The Police Communication Center is staffed by three full-time and four part-time communication specialists. In addition to dispatching calls for service, the communication specialists are the initial point of contact at our 24-hour service window. They are also responsible for the majority of our data entry, receiving and directing administrative telephone calls. Saugerties Police Dispatchers are also the primary after hours answering point for all other departments in the Town and Village of Saugerties. In 2020 the Saugerties Police Communication Center received 40,935 in-coming phone calls, of which 16,491  were Emergency calls requiring police response.  Saugerties police officers responded to 2,834  calls dispatched through the Ulster County 911 center. In 2020 Saugerties Police responded to a total of 5,646 calls for service in the Village of Saugerties and 10,845 calls for service in the Town of Saugerties. Police officers also responded 463 times for intrusion alarms at 201 different locations throughout the Town and Village.     

The Communications Division consists of Police Communications Officers, more commonly known to the public as dispatchers, who are the primary answering point for all emergency and non-emergency requests for police. Like the Patrol Division, the Communications Division operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

• Responsible for answering incoming calls to the police by way of internal telephone 
• Collect pertinent information from callers and disseminate that information to responding units or agencies
• Determine the priority level of requests for services and mitigate those calls that can be handled without a need for committing department resources to a response
• Operate the radio systems for the police support channels
• Monitor and dispatch for all police and fire alarm activations
• Maintain the CAD records of all responses and services provided by the police
• Process all paperwork, data entry and alert notifications for all missing persons, stolen vehicles, arrested individuals, etc
• Keep Administration informed 24-hrs a day of noteworthy incidents and emergencies
• Responsible for monitoring jail cell occupants (via closed circuit television and physical cell checks) to guard against illness or injury
• Responsible for greeting and providing services to visitors to the police station’s lobby
• Receive initial calls for services and determine nature, location and severity of emergency or services required
• Obtain pertinent caller/witness information for current or future investigation of the incident
• Obtain suspect/crime information, enter into CAD and provide to responding units
• Dispatch appropriate resources to the incident ensuring adequate manpower on-scene as well as to maintain sufficient remaining coverage town wide
• Maintain constant contact with persons reporting crimes in progress keeping them calm and relaying that information in a real-time manner to responding officers
• Broadcast (and receive broadcasts) to/from surrounding communities via mutual aid police radio systems regarding crimes occurring in and around town
• Maintain radio contact with officers on scene to keep the police officer-in-charge informed
• Notify additional resources (Detectives, Crime Scene Investigators, Accident Reconstruction, Medical Examiner, Tactical Teams, Administration Staff, etc.) and maintain an accurate information flow with them
• Provide an effective link to outside support agencies (Fire, Water, Light, Highway, Tow Companies, etc.)
• Interact with Registry Of Motor Vehicles, Criminal History, National Crime Information Center databases via computer with incident related queries
• Testify in criminal court as to the authenticity of archived recordings and with regards to actions taken during the call taking/dispatching evolution
• Support all police department divisions (Detective, Traffic, etc.) with data entry/gathering and other services as needed.

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