A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE EMERGENCY TELEPHONE '911' SYSTEM IS GIVEN AS WELL AS A DISCUSSION OF ITS ADOPTION BY POLICE AND FIRE CHIEFS WITHIN SANTA CLARA COUNTY AND BY THE COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT. USE OF THE PRESENT 7-DIGIT COMMON NUMBER IS DESCRIBED AND THE RESULTS OF A FRANKLIN RESEARCH INSTITUTE LABORATORIES REPORT IS DISCUSSED WHICH DESIGNATES THE WEAKEST LINK IN THE COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM AS THE RESPONSE TIME BETWEEN THE OCCURRENCE OF AN EVENT AND THE NOTIFICATION. THE 911 EMERGENCY SYSTEM, THEREFORE, PROVIDES THE CITIZEN WITH A SIMPLE DECISION AND WITH IMMEDIATE ACCESS TO THE CORRECT DISPATCHING FACILITY. THE REPORT RECOMMENDS THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A SINGLE OVERALL COORDINATING '911' RECEPTION CENTER AND SUGGESTS THAT BRIEFING SESSIONS BE HELD WITH DEPARTMENT HEADS OF THE COUNTY AND WITH SERVICE CHIEFS OF OTHER JURISDICTIONS WITHIN THE COUNTY. IN ADDITION, A COMPREHENSIVE STUDY PROGRAM SHOULD BE INITIATED CONSISTING OF VARIOUS COUNTY AND TELEPHONE COMPANY OFFICIALS TO OBTAIN MORE SPECIFIC INFORMATION ON TRUNKING AND STAFFING REQUIREMENTS BASED ON ANTICIPATED LOADS IMPOSED ON THE SYSTEM AND TO DECIDE ON THE MOST COST EFFECTIVE SYSTEM. (AOP)