Highland Council leader Margaret Davidson is urging people to have their say about the planned closure of the police 999 and 101 call handling centre in Inverness.
The deadline for responses to a public consultation is August 23.
Call centre operations currently based at Inverness and Aberdeen are likely to be transferred to Dundee in spring next year.
The proposal has fuelled fears in the north that lives could be put at risk because of call handlers’ potential lack of local knowledge – something denied by police chiefs.
Mrs Davidson made the concerns clear in a private meeting with Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary (HMICS) Derek Penman.
She said: “He understands the need for public confidence in the local police service.
“We need to be clear that our calls are being dealt with effectively and safely, and I would encourage people to respond to the survey.”
Three of Mrs Davidson’s council colleagues who served a total of almost 75 years with the police are concerned.
Among them is Landward Caithness councillor Matthew Reiss, a retired area commander, who recently cited an example of an officer being dispatched 40 miles in the wrong direction in the west Highlands because of misinformation relayed by a call-handling centre.
He fears there would be greater risks if call centres were further afield.
The three former officers had urged the force to delay a decision about call centres until after the results of the inquiry into the recent tragedy in which police failed to respond to a fatal car crash on the M9 until three days after it was reported by a passerby.
The Scottish Police Authority has promised to “carefully consider” the findings before final decisions about call centres are made.
HMICS will report to the Scottish Government by the end of October.
Its questionnaire is online at
http://www.hmics.org/publications/press-release-hmics-welcome-response-online-questionnaire
.