Among other things, the operations control centre processes incoming emergency calls, prioritizes them, assigns operations and, if necessary, coordinates the work of the forces deployed on site. It collects, evaluates, documents and manages all information relevant to operations, monitors police radio traffic and is responsible for data queries in connection with operations.

The police control center is therefore of outstanding importance for daily operations and a hub for information. But what exactly do the police officers do who answer emergency calls around the clock and then dispatch help or provide assistance themselves?

The general tasks of the control center include:
- The central acceptance and processing of emergency calls via 110
- Central assignment of operations to patrol cars, the criminal investigation department or the traffic directorate
- Researching current data queries, for example as part of an operation
- Management and coordination in special operational situations and the possible alerting of other emergency services.
- Documenting the number of operations using situation reports, which serve to inform other departments and provide a basis for evaluation and planning with regard to the crime and traffic situation.
- Performing individual tasks of the press office outside of the daytime service.

What happens when you dial the emergency number 110?
A caller who dials 110 from a mobile or landline is connected by computer to a member of staff at a police authority's operations control center. In the Rhine district of Neuss, the operations control center is located in the police building on Jülicher Landstraße in Neuss.
From here, all incidents reported via emergency calls in the Rhine district of Neuss are processed and forwarded to the individual police stations in the municipalities or directly to the local patrol cars or the CID. In this way, all immediately necessary measures and the fastest possible assistance can be organized and coordinated.
To this end, it is important that the essential information is recorded quickly:

- Who is calling and who is affected?
- What has happened?
- Where did it happen?
- When did it happen?
- How did it happen?
- Why did it happen?
- Where did the information come from?

Sometimes quick action is required. Please understand if the officer at the other end of the telephone line interrupts you or asks you to provide certain information in a matter-of-fact manner. In any case, wait on the phone for possible follow-up questions. Do not simply hang up. You may be able to provide further important information.
Did you actually know...: Speech and hearing impaired people have the option of contacting the police by fax via the emergency number 110.

What happens during an emergency call
Sometimes things have to happen quickly when an emergency call is received by the police control center. In addition to the most important information that the control center officer asks for on the phone, many things are already happening in parallel in the background. Essential information, such as the location, name and number of the caller and the reason for the emergency call, for example "traffic accident with casualties", is entered into a computer system. At the same time, one or more patrol cars are instructed to drive to the scene, if necessary with special rights of way (in simple terms: "blue lights and siren"). But that's not all. The fire department, rescue services, helicopters, road construction companies, towing services, sniffer dogs if necessary, hunters and countless other helpers or institutions are also alerted if necessary and sent or requested to the scene of the incident.

The control center also supports the emergency services on the street at the same time, for example by coordinating necessary closures in consultation with the police officers on site. The control centre staff assess and prioritize the situation, which is regularly a very responsible task. The police cannot always be everywhere, which is why some operations have to be prioritized over others. It can therefore happen that you have to wait for a rear-end collision that has only resulted in material damage if you want the police to record it. A fight or a missing child have priority in such cases. In such cases of extreme urgency, the control center staff cannot always ask every caller for understanding, which is why we are doing so here. No dent or nocturnal disturbance can be as important as the protection of physical integrity or perhaps even a human life.

By the way, did you know that you are not obliged to call the police in the event of a traffic accident without injuries if all parties involved are at the scene? The damage can often be settled via the insurance company. The situation is different if there is suspicion of a criminal offense (for example: drunkenness, drugs, hit-and-run).

Emergency calls and those that are not
The specially trained police officers at the emergency control center in the Rhine district of Neuss handle an average of more than 30,000 calls per year that are received via the emergency number 110. The actual number of calls received via the emergency number 110 is many times higher, as some of these are simple requests for help or information. Please direct general questions to the central police number 02131 300-0 in order to keep the emergency number free for real emergencies. 
However, the 110 number is also sometimes misused as a joke. Anyone who misuses the emergency number, i.e. for supposed fun, mischief, a test of courage or to knowingly disrupt the work of the police, is liable to prosecution.
Calls that relate to matters that do not fall within the remit of the police are not punishable, but can be avoided. If the officer at the control center asks to keep the emergency call free in such cases, this is often met with a lack of understanding.

Callers currently use the emergency number 110 to report violations of the general orders of the municipalities in the Rhine district of Neuss to combat communicable diseases in accordance with the Infection Protection Act. Please direct any questions to the responsible local authorities. More here.

ComCenter and the police situation center
The police can be contacted around the clock, every day of the year, in dangerous situations via the emergency number 110. Anyone reporting a crime or seeking help with general questions can call the central telephone number 02131-300-0. Anyone calling here will be greeted by a specially trained ComCenter employee. Like the police control center, this switchboard is located in the building on Jülicher Landstraße. From here, callers are connected to the relevant stations and police stations throughout the district during office hours or, for example, to the personnel, weapons or press office, to name just a few examples.

Did you know that you can also contact the police in the Rhine district of Neuss by email in addition to the emergency number 110 and the general telephone number 02131 300-0? Via the e-mail address poststelle.neuss [at] polizei.nrw.de (poststelle[dot]neuss[at]polizei[dot]nrw[dot]de) your request will be forwarded to the responsible department. It is also possible to file a criminal complaint online at https://internetwache.polizei.nrw/ in cases that do not require urgent intervention to avert a specific danger.

The ComCenter works closely with the incident command center, as does the police situation center. The staff there are the point of contact for the control center, as well as other police departments, for evaluating, assessing and managing information of police significance. This also includes, for example, stored data on contact persons, availability, object data of public buildings such as schools, offices, etc., which can be important for the coordinated action of the police in the event of an emergency and are therefore stored in the computer system with which the operations control center works.