City of Reno Celebrates National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week

Each year in the second week of April, public safety telecommunicators are recognized for their vital role in their communities. National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week was first started in 1981 by Patricia Anderson of the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office in California.

This week honors the thousands of hard-working individuals who respond to emergency calls, dispatch emergency professionals and equipment, and render life-saving assistance to those in their communities.

"I am so proud of our dispatchers here in the Biggest Little City as they are answering calls at all hours of the day, ensuring our residents can get the assistance they need," said Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve. "I thank every one of them for their dedication to the role and hard work to keep our community safe."

At the Reno City Council meeting on April 8, 2026, the City recognized our Reno public safety telecommunicators with an official proclamation marking the week.

Reno Dispatch is the largest public safety communications center in northern Nevada and the primary link to public safety services in Reno and Washoe County. In 2025, Reno Dispatch processed 179,211 calls to 9-1-1, with an average answer time of eight seconds.

With an average call volume of 1,200 total calls per day, which includes emergency, non-emergency, and administrative calls, the Reno Dispatch team is able to process calls in under three minutes to ensure expedient delivery. Calls range from structure and wildland fires to burglaries in progress, medical calls, domestic disputes and missing persons.

Reno Dispatch provides emergency and non-emergency communications services for the Reno Police Department; Reno Fire Department; University Police Services (including University of Nevada, Reno and Truckee Meadows Community College); and the Reno Marshal's Office.

For more information on Reno Dispatch, visit the City's Public Safety Dispatch page.