The Department of Emergency Services Emergency Communications Division is the public safety answering point (PSAP) for 9-1-1. The 24-hour communications center is responsible for receiving
9-1-1 calls for emergency police, fire and EMS service. The center is staffed by sixteen certified emergency medical dispatchers (EMD) and is supervised by a Department of Emergency Services Assistant Chief. The 9-1-1 dispatchers route calls for police services to the Cecil County Sheriff's Office, Maryland State Police or appropriate municipal police agency and dispatch fire and EMS calls for the county's nine volunteer fire/EMS companies.

In 2003 the Board of County Commissioners approved an $ 8 million capital improvement project to be funded over the next four years. The project will include the transition of the county's public safety radio system from a low band single channel operation to a multi channel trunked VHF system. This system will greatly enhance the safety of our public safety officers, providing them with reliable communications and the ability to communicate with each other using a handheld radio.

The new system will also include a combined communications center where all police, fire and EMS communications will be conducted from one location. This will strengthen the county's interoperability and save money in the maintenance and operation of several centers. The new center will feature state of the art 9-1-1 enhancements that will allow dispatchers to be able to identify the location of wireless telephone callers that will expedite the dispatch and response of the appropriate service in an emergency. The center will employ the use of computers to aid in the dispatch of services using pre-identified protocols by fire, police and EMS agencies.

The communications division will not only expand its public safety capabilities but will also be able to communicate with other county agencies and departments. School buses will be equipped with radios to be used in the event of an on board emergency. Schools will have access to the communications center via radio and if necessary be able to communicate directly with emergency responders.

In addition to the fixed site communications, the division also maintains a mobile communications unit. Mobile 1 is a modified mass transit bus equipped with mobile radio equipment that gives incident commanders on scene communications with outside agencies. The unit has wireless internet access and satellite connections for monitoring weather and live television reports of an incident.