The Department of Emergency & Customer Communications (DECC) is the Public Safety Answering Point for all emergency services within the City of Alexandria. All 9-1-1 calls are routed through DECC, along with 311 & non-emergency telephone calls of varying concerns and requests. DECC provides 24-hour, two-way radio communications and other essential services to police, sheriff, fire, and other local public safety departments.
Our Mission
To provide a safe and secure environment by facilitating Police, Fire, and Medical dispatch to preserve and protect the lives and property of all persons living in and visiting the City of Alexandria. Additionally, we strive to enhance the quality of life for our residents through the efficient and effective delivery of city services through Alex311, which provides easy access to information and assistance.
Our Vision
We're committed to providing our community with exemplary service in Public Safety 911 and 311 City services. We strive to ensure that our community receives timely, efficient, and effective assistance in emergencies as well as in non-emergency situations.
DECC Achieves Third CALEA Accreditation
The Department of Emergency and Customer Communications (DECC) is proud to announce that on March 14, its accreditation status was affirmed for the third consecutive time by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA®) in the Public Safety Communications Accreditation program, a distinction held by only 10 other standalone emergency communications centers in Virginia.
CALEA accreditation reflects adherence to internationally recognized best practices in public safety and demonstrates a continued commitment to excellence in management and service delivery. The accreditation remains active for four years, during which DECC must maintain compliance with rigorous CALEA standards and participate in regular reviews conducted by the CALEA Commission. This achievement reinforces the team’s ongoing dedication to providing high-quality, reliable service to the community and upholding the highest standards in public safety communications.
DECC Services
Non-Emergency
This service handles non-emergency calls related to Police, Fire, and EMS. You can reach this service at 703.746.4444.
Our Core Values
We are dedicated to offering the best possible customer service and experience and take pride in it. We believe in upholding core values such as professionalism, integrity, service, excellence, respect, dignity, pride, partnership, and accountability in all our interactions with our residents and stakeholders.
These core values are at the heart of everything we do!
We exhibit conscientious, courteous, and businesslike behavior in the workplace and conform to our profession's highest ethical and technical standards.
We are strongly committed to the highest performance standards, moral and ethical conduct, and truthfulness in all relationships.
We provide quality service in a courteous, efficient, and accessible manner.
We consistently strive to demonstrate our professional and technical excellence.
We treat all persons, including our co-workers and residents, during their time of need in a fair, impartial, unbiased, dignified, and courteous manner, with respect for individual differences and ethnic and cultural diversity.
We treat all persons with dignity during their time of need.
We take great pride in our skills, our fellow co-workers, our organization, and our commitment to public service.
We value our relationships with others and make quality, transparent decisions in cooperation with our co-workers and customers.
We hold ourselves accountable for our actions, and we are accountable to the community for all that we do.
CALEA Comments on DECC
Comment on the Department of Emergency Communication & Customer Service
Alexandria (VA) Department of Emergency Communications
The purpose of this portal is to receive public comments regarding an agency's compliance with The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies [CALEA] standards, engagement in the service community, delivery of public safety services, and overall candidacy for accredited status. These comments can be in the form of commendations or concerns. The overall intent of the accreditation process is to provide the participating agency with information to support continuous improvement, as well as foster the pursuit of professional excellence and this new approach works to further that objective.
IMPORTANT: CALEA is not an investigatory body and subsequently the public portal should not be used to submit information for such purposes. Additionally, there will be no response other than acknowledgment of submissions; however, the information will be considered in context to its relevancy to compliance with standards and the tenets of CALEA® Accreditation.
Technical and Operational Assessment and Pandemic Operations
Alexandria Department of Emergency and Customer Communications (DECC) Technical and Operational Assessment Pandemic Operations Submitted to: Alexandria, Virginia By APCO International