-9-1-1 Emergency, What Are You Reporting?-

"Well, this isn't really an emergency, but there's a dog next door that's been barking for the past month, and it's really bothering me tonight, and I'd like the police to come talk to the owner about it."

Since we know what may be an emergency to one person may not be classified as an emergency to another, we would like to address the residents of West Covina with information which may be helpful when calling for police, fire, or emergency services.

About Us
9-1-1 is a direct dial line into the communications center, which staffs the police and fire dispatchers for the City of West Covina. All incoming police lines for business and non-emergency calls are also answered by the same dispatchers. All dispatchers are fully trained and certified in emergency medical dispatching. We provide pre-arrival instructions for medical emergencies to the best of our ability until medical help arrives.

Emergency Calls For Service
9-1-1 should be used to report life and death emergencies, in-progress crimes, or crimes of a life and death nature that have just occurred. Some examples of these types of calls are:

• Robberies in progress
• Robberies just occurred (where a weapon or force is used)
• Burglaries in progress or just occurred
• Traffic accidents with injuries or unknown if injuries are involved
• Shootings or shots fired
• Fires
• Domestic violence in progress
• Any crime involving use of a weapon
• Any and all medical aid calls

Routine Calls For Service
Routine calls for police service should be called in on the police business number, (626) 939-8500. Some examples of routine, non-emergency calls are:

• Abandoned vehicles
• suspicious person
• noise complaints (these include music/party noise, machinery noise, etc.)
• burglary reports
• stolen car reports
• vandalism reports
• missing persons reports
• annoying phone calls
• non-injury traffic accidents
• any other basic non-life threatening calls for police services

Although we don't have all the answers, we are willing to try to help you and accommodate your needs. The business line should be used for asking routine police or fire questions.

Please keep in mind, during inclement weather, we are busier than usual. Very often, during power outages, we are inundated with questions such as "when is power coming back on?" "Do you know why the power is out?", etc. These calls come in on both the business and 9-1-1 lines, tying up the system and creating a tremendous burden on dispatchers who are fielding emergency calls, trying to dispatch officers to intersections that are without power, and sending fire equipment to emergency situations which may be created by the outages. All power outages are handled by the Edison Company. They are the only ones that can provide answers to your questions on power problems.

Frequently, following earthquakes, many residents flood both the 9-1-1 and business lines asking questions about the earthquake. As with power outages, we are unable to answer questions regarding earthquakes. The only way we are able to obtain information is by listening to the radio news broadcasts. This is your best bet for obtaining information as well. By doing this, you will help us to keep the lines free for persons who may have incurred an emergency as a result of the earthquake and need to call for our services.

Here Are Some Tips To Remember:
When you call 9-1-1 and reach us in error, please do not hang up without saying it is an error. We are required to call back on all 9-1-1 disconnects to verify whether there is actually a problem or not. If you do not answer or we are unable to confirm that there is not a problem, police officers will be dispatched to your home. If it was in fact an error, it takes the dispatchers time in calling back, and takes officers away from other emergencies they may need to respond to.

Please don't assume that you can dial 9-1-1 and the police will respond. Periodically, the computer systems are taken down for maintenance or upgrading, and it may take a while to obtain your address. This wastes precious time in emergency situations.

When you call the police, please answer the questions that are asked of you. Many times, you may think the questions are superfluous or unnecessary, however, if we are asking them, they are important. Remember, we are trained in asking the proper questions for both your safety and the safety of the police officers and firefighters who may be responding to your need.

Important Telephone Numbers

Police Business or Routine Calls		(626) 939-8500
Detective Bureau		(626) 939-8510
Jail		(626) 939-8550
Police Records (accident reports)		(626) 939-8540
Desk Officer (questions)		(626) 939-8557
Fire Administration		(626) 338-8800
Fire Prevention Bureau		(626) 338-8800
Edison Company		(626) 967-7411
Gas Company		(626) 859-3290
Disposal Company		(626) 962-4031
City Yard (tree/street problems/sandbags)		(626) 939-8458
West Covina Water Dept.		(626) 939-8455
Citrus Court		(626) 939-3223
Animal Control		(626) 939-3632
Community Enhancement		(626) 939-8426
Crime Prevention		(626) 856-6352

- back to top -


Community Events | Visit City Hall | Meet Your City Council
Kids Stuff | West Covina Loves Your Business | Home
Phone Directory | Site Map | Contact Us