New South Island 9-1-1/Police Dispatch Centre

It’s a busy summer of construction as crews continue to make progress on the new South Island 9-1-1/Police Dispatch Centre in Saanich. Some 40 tradespeople are on site each day, keeping the pace to allow for a scheduled opening in early 2019.

“The team continues to meet critical construction milestones to ensure the project remains on track, including work on the parkade and storage areas for electrical and power equipment,” said Shawn Carby, Senior Manager of Protective Service for the Capital Regional District, which is overseeing the construction project.

The building is scheduled to be turned over to E-Comm on August 31 for final outfitting.

Meanwhile, E-Comm representatives continue to meet with staff at each current dispatch centre in the region to develop policies and plans to assist with the transition to the consolidated centre. “I’m interested in knowing what people’s thoughts are about best practices in their current environment, so that together, we can co-create the best possible working environment at the new centre,” said Sally Boxall, manager of the South Island Centre. All call takers and dispatchers currently working at South Island police agencies will be offered jobs in the new consolidated centre.

The Capital Regional District-owned, two-storey, 1,200-square-metre facility amalgamates 9-1-1 call-answer and police dispatch services for the Victoria, Saanich, Central Saanich and Oak Bay police departments and local RCMP detachments. E-Comm will manage the centre on behalf of the police agencies.

When the centre opens next year, it will handle an estimated 95,000 emergency 9-1-1 calls annually. Once it’s fully operational, E-Comm will be handling 99 per cent of 9-1-1 calls in B.C. between its two centres in Vancouver and Saanich.

Project updates, images of building renderings, construction videos and photos are available on the Capital Regional District website.