Dispatch

• Calling Herndon Police

  Calling 911 in an emergency is vital as additional information is captured which can help us to locate you if for some reason during the call you can no longer speak, or if your call drops.  911 calls will initially be answered by a Fairfax County Dispatcher who will determine whether response by fire, police, or medical personnel is required.  If only the police are needed, the call will be transferred to the communications center in Herndon. 

  Non-emergency calls should be made by dialing 703-435-6846.  These calls come directly to the communications center at 397 Herndon Parkway, but they do not come in with the additional location information which is made available to us if you dial 911.

  Whether you call 911, or the non-emergency number, you can expect to be asked questions by the dispatcher who answers your call.  Dispatchers are trained to gather important pre-arrival information.  Answering their questions will not slow down the arrival of assistance.  Your cooperation in answering these pre-arrival questions will ensure the best possible outcome.

• Communications Center

  The town’s Police Communications Center is located in the police headquarters at 397 Herndon Parkway, and is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including holidays.  There are 9 full time civilian employees assigned to the communications center, and 3 other civilians throughout the department who can supplement staffing when needed.  All of these members are Virginia Department of Criminal Justice (DCJS) Certified Dispatchers.

• Create Emergency Health Profile

  Create a free emergency health profile so your critical health and medical information can be shared with first responders during an emergency or crisis event.  Your emergency health profile will provide real-time health, medical, emergency contact, and background information to first responders when it matters most. Creating a profile is easy and takes only a few minutes.

  Click here to create your emergency health profile today!

  Behavioral health information, pre-existing medical conditions, allergies, emergency contacts, and more can be entered into the voluntary database.

  The information maintained is associated with an individual’s mobile phone number and only available when an emergency call is received from the telephone number provided. When calling 9-1-1 during an emergency or crisis, your vital health and medical information is made available to Herndon Police Department Public Safety Communications and dispatched to first responders.

  Maintaining an updated profile is important and should be reviewed regularly. Updates after major health or life changes are valuable. The amount of information you provide is at your discretion.    

  Emergency technology company RapidSOS teamed-up with the American Heart Association, American Red Cross, and Direct Relief to sponsor this voluntary health database.

  Create your free emergency health profile today! https://www.emergencyprofile.org/

• Text to 911

  Herndon Police was one of the first departments in Northern Virginia able to accept Text to 911 messages.  Text to 911 is set up to operate in a similar manner to 911 telephone calls.  This service is currently only available for texting in the English language, and is designed to be used in these limited situations:

  • For an individual who is deaf, hard-of-hearing, or has a speech disability.
  • For someone who is in a situation where it is not safe to place a voice call to 9-1-1.
  • A medical emergency that renders the person incapable of speech.