911 Communications

We are now hiring 911 Dispatchers!

The Owasso Emergency Communications Center is a great place to work!  Excellent benefits and starting pay of $17.79 per hour. Hiring bonuses are also available for bilingual applicants and applicants with previous emergency services dispatch experience.

Click HERE to apply!

Red 911 phone

The Owasso Police Department has an emergency call center which is manned 24 hours a day by trained communications personnel. to help you in times of crisis. Our dispatchers handle police, fire and ambulance calls and act as jailers for our municipal jail. They also handle non-emergency police administrative phone lines.

Our dispatchers are here to help you when you need it most. They are skilled professionals who work hard to serve our community, please do what you can to help us in that mission.

Please reserve 911 for emergencies involving immediate threats to safety and property. Use the non emergency number for all other purposes (918) 272-2244

False Alarm

Accidental / False 911 Calls are a Big Problem for our City

In 2014, the Owasso Emergency Communications Center handled 6,691 hang up calls to 911. Each must be taken as a serious potential cry for help. 

The dispatcher initially attempts to get the caller to answer questions and must stay on the line to listen for background noises if the caller does not respond. If the line is lost, the dispatcher must attempt to call the cell phone back. If there were sounds of trouble such as screaming, shouting or other sounds of struggle, one dispatcher stays on the line while another dispatcher contacts the cell phone company for an emergency cell phone location in order to pinpoint the position of the person in trouble. 

All of these scenarios take time. Cell phone locates and subsequent officer response to try to find callers can take a LOT of time. Using the minimum time of approximately 2 minutes for each of the most simple abandoned call, dispatchers were occupied at least 223 hours handling false 911 calls. This was while simultaneously being responsible for other active emergency situations and radio traffic from responders.

There are a number of reasons for false 911 calls. Many people have a 911 emergency auto dial programmed to a single button on their phone which contributes to "pocket dials". Most people don't realize that when old cell phones are given to children as toys that these phones are still capable of dialing 911. Our local area code of 918 also lends itself to accidental dials.

HELP US ELIMINATE FALSE 911 CALLS

You can help lower the number of false 911 calls and reduce wasted resources by following a few simple guidelines:

  • Lock your cellphone keypad, either manually or program it to lock automatically.
  • Turn off your 911 auto dial feature.
  • Don't allow children to play with old cell phones.
  • If you accidentally call 911--please STAY ON THE PHONE and speak to the dispatcher.  You won't be in trouble, we just need to know you are okay.