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1. How does the pre-basic 9-1-1 system work?

In an emergency situation the citizen places a call to 911;

That call is forwarded to the La Salle County Sheriff's Office Communications Center;

A Sheriff's Office Telecommunicator will take your call. However, no information is displayed with the incoming call, except an occasional telephone number similar to the caller ID you may have in your home.

Pre-basic 911 is nothing more than a call forwarding service provided by local telephone companies under the FCC mandate. The 911 lines currently being used at the Sheriff's Office are not dedicated 911 as they would be with an enhanced 911 system.

With this type of system, the caller must be able to provide the telecommunicator with their Name, Address, Telephone Number, and the nature of the emergency if they are able to do so.

2. How does the enhanced 9-1-1 system work?

In an emergency situation, the citizen places a call to 911; (same as with pre-basic)

A Sheriff's Office telecommunicator will take the call, this time the call is coming in on dedicated 911 lines to the enhanced system.

As soon as the phone rings and is answered by the telecommunicator, the caller's information shows up on their computer screen. (Name, Address, Phone Number, and which Police, Fire, or Ambulance agency needs to be sent to respond to the call).

The citizen will still have to tell the telecommunicator the nature of the call, but if the call is lost the information stays on the computer screen until the telecommunicator clears the call. The new systems also have the ability to automatically ring back the caller on hang-up, lock the line open for tracing, and the ability to transfer callers to other agencies or telephone numbers at the push of a button.