From Ladysmith to Sooke and from the Gulf Islands to Victoria, residents of central and southern Vancouver Island have now been receiving 9-1-1 and police dispatch services from the South Island 9-1-1/Police Dispatch Centre, located in Saanich, for one full year. Built and owned by the Capital Regional District (CRD) and operated by E-Comm, the South Island 9-1-1/Police Dispatch Centre officially opened on March 6, 2019.
The centre merges 9-1-1 call-answer, police call-taking and dispatch services for the Central Saanich, Oak Bay, Saanich and Victoria police departments and 11 RCMP detachments in the central and southern Vancouver Island region. Previously, 9-1-1 calls and police dispatch services in the region were managed by three call centres in Victoria, Langford and Saanich..
Since the centre opened, it has handled 134,452 9-1-1 calls from central and southern Vancouver Island.
The following videos chronicle each agency’s transition into the building, culminating in the grand opening event on March 6, 2019: