| Many moons ago at the ripe old age of 19 I began | | | | or two. But to me that's about the same as being |
| my law enforcement career. I was still too young to | | | | driven around a NASCAR track by Tony Stewart and |
| become an officer so I became a dispatcher while I | | | | expected to be as good as he is when you climb out |
| waited to go to the police academy. I figured I'd do | | | | of the passenger seat. |
| the "easy" job of dispatching before becoming a cop | | | | It is true that there is a love-hate relationship |
| and doing real police work. | | | | between dispatchers and the officers they take care |
| It sure didn't take me long to realize that being an | | | | of. And that's what it is ladies and gentlemen; they |
| emergency telecommunications operator is no walk in | | | | are taking care of you on the street. Dispatchers and |
| the park. The two years I dispatched was probably | | | | Officers both make mistakes, sometimes there is a |
| the toughest, most stressful two years of my 19 | | | | lack of communication on either end of the radio, but |
| year career to date. | | | | in the end we are all on the same side and operating |
| It takes a special person to be able to talk on three | | | | with the same goal in mind-Your safety. |
| radio channels to multiple officers, answer phone lines | | | | After a high risk incident, Officers can sit on the curb |
| and 911, while typing and documenting your every | | | | and drank a Gatorade, put a dip of snuff in, or walk |
| move into a CAD system, and oh, let's not forget | | | | off and gather yourself for a few minutes. |
| about operating NCIC as well. Officers with | | | | Dispatchers have to sit in the chair, in that room and |
| dispatching experience realize the little things that | | | | have no escape from the high stress incident they |
| don't come through the radio frequency and can help | | | | just handled over 911 and dealing with you barking |
| make the dispatcher's life easier, sometimes by just | | | | orders at them over the radio. It's just on to the |
| being a bit more patient, maybe for just a second or | | | | next phone call that is holding for them to take. |
| two. | | | | So next time you get a little angry when the |
| We as officers tend to forget, or have no real | | | | dispatcher doesn't answer your beckon call, I would |
| knowledge of what dispatchers are going through | | | | encourage you to go sit in their chair for 8 hours and |
| during the course of a shift at work. If it were up to | | | | see what it feels like....You might find yourself buying |
| me, the initial training of every rookie cop would be | | | | them flowers the next day and begging for |
| to be a fully trained dispatcher. Now it's nice that a | | | | forgiveness. |
| lot of training programs make new officer's "observe" | | | | As for me, well, I believe that God made dispatchers |
| by sitting in the communications division for a week | | | | so cops could have heroes too... |