South Brunswick PD’s 911 Communication Center Gets Statewide Accreditation

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — The South Brunswick Police Department’s 911 Communication Center has achieved statewide accreditation for the first time in history, Chief Raymond Hayducka said.

In 2022, the Communication Center handled 112,068 calls for police, fire and EMS in South Brunswick and Cranbury. There were 23,953 emergency 911 calls placed to the center in 2022, according to police data.

According to Hayducka, the accreditation ranking comes after months of evaluation and in-person inspection by the New Jersey Law Enforcement Accreditation Commission.

“It took a lot of work to ensure that we are meeting the highest standards,” Hayducka said.

He credited the entire South Brunswick Communication team for working together to enhance the department’s policies, procedures, and practices. Hayducka specifically recognized Public Safety Telecommunication Supervisor (PSTS) Robert Carinci for all his effort.

“In his nine years as head of the communication center he has overseen the unit’s expansion to cover an additional community, increased staffing, expanded call handling capacity, improved team morale, and now achieved accreditation. This is excellent work,” Hayducka said.

To receive State Accreditation, the department had to meet the criteria of 140 topics in 49 categories. These categories cover topics like hiring process, training, call handling procedures and more.

The examination reviewed training requirements, record keeping, emergency procedures, as well as audit and inspection procedures. officials noted that it was a comprehensive review that went on to confirm the “outstanding work” the department is doing. The communication center handled 26 percent increase in calls in the past seven years.

“Our communication center is the first voice people in trouble hear when they call for help. It is the voice that sends them help 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. It can be extremely challenging to listen to all those calls and direct the help they need,” Hayducka said. “Our team of 12 full-time public safety telecommunicators and 2 part-time, do a tremendous job day every day.”

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