Topics Related to DPS Dispatch

During an emergency, maintaining open communication networks is imperative. In the first several days of Hurricane Helene response, telecommunicators and first response teams had to cope with a deluge of 911 calls and interruptions in cellular networks. SERT immediately set about restoring communications.

Even before Hurricane Helene reached North Carolina, SERT Swift Water Rescue and Urban Search and Rescue teams were stationed in Western NC, ready to deploy when called.

Community Emergency Response Team volunteers have logged more than 3,500 hours during Hurricane Helene response in North Carolina.

It’s that time of year again. Every place of business seems to be having a back-to-school sale, and the yellow buses are back on the roads. Do your part to keep children safe on their way to and from school by knowing school bus traffic laws.

The Helicopter Aquatic Rescue Team, or NC HART, program just celebrated its twentieth anniversary in April. When the program was created in 2004, it was one of the first in the nation to combine military and civilian resources.

There are three nuclear power plants in North Carolina, located in Brunswick, Mecklenburg and Wake Counties. Nuclear plants have many safeguards in place, but it is important to know what to do in the unlikely instance that a radiation release emergency occurs.

A letter from Colonel Freddy L. Johnson Jr. on the 95th anniversary of the North Carolina State Highway Patrol.

This Father’s Day, Master Trooper Jason Ratliff and Master Trooper (Ret.) John King Sr. have something extra special to celebrate. On April 19, they each had a son graduate in the 162nd Basic Patrol School—like father, like son. Trooper Garrett Ratliff remembered attending his father’s Basic Patrol School graduation when he was about 9 years old. Now it’s all come full circle. Jason initially didn’t want his children to be in law enforcement because of the dangers involved, but on Garrett’s graduation day, he beamed with pride. 

Governor's Crime Commission Executive Director Caroline Farmer calls attention to the decline in Victim of Crime Act funding and suggests ways North Carolinians can help ensure our communities continue to support family members, neighbors, coworkers, friends and acquaintances who have been victims of crime.

Some of the key resources that the 24-Hour Watch coordinates are the tactical dispatcher program, which provides dispatchers to large events that backfill local 911 centers, and skilled communications professionals that can set up complex radio systems and troubleshoot and repair issues. The 24-Hour Watch is ready to meet the need statewide, whatever it may be. Outside of communications, the 24-Hour Watch receives requests and dispatches specialized state resources such as the Hazardous Materials Regional Response Teams (NCRRT), the Helo-Aquatic Rescue Team (NCHART), the Urban Search and