Amherst County, Virginia

The Amherst County 9-1-1 Communications Center serves as the public safety answering point (PSAP). The center takes calls for and dispatches the Amherst County Sheriff's Office, Amherst Town Police, Amherst Fire Department, Amherst Life Saving Crew, Monelison Fire and Rescue Department, Pedlar Fire, Amherst County Animal Control. The center answers and makes over 140,000 phone calls per year and dispatches over 39,000 calls of service. Even though the Amherst County 911 Center has multiple functions, there are two primary job functions within the Communications Center.

1. Receiving Incoming Calls. When a telephone call is received by the Center either via 911 or on a non-emergency line, the telecommunicater collects the information from the caller.

2. Dispatching The Call. The operator then dispatches the call to the appropriate agency or agencies.

The center is composed of four consoles that contain three computers each in addition to the 911 phone system. Each console has a computer for computer aided dispatch (CAD), mapping and our 800mhz radio system. Our Computer Aided Dispatch system is provided by IDNetworks and our 911 mapping is provided by MSAG. Amherst County is part of the regional radio system along with the City of Lynchburg and Bedford County.