The Michigan State Police Operations Center, or "Operations" as it is known throughout the department, is the 24-hour-a-day command and control center.  Members of the Special Operations Division staff and supervise the Operations Center.  The center, located at headquarters in East Lansing, coordinates state police activities and the department’s response to a wide variety of requests for information and specialized law enforcement services.

The Operations Center performs many roles.  The center serves as the control point for the state’s Law Enforcement Information Network (LEIN) and National Alert Warning System (NAWAS); and it coordinates the department’s emergency mobilizations and specialists’ assignments.  Staff personnel also serve as the department’s Public Information Officer outside normal business hours.  In addition, the center is the after-hours contact point for all divisions and personnel, and it provides 24-hour emergency notification services for department executives.

The Operations Center is the point of first contact when initiating a state emergency management response to a natural disaster or man-made emergency.  The center is Michigan’s contact point for the federal Department of Energy, coordinating the safe and secure transportation of classified government nuclear shipments in the state.  Michigan nuclear plants also coordinate their emergency response training with the center, as well as the transportation of nuclear waste products.  A cooperative effort between the Department of State Police and the United States Department of Energy resulted in the installation of TRANSCOM, a computerized satellite tracking capability for nuclear waste shipments within Michigan.

The First District Regional Dispatch Center is located within the Operations Center.  It provides direct support and radio communications to state police officers working or traveling in mid-Michigan.  It also maintains contact with the other regional dispatch centers via radio and LEIN to ensure an effective department response to all situations.