What called you to your career?
I had the desire to help the people and the community I live in.
What keeps you there?
There are lots of opportunities to continue to help our community beyond just call taking and dispatching. We have options to grow here and become a supervisor, work with the IT department, or coach and teach with the training department.
What do you find fulfilling?
The completion of a very challenging tactical incident, such as a police perimeter or a house fire.
What are some challenges?
Our job is always challenging, but with recent short staffing, that challenge has become much more amplified. We often take back-to-back calls for hours, and that can be exhausting. One thing that can help make our process a little more manageable is, if you make a 911 call, please listen to our questions and answer as best you can and as timely as you're able to. This will allow us to get you the help you need quicker. It will also help us provide assistance faster to the next person who is waiting on hold.
What is surprising about your work?
We only see the beginning of the calls we take and then we move on to another call so we often don't learn what happens as the result of the calls we take.
What do you wish everyone understood about your work?
The difference between an emergency and a non-emergency. Many callers attempt to report a cold non-emergency situation or make a cold police report on the 911 line, when that line should only be used for active emergencies occurring now. Many non-emergencies can be reported online.