The East Central Dispatch Center (ECDC) Executive Director Paul Jokerst has announced that ECDC will seek international accreditation.
Mr. Jokerst, who was appointed as the new Executive Director in August 2018, is no stranger to public safety. Starting his career as a dispatcher for the St. Charles City Police Department, Mr. Jokerst has also served as a Police Officer, I.T. & Radio System Administrator, Sergeant and ultimately Chief of Police in Paola, Kansas before retiring from law enforcement.
ECDC provides Police, Fire, and EMS communications for Clayton, Brentwood, Maplewood, Olivette, Richmond Heights, Rock Hill, Shrewsbury, and Webster Groves. In order to comply with accreditation, ECDC must comply with over 200 standards in order to achieve accredited status. Mr. Jokerst stated that “this process will assist the center in maintaining a professionally managed 911 center. Emergency Communications Centers and Law Enforcement Agencies accredited through CALEA serve as the benchmark for all public safety agencies worldwide. The residents of the eight communities we serve should be proud that all their police departments have already received this high level of standard. It only makes perfect sense that ECDC do the same.”
The CALEA Public Safety Communications Accreditation Program provides a communications center with a process to systemically review and internally assess its operations and procedures. This program will require ECDC to comply in seven topic areas: Organization; Direction and Supervision; Human Resources; Recruitment,
Selection, and Promotion; Training; Operations; and Critical Incidents, Special Operations, and Homeland Security.
The accreditation process will consist of five phases:
1. Enrollment
2. Self-Assessment
3. On-site Assessment
4. Commission Review
5. Maintaining Compliance and Reaccreditation
2. Self-Assessment
3. On-site Assessment
4. Commission Review
5. Maintaining Compliance and Reaccreditation
As part of the on-site assessment, agency employees and members of the communities served by ECDC will be invited to speak with the CALEA Assessor during a phone in session. When scheduled, comments will be accepted by the Assessor between designated hours. Telephone comments will be limited to five (5) minutes and must address the 911 Center’s ability to comply with CALEA’s standards.
A copy of the standards will be available at the Richmond Heights Public Safety Building, 7447 Dale Ave. Richmond Heights Missouri, between the hours of 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday. For further information, contact the ECDC's Executive Director, Paul Jokerst, at (314) 965-3000.
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