The Strafford County Communications Center is part of the Communications and Emergency Management Unit of the Strafford County Sheriff’s Office.
The Communications Center provides law enforcement dispatch services for the Strafford County Sheriff’s Office and nine towns located within Strafford County; Barrington, Farmington, Middleton, Milton, New Durham, Lee, Durham, Strafford and Rollinsford. We also provide fire and EMS dispatching services for Farmington, Middleton, Milton, New Durham, and Durham.
The Communications Center is the direct after-hours contact for numerous other agencies, including, but not limited to; the United States Marshal’s Offices in New Hampshire and Maine, many public works departments, and the Medical Examiner’s Office.
The Communications Center staff consists of a full-time Director of Communications and Emergency Management, three full-time Public Safety Dispatch Supervisors, eight full-time Publuc Safety Dispatchers and one part-time Public Safety Dispatcher.
The Strafford County Sheriff’s Office Communications Center first received National Accreditation in March of 2011 from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA), and was re-accredited in 2021. We are one of the original communications centers to receive national accreditation in New England.
Strafford County Emergency Management is part of the Communications and Emergency Management Unit of the Strafford County Sheriff’s Office.
The primary mission of the Emergency Management unit is to plan, prepare, mitigate, and recover from disasters or emergencies of all hazards within the Strafford County Complex and provide assistance to any city or town within Strafford County.
Emergency Management is home to the Sheriff’s Office sUAS (Drone) Team. The team operates 2 aircraft that contain the most modern and advanced imaging technologies available. The Team is capable of continuous operations at any type of incident, day or night. All team pilots are FAA Part 107 credentialed pilots.
The bulk of sUAS callouts have been for search and rescue missions utilizing our thermal imaging and infrared imaging equipment.
We are in the beginning stages of having Field Communications Personnel that will be available to assist any agency in the County with radio and data communications at events and all-hazard incidents. We already have personnel trained in Tactical Dispatch, Incident Communications Center Management, Incident Communications Technicians, and a Communications Unit Leader. Emergency Management personnel are also responsible for the maintenance of the Sheriff’s Office IT and 2-Way Radio Infrastructure, Cruiser Electronics, body cameras, and courthouse security systems. These services are also provided to dispatched agencies as a function of this unit.