabilities to the office including electronic citation, fleet management, community policing, and field contact capabilities. The ECC utilizes automated vehicle locator (AVL) technology to monitor deputy locations for rapid and efficient dispatch to calls for service.

The Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office staffs two trained Communications Officers at all times and offers extra staffing during large scale incidents and inclement weather to ensure that all calls are answered and dispatched in a timely manner.

The Brunswick County Emergency Communications Center coordinates with bordering jurisdictions when emergency situations arise. For example, the Mecklenburg Emergency Communications Center (MECC) entered into a Mutual Aid Agreement to serve as the backup PSAP in the event that our Center is unable to receive and process 9-1-1 calls.  New technology allows calls to be routed from the Brunswick County Emergency Communications Center to the Mecklenburg County ECC in case of a power outage, system failure, or other unforeseen circumstance. In addition, if the Mecklenburg ECC experiences a failure, the Brunswick County ECC serves as their backup PSAP.

The Brunswick County Emergency Communications Center employs nine full-time telecommunicators and three part time telecommunicators, a Communications Training Officer (CTO), a Chief of Communications and the Director of Emergency Communications. Full-time Telecommunicators and the Communications Training Officer work twelve hours per day three or four days or night per week.

Telecommunicators are required to have a high school diploma or GED and complete the following to be fully certified with the BECC: Basic Dispatch School, Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD), Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), ICS 100, ICS 200, ICS 700, ICS 800, and complete a minimum 416 hour on the job training program with Certified Field Training Officers under the supervision of the Communications Training Officer. 

The Communications Center implemented Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) on June 1, 2008. All full-time and part-time Communications Officers became certified EMDs by attending a 24 hour training program to prepare them to give basic medical advice on the phone prior to the arrival of an ambulance. The implementation of EMD has greatly enhanced the Communications Center’s service to the community and will help them recognize severe life threatening emergencies more quickly which will have a positive effect on long term patient outcomes.

The Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office utilizes that most state of the art technology to ensure that we provide the highest level of service to the citizens of Brunswick County to include the following:

• Text Paging
• Email call information 
• Advanced Vehicle Locater (AVL) 
• Emergency Medical Dispatch 
• Next Generation 9-1-1 capable phone system
•  Rapid SOS Text to 911 capability 
• Mobile Data Terminals (MDT)
• Language Line for non-English speaking callers