The Cincinnati Police Communications Center is staffed 24 hours a day/seven days a week by certified Emergency Telecommunicators. It is our mission to act as a link between the citizens of Cincinnati and the public safety departments that serve them. We process 911 calls and non-emergency lines for police, fire, and medical response.

Through the use of this web page we hope to open lines of communication within the community and learn how to better serve you. We will answer some frequently asked questions about the services we provide and what to expect when calling 911.

Contacting the Police Department

Dial 9-1-1 for Emergencies Only

Appropriate uses of 911 are instances of immediate danger or there is a crime in progress such as: breaking and entering, assault, rape, shooting, cutting/stabbing, robbery, any crime against a child, missing person if they are a child or an adult with a mental or physical disability, vehicle accident, person with a weapon (gun/knife), suspicious situations, medical emergencies, fires, electrical lines down, gas leaks or an immediate situation where someone can be injured or is injured.

Calls for service for police/fire/medical responders are handled by civilian Emergency Operators who are trained and required to ask certain questions. Even when you are not sure why you are being asked a question, please answer the question as clearly and completely as possible. Please try to speak in a calm clear voice. Yelling and screaming becomes distorted and hard for the operators to understand you. Please do not argue with the operator, this may delay the response. Please be advised that as you are speaking to the operator they are notifying the police/fire/medical personnel by computer.  Information they obtain from you is continually being updated and will be relayed to those responding to your call.

When dialing 911 please be prepared to clearly give the following information:

• an address of where the response is needed or the nearest intersection (If providing an intersection please be able to describe the house or area). Give a business name if a business is near the intersection.
• what is occurring (shooting, fire, fight etc.)
• who is involved (please be able to provide information regarding  those who are involved including names and descriptions. This may also include descriptions of a car or a truck if the suspect has left or is attempting to leave the location.   
• what type of weapon was used or was threatened,  if any.
• if medical attention is needed

Please be advised calls requiring medical attention will be transferred to a specially trained medical operator when available.

Dial 765-1212 for non-emergencies

Although they are important to you, less serious crimes such as noise complaints, curfew violations, parking violations, barking dogs, situations that occurred some time ago but still require a report, request for a phone numbers to a police district or other police departments or general police department policy and procedure questions that do not require an immediate response. By your using the non-emergency number you ensure 9-1-1lines are available for emergency calls. Deliberate misuse of 911 is a crime which endangers lives.

Emergency and life threatening calls take priority over non-emergency calls. With this in mind, there may be events where the patrol officers are extremely busy with priority calls.  Please be patient.

Telephone Crime Reporting Unit or TCRU

For some incidents, there is little or nothing to be gained by having an officer respond.  Reporting these crimes is important.  TCRU will evaluate the information you have and when appropriate take the following reports Monday-Friday from 9:00am-5:00pm at 263-8160:

• Thefts where there is no possibility of immediate apprehension or property recovery and the value is less than $5,000.00 (except theft of firearms)
• Breaking and entering in which there is no suspect or possibility of property recovery. (detached garages, lock-n-store bins etc.)
• Criminal Damaging reports that are not in progress and no known suspect
• Simple assaults where no medical attention is required
• Menacing (unless currently occurring or the person making threats is expected to come to your location)
• Lost property
• Dog bites (in which no medical attention is required and the owner of the dog is known)
• Adult, non-critical missing reports (if they do not have a mental or physical disability or elderly)

To check for job opportunities to be an E911 Operator or Assistant Operator and Dispatcher, please click on this link.

Other Resources

2-1-1 is a service offered by United Way of Greater Cincinnati.  This 24 hour/365 day service is the only one stop shop providing citizens of our area with information on various health and human services topics including referrals regarding  health concerns, counseling, child care, help for an aging parent, employment issues and much more. United Way can be contacted at 211 24 hours a day, seven days a week or visit the website at www.uwgc.org.

Frequently asked Questions

1. Who should I call to find out why the power is out in my neighborhood? 

• You should contact Duke Energy (513) 421-9500.

2. Who should I contact due to my home telephone not working properly? 

• You need to contact which ever company is providing your phone service.

3. How can I find out if someone is in the county jail? 

• You should contact the Hamilton County Justice Center at (513) 946-6147.

4. What is the phone number to the district? 

• District One (1) is 352-3505, 
• District Two (2) is 979-4400, 
• District Three (3) is 263-8300, 
• District Four (4) is 569-8600
• District Five (5) is 569-8500.

5. When the disaster sirens are activated should I call the police department for information? 

No. Listen to your local radio or television for current information.

6. How do I get a copy of a police report? 

• Please contact the Cincinnati Police Record Section (513) 352-3559 or click on Records Request in the Contact Us section of the Cincinnati Police Web site.

7. Who do I call if I found an injured, stray or abandoned animal? 

• Please contact the SPCA at (513) 541-6100 from 9:00am-6:00pm. After hours contact them via Hamilton County Dispatch (513) 825-2280.

8. Who do I contact for street closures? 

ARTIMIS recorded line for traffic information at (513) 333-3333.

9. How do I find out if I have a warrant? 

You will need to go into a Cincinnati Police District with a photo ID to find out if you have any current warrants. We are unable to provide that information over the telephone.

10. How do I report an accident? 

• If you are involved in an accident and there are injuries, you should call 911. If it is a simple accident you can exchange information and respond into any Cincinnati Police district and make a accident report. We suggest that you do this within 24 hours of the accident. Information that should be exchanged is:
  • Name, address and phone number
  • Driver’s license number
  • Vehicle make, model, color and license plate number
  • Insurance company information
  • Note the date, time, location and obtain any witness information

11. Who do I contact to ask questions about traffic tickets? 

• Contact the traffic tag department at (513) 946-6041 daytime and (513) 946-6029 or 946-6027 evening.

12. How do I report a pothole? 

• If you notice a pothole on the street, please contact the Public Works Department at (513) 591-6000.

13. What do I do if a wild animal gets into my house? 

• Please contact an animal removal service as found in your local phone book or call 411.

14. Where and how do I contact the Impound Lot? 

• The impound lot is located at 3425 Spring Grove Ave. They can be contacted at (513) 352-6370.