CENTENNIAL – Beginning November 17, 2021, at 7:00 a.m. citizens who call the sheriff’s non-emergency dispatch number will now hear a new recorded ‘auto attendant’ which will route inbound calls to the department they need.

The system works like this: when someone calls the non-emergency number, 303-795-4711, they will hear a recording that says, “You have reached the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office. If this is a life-threatening emergency, please hang up and dial 911. Please listen to the following options. For the jail, press 1; for Records, press 2; for a non-emergency law enforcement response, press 3; for civil matters, press 4; for warrants, press 5.”

Cathy Raley, Communications Manager, says the new phone system feature will guarantee a quick and efficient answer to callers. “There are times our dispatch center is so busy that we have to put people on hold for 5 or 6 minutes. Those folks tell us, ‘I just needed the records department or the jail or your civil unit.’ This new phone system feature will transfer them straight there without waiting,” says Raley.

The Arapahoe County Sheriff’s 911 dispatch center receives more than 400 emergency and non-emergency calls every weekday and more than 300 calls on weekends and the call center is experiencing staff shortages like many other law enforcement agencies throughout the nation. “We’re down one-third of our staff, so this will help alleviate some of those calls that come in,” says Raley.

Here are the services provided:

• Use 1 for the Jail - if you’re looking for inmate information, booking or visitation
• Use 2 for Records – if you’re looking for a copy of a report, copy of 911 phone calls or radio transmissions and questions about criminal history inquiries
• Use 3 for a Non-Emergency law enforcement response
• Use 4 for Civil – if you have a question about eviction or need civil deputies to standby to keep the peace
• Use 5 for Warrants – if you have a question about warrant information