What Is the PSCC?
In July 2001, the District of Columbia began using a Public Safety Communications Center (PSCC) that greatly improved 911 service for District residents, workers and visitors. Located on McMillan Drive, NW, the PSCC combined state-of-the-art technology with a modern facility to enhance agency coordination and improve employee productivity. For the first time, police and Fire and Emergency Medical Services (FEMS) communications personnel were located in the same facility to more efficiently answer and dispatch calls for service.

On October 1, 2004, management of the PSCC changed from a joint operation of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPDC) and FEMS to a new District of Columbia government agency: the Office of Unified Communications (OUC).

The new agency's responsibilities include all 911 and 311 call-taking, as well as all police, fire and medical dispatching. While these operations were still conducted at the PSCC, a new facility, called the Unified Communications Center (UCC), was already under construction on the east campus of St. Elizabeths Hospital. The UCC began its operation September 2006. The PSCC is now maintained as a backup and training facility.

What is the UCC?
OUC operations and services continue to grow. The OUC joined other public safety organizations, such as the DC Emergency Management Agency (DCEMA) in a new state-of-the-art facility called the Unified Communications Center (UCC). The center, which opened September 2006, consolidates functions, personnel, equipment and systems. The UCC provides cost benefits from consolidation and improves service delivery and public safety. The UCC facility also provides a safe, high-quality, technologically up-to-date, aesthetically pleasing and functional environment for all call-takers (both emergency and non-emergency) and the service delivery tracking systems required for a unified communication facility.

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