Community Responder FAQ
The City's Alternative Response Program, managed by the Emergency Communications Center, works to enhance public safety through community-centered approaches to intervention as alternatives to traditional police responses and the criminal justice system. One initiative of this program is our Community Responders.
Frequently Asked Questions
A Community Responder is a City of Cincinnati employee working within the Alternative Response Program managed by the Emergency Communications Center.
The City plans to hire a group of Community Responders in late summer, 2024. The initial complement of responders will train in the fall and should be operational by the end of the year.
This employee provides field response in the community for the City's non-emergency 311 Customer Service program and serves as an ambassador to the community on behalf of all City of Cincinnati agencies. This employee plays a crucial role in improving community outcomes by handling issues that do not require a traditional public safety response.
The Community Responder initiative is an expansion of the same model used to establish the City's Alternative Response to Crisis (ARC) teams. While ARC will continue to handle low-level crisis situations in lieu of police, connecting those in crisis with resources, Community Responders perform a similar function with non-crisis calls for service.
Many calls, such as assisting a motorist with a disabled vehicle while they wait for a tow truck, take up a significant amount of police time. Each year, the Cincinnati Police Department handles thousands of calls for disabled vehicles and minor, non-injury crashes. Police officers are routinely used as the "eyes and ears of the city," sent to make an initial assessment of a report to 311 about traffic hazards, signal malfunctions, or possible water main breaks. Sending a Community Responder in these circumstances frees up police to handle urgent law enforcement matters.
Community Responders are dispatched by the Cincinnati Emergency Communications Center (ECC).
ECC call-takers evaluate calls received using a protocol system. The system directs appropriate incidents to alternative responders, such as Community Responders, based on the specifics of each incident, and associated safety considerations.
When an eligible incident is routed to an ECC police dispatcher, the dispatcher will evaluate whether there is a Community Responder available. If yes, the incident will be dispatched to them. If there is not one on duty or they would not be able to respond in a reasonable period of time, the traditional response will be dispatched instead.
Community Responders are connected to ECC dispatchers in the same way as the City's other public safety responders, with radio and data communication tools.
The City intends to make Community Responders, and their vehicles, easy to identify. It is also the intention to make it clear that Community Responders are not other types of responders, such as police officers or firefighters. Community Responders wear uniforms and identification that represent them as City of Cincinnati employees.
Their vehicles are distinctively marked with green striping, "Community Responder" text, and amber warning lights. In addition to the reflectivity necessary for traffic safety, the green stripping and unique graphical design is meant to contrast the blue and red of traditional public safety vehicles. The same is true for the amber color of the vehicle's warning lights.
