911 / Communications

Responsibilities

The Henry County Sheriff's Office employs thirteen full-time telecommunicators and one communications supervisor. Our communications center operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and is responsible for answering 911 calls and non-emergency calls for the citizens of Henry County.

Telecommunicators are responsible for:

  • Answering calls
  • Prioritizing the gathered information
  • Providing pre-arrival instruction
  • Dispatching the appropriate police, fire, ambulance, and support agencies

Henry County dispatches for seventeen fire departments, fourteen ambulance services, and ten law enforcement agencies that hold jurisdiction in Henry County. In addition, Henry County Dispatch is back up to the Kewanee  Dispatch Center and other agencies outside of Henry County. Henry County Telecommunicators are responsible for monitoring multiple radio frequencies and documenting the information received and disseminated across the frequencies for the public safety agencies.

Henry County Telecommunicators also enter warrants, orders of protection, missing persons, sex offender registrations, violent offender against youth/murder registrations, lost/stolen vehicles, articles, and additional documents into a Statewide database system that also may carry into a Nationwide database system.

Partnerships / Programs

Mutual Aid Box Alarm System

The Henry County Sheriff's Office is a participant of the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) and is the primary dispatch center for division 39. MABAS Division 39 supports 34 Fire and EMS agencies through portions of Henry, Stark Mercer, and Rock Island Counties. MABAS is activated when there is a sizable event involving Fire and/or EMS and mutual aid is essential.

Box Cards, are a predetermined mutual aid agreement, specifically requesting additional Fire departments, Ambulance Services, support agencies (Office of Emergency Management, medical helicopters, Red Cross, IDOT, etc), and additional resources (boats, ATVs, large equipment, clean-up services, etc) to be paged for the response warranted during the sizeable event. The use of these Box Cards safeguards that the resources needed come from several different departments, so as to not exhaust one department of all its equipment and resources in case another call is received at the same time in their jurisdiction.

Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm SystemIllinois Law Enforcement Alarm System

The Henry County Sheriff's Office is a member of the Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm System (ILEAS). One of the primary missions for ILEAS is to coordinate statewide mutual aid for law enforcement in Illinois. Along the same lines as MABAS, ILEAS is utilized when there is a sizable event requiring law enforcement personnel and additional assistance is needed. There are alarm cards that specify what agencies are to be notified.

Technology

The communication center is equipped with the latest technology including Next Generation 911, text to 911, and Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD), among others, and the telecommunicators are well trained in order to maintain the Henry County Sheriff's Office's commitment to public safety.

When to Call 911

Please remember that 911 is for emergencies only. An emergency is an incident that requires an immediate response by Police, Ambulance, and/or Fire. For non-emergencies, please use the non-emergency telephone number 309-937-3911.

How to Have the Best Outcome of Your Emergency Call

  • Utilize 911 for only emergencies.
  • Try to remain as calm as possible. This allows the dispatcher the ability to hear, understand, and fact find the required information from you to dispatch the appropriate emergency services to help in the emergency situation.
  • Provide the location of the emergency.
  • Provide the nature of the emergency.
  • Provide a timeline. Is this happening now? Has it happened or are you anticipating it occurring later?
  • Provide names of people involved and effective descriptions of suspects, victims, and witnesses.
  • Describe any weapons, hazards, or safety concerns.
  • Is there suspected alcohol or drugs impairment?
  • Listen to the instruction of the dispatcher to help keep everyone as safe as possible during an emergency.
  • Do not hang up the 911 call until instructed to do such.
  • Educate! Educate yourself, your parents, children, friends, and neighbors on the usage of 911.

We hope you never have an emergency, but if you do remember to answer the questions to the best of your ability as the dispatcher asks them and listen to the instructions provided o you.

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