A SPECIALIZED STUDY WAS REQUIRED TO ACCURATELY IDENTIFY THE BENEFITS THAT CAN BE REALIZED THROUGH POOLING COMMUNICATION RESOURCES AND TO INDICATE THE BEST WAY TO ESTABLISH 911 SERVICE IN CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. THE EFFORT DEVELOPED FOUR IMPROVED EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM ALTERNATIVES, WITH EACH ALTERNATIVE BEING COMPLETE IN TERMS OF PRELIMINARY DESIGN, ENGINEERING, ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE, AND COSTS AND FUNDING CONSIDERATIONS. THE PURPOSE, AND METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY ARE DISCUSSED. EXISTING DISPATCH CENTERS ARE ANALYZED, WITH ATTENTION TO POLICE SERVICES, FIRE SERVICE DISPATCH CENTERS, EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICE DISPATCH FACILITIES, AND NONEMERGENCY DISPATCH CENTERS. THE POLICE RADIO FREQUENCIES REQUIRED FOR THE LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES ARE EXAMINED. PLANNING FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE UNIVERSAL TELEPHONE NUMBER (911) IS OUTLINED, AS IS THE CONCEPT OF CONSOLIDATED COMMUNICATIONS FOR PUBLIC SAFETY SERVICES. SELECTIVE ROUTING OF THE 911 SYSTEM AND THE FUNCTION AND EFFECTIVENESS OF SINGLE OR MULTIPLE DISPATCH CENTERS ARE DETAILED. FOLLOWING A PRESENTATION OF THE OPERATING ORGANIZATION FOR CONSOLIDATED PUBLIC SAFETY DISPATCHING CENTERS, THE COST OF THE DISPATCHING SYSTEM ALTERNATIVES AND METHODS OF FUNDING ARE EXAMINED. AN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY, TABULAR DATA, AND JURISDICTIONAL MAPS ARE PROVIDED. ALONG WITH A BIBLIOGRAPHY AND A DISTRIBUTION LIST. STATE 911 GUIDELINES, A DESCRIPTION OF THE CALL FLOW, CORRESPONDENCE, LITERATURE ON MOTOROLA AND GENERAL ELECTRIC SYSTEMS, AND A BROCHURE ON CODED COMMUNICATIONS ARE APPENDED. (KBL)