There are several different dispatch centers that can answer your 911 call:

• From Santa Cruz County, if you call on a landline, or a VOIP line with a known location (like one provided by a cable TV provider) your call is routed to the Santa Cruz Regional Dispatch Center (aka "NetCom") - http://scr911.org/

• From Santa Clara County, if you call on a landline, or a VOIP line with a known location (like one provided by a cable TV provider) your call is routed to the Santa Clara County Communications Center - http://www.sccgov.org/sites/911/Pages/9-1-1-Site-Home-Page.aspx - called "County Comm." (There is a lot of detail about 911 dispatching in Santa Clara county available in this 2010-2011 grand jury report.)

• If you call from a cellular phone and the GPS or cellular tower location data indicates you are driving on a major freeway (highway 17, for example) your call is routed to a CHP dispatch center.

  • Calls from Santa Clara County are routed to the CHP Golden Gate Communications Center.

  • Calls from Santa Cruz County are routed to the CHP Monterey Dispatch Center.

• If you call from a cellular phone and the GPS or cellular tower data doesn't put you on a freeway your call is routed to the Santa Cruz Regional Dispatch Center or Santa Clara county Communications Center (as described above) depending on your location.

Regardless of where your call is routed, the dispatcher who answers your call will ask the nature and location of the emergency you are reporting. They may also ask for your name, phone number, and questions to clarify the size and scope of the problem you're reporting. In some cases your call may be passed on to another dispatch center to let you report your emergency directly to the agency most directly responsible.

Back to How To Report An Emergency.

Back to Emergency Information.