The Long Hill Township Police Department provides emergency police, fire and emergency medical services communication to the residents of Long Hill Township.  The most common communication method utilized by the public to notify the police department of an emergency is by the telephone.

In any emergency dial 9-1-1.  The emergency 9-1-1 phone has priority over the seven digit non-emergency telephone, 647-1800.  In 2001, the Communications Center received 17,574 calls, including 4,212  calls which required an officer to respond.

The Telecommunications Operators who staff the Communications Center are highly trained professionals.  The operators are trained to answer emergency phone calls, administer first aid and C.P.R. over the telephone, while at the same time dispatching emergency services.  Most of this training is conducted at the Morris County Police Academy, although some is conducted by our own Lieutenant Jack Faenza, who is a certified instructor in Basic Telecommunications Operations.

Before a Telecommunications Operator is qualified to staff the Communications Center, the operator must first be trained in a 40 hour Basic Telecommunications Operator course.  The course instructs the operator on how to answer a call, take pertinent information and dispatch the call to the police officers in the field.

Upon completion of the basic training the operator moves to more advanced training. The next school is the Emergency Medical Dispatch and CPR training school.  This 40 hour course instructs the operator to administer first aid over the phone to victims if possible. The operator will utilize emergency flip cards to give immediate pre arrival medical instructions that range from minor lacerations to heart attacks.  The average response time of a Long Hill Police officer is between two and four minutes.  These minutes can be critical in a life threatening emergencies.  Immediate intervention by Telecommunications Operators have resulted in lives saved in our community.

Upon completion of the Basic Training and Emergency Medical training the new operator is assigned to an experienced operator for no less than six weeks for actual Communications Center training.