CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake Police Department said it has instituted its new phone system in response to an increasing call volume.
People who call the department now are routed into a phone tree, rather than getting a live person, which Chief Craig Clausen said is because of the impacts on the small department’s dispatch center.
Clausen told the Clearlake City Council last week that his agency received nearly 12,000 calls last quarter.
All of those calls – many of them nonemergency or seeking general community information – were routed through the dispatch center, Clausen explained.
“It was inundating them,” he said, especially with only one dispatcher on duty.
The new phone system resulted, he said.
“So far it has worked amazingly well,” said Clausen.
Some community members have complained to Lake County News that they found the new system confusing and difficult to navigate, as well as being slower.
The system can be navigated as follows, according to Nicole Newton, the agency’s records and communications supervisor.
If you have an emergency, hang up and dial 911.
Press 1 if you know your party’s extension; once you hear the city hall greeting, enter the extension you wish to reach.
Press 2 to report a crime, request police response or reach the records department.
Press 3 to reach Clearlake Animal Control for nonemergencies.
Press 4 to reach property or evidence.
Press 5 for sex, narcotic, or arson registrations or to obtain a second hand dealer license.
Press 6 to reach volunteers or the “You Are Not Alone” – or YANA – program.
Some key direct extensions are evidence, 308; animal control, 115; and sex offender registrations, 320.
Newton said that all reports and incidents must go to dispatch first and then an officer will be assigned to the case.
She said citizens should not directly contact an officer to make a new report. “The only time the citizen should be contacting the officer directly is if they have an open, ongoing case with that officer.”
Newton explained that the department does not have unlimited incoming lines, so it is possible to get a busy signal if all the lines are busy.
“We often only have one dispatcher on duty at a time, so we ask the public to be patient and we will answer their calls as soon as possible,” she said.
The full roster of extensions, which the department also published on its Facebook page, is shown below.
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