Central Dispatch

The Ludlow Police Department’s public safety dispatchers are responsible for receiving and processing 911 emergency calls and requesting police, fire, and medical response. Dispatchers determine the nature, seriousness, and location of the emergency, set priorities, and dispatch police, fire, ambulance, or other emergency units as necessary and in accordance with established procedures. Ludlow Police dispatchers are also Emergency Medical Dispatch (E.M.D) certified and will provide pre-arrival instructions and care for all medical emergency-related calls. These instructions may include but are not limited to C.P.R., the Heimlich maneuver, and basic care and first-aid.

Public Safety Dispatchers monitor and operate a wide array of communications equipment within this 24-hour facility, including the emergency 911 system, radio consoles, computer systems, surveillance monitors, and business telephone lines. Central Dispatch continues to serve the Town of Ludlow as the primary 911 Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) for both Police and Fire services.

Ludlow Central Dispatch serves as the critical lifeline for emergency response, coordinating all communications, including radio transmissions, telephone calls, walk-in complaints, and data entry into the Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) system. Dispatch personnel ensure that Police and Fire resources are deployed swiftly, efficiently, and effectively to protect lives and property during times of crisis.

Ludlow Central Dispatch maintains continuous contact with all units on assignment, tracks the real-time status and location of police, fire, and other emergency personnel, and monitors communications from surrounding regional, county, state, and federal agencies. Dispatchers are responsible for entering, updating, and retrieving information from a variety of computer databases, including state and national criminal justice information systems.

Dispatchers also maintain constant communication with field officers, responding to requests for information regarding vehicle registrations, driver’s license status, criminal histories, and outstanding warrants, and promptly relaying this information to officers in the field. Additional responsibilities include handling routine non-emergency business calls; communicating with other law enforcement agencies to request or provide assistance; maintaining files, logs, and records; and assisting walk-in members of the public with a variety of public safety-related concerns. Dispatchers are further responsible for entering all court-issued restraining orders, as well as Emergency Restraining Orders authorized by an on-call judge, into the appropriate systems to ensure accurate and timely recordkeeping.

Emergency 911 calls and business line calls Central Dispatch received in 2025:

Emergency 911 calls: 8,572
Business Line calls: 33,966

Ludlow Central Dispatch also received & assisted with 34 fire calls involving property loss. Because the initial moments of a structure fire are critical, effective call taking and rapid, coordinated dispatching are essential. Central Dispatch serves as the first link in the emergency response, guaranteeing timely communication and the coordinated use of resources, including mutual aid from multiple agencies.

Do Not Abuse 911

If you dialed 911 in error DO NOT hang up the telephone. Explain to the 9-1-1 dispatcher that you dialed by mistake and there is no emergency. A dispatcher will call you back if you hang up and verify if there is an emergency. If you fail to answer your telephone, a police officer will be dispatched to check on your status to verify no emergency exists.

Please do not abuse 911, it may just be your life that needs saving.