A Tribute To Dispatchers by Chief Wagoner

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A TRIBUTE TO DISPATCHERS

Written by: Chief Wagoner

Loveland Colorado Police Dept

Someone once asked me if I thought that answering telephones for a living

was a profession. I said, " I thought it was a calling. "

And so is dispatching. I have found in my law enforcement career that

dispatchers are the unsung heroes of public safety. They miss the excitement of

riding in a speeding car with lights flashing and sirens wailing. They can

only hear of the bright orange flames leaping from a burning building. They do

not get to see the joy on the faces of worried parents as they see their child

begin breathing on its own, after it has been given CPR.

Dispatchers sit in darkened rooms looking at computer screens and talking to

voices from faces they never see. It's like reading a lot of books, but only

half of one.

Dispatchers connect the anxious conversations of terrified victims, angry

informants, suicidal citizens and grouchy officers. They are the calming

influence of all of them --the quiet, competent voices in the night that provide

the pillars for the bridges of sanity and safety. They are expected to gather

information from highly agitated people who can't remember where they live, what

their name is, or what they just saw. And then, they are to calmly provide all

that information to the oficers, firefighters, or paramedics without error the

first time and every time.

Dispatchers are expected to be able to do five things at once--and do them

well. While questioning a frantic caller, they must type the information into

a computer, tip off another dispatcher (if they have one), put another caller on

hold, and listen to an officer run a plate for a parking problem. To miss the

plate numbers is to raise the officers ire; to miss the caller's information may

be to endanger the same officer's life. But, the officer will never understand

that.

Dispatchers have two constant companions, other dispatchers and stress.

They depend on one, and try to ignore the other. They are chastened by upset

callers, taken for granted by the public, and criticized by the officers. The

rewards they get are inexpensive and infrequent, except for the satisfaction

they feel at the end of the shift, having done what they were expected to do.

Dispatchers come in all shapes and sizes, all races, both sexes, and all

ages. They are blondes, brunettes, and redheads. They are quiet and outgoing,

single, or married, plain, beautiful or handsome. No two are alike, yet they are

all the same.

They are people who were selected in a difficult hiring process to do an

impossible job. They are as different as snowflakes, but they have one thing in

common. They care about people and they enjoy being the lifeline of society --

that steady voice in a storm -- the one who knows how to handle every emergency

and does it with style and grace; and, uncompromised competence.

Dispatchers play many roles: therapist, doctor, lawyer, teacher,

weatherman, guidance counselor, psychologist, priest, secretary, supervisor,

politician, and reporter. And few people must jump through the emotional hoops

on the trip through the joy of one caller's birthday party, to the fear of

another caller's burglary in progress, to the anger of a neighbor blocked in

their drive, and they are expected to walk down to their car with steady feet

and no queasiness in their stomach -- becasue they are dispatchers. If they

hold it in, they are too closed. If they talk about it, they are a whiner. If

it bothers them, it adds more stress. If it doesn't, they question themselves,

wondering why.

Dispatchers are expected to have:

a.. the compassion of Mother Theresa

b.. the interviewing skills of Oprah Winfrey

c.. the patience of Job

d.. the knowledge of Einstein

e.. the humor of Letterman

f.. the looks of Griffith or Don

g.. the energy of Charo

h.. the wisdom of

i.. the gentleness of Florence Nightengale

j.. the voice of Barbara Streisand

k.. the answers of Ann Landers

l.. the investigative skills of Sgt Joe Friday

m.. the faith of Graham

n.. and the endurance of the Energizer Bunny

Is it any wonder that many drop out during training? It is a unique and

talented person who can do this job and do it well. And, it is fitting and

proper that we take a few minutes or hours this week to honor you, the

dispatcher, for the job that each of you do. That recognition is overdue and it

is insufficient. But, it is sincere.

I have tried to do your job, and I have failed. It takes a special person

with unique skills. I admire you and I thank you for the thankless job that you

do. You are heroes, and I am proud to work with you.

Editor -- This piece was written by Chief Wagoner in 1994 in connection with

National Telecommunicator Week, but its message is just as timely today. The

Sage will return next month. taken from: October 1999 Dispatch Monthly

Magazine.

Please share this with your local law enforcement dispatchers