Telecommunicator Spotlight: Nancy Ray Is Passionate in Her Role as a ‘Lifeline’ for Cops
Originally from Milwaukee and one of six children, Nancy Ray, 45, wanted to be a police officer when she was a child. However, her mother didn’t allow guns in the house, so she became a field/sales representative for a trucking company instead. When financial difficulties arose in her life, she started looking for another job and discovered that the city of Milwaukee was hiring dispatchers. She applied and was hired, and after undergoing a lengthy background check and six months’ worth of training, she became a dispatcher. Ray has now been on the job 10 years.
“I love dispatching,” Ray says. She currently works the first shift, from 7:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m.
Ray believes her job is to ensure law enforcement officers are safe and able to deal with the problem at hand. Her focus is providing information to the officers on the street. “We’re their lifeline. If I can’t get them help, then I didn’t do my job. I work very hard on making sure squads are taken care of and everything is done,” Ray says.
“A dispatcher not only determines what type [of], and how many, resources need to be sent to a particular call, but we are also one of the lifelines that an officer has and depends on. When an officer requests help, it is our job to get it for them and make sure that help gets to the correct location,” Ray says. “I do care about everybody. I could not do what the officers do. I’m a big softie.”
Ray notes that people generally don’t realize the amount of stress that dispatchers experience. “The stress is extreme,” she says. Ray points out that new employees learn how to cope with stress over time. “It takes practice.”
In order to be proficient in her role, Ray has to be able to multi-task. She considers herself a fast typist and a good listener who is able to anticipate needs. “As years go on, you get used to that. You pride yourself on doing an excellent job,” she says.
Ray acknowledges the job is a learning process. “Every day is different. Every assignment is different. No two calls are the same. You learn from your mistakes. I take a lot of good stuff and take it all in,” she says.
Reflecting on calls that have left an impact, Ray recalls a rash of home invasions and armed robberies that involved check cashing facilities that occurred eight or nine years ago. Robbers would follow the check cashing facility “key holders” home from work to see where they lived. Then, in the middle of the night, the robbers would break into the home, tie up a family member while the other robber took the key holder to the business, and forced the individual to open the safe. The key holder would be cooperative knowing that a family member was being held hostage.
Ray worked for a check cashing facility around 20 years ago and still knew several employees who worked for a check cashing company. In fact, a very close friend was a district manager. One night, a call came in for an alarm going off at a local check cashing facility, and it soon became clear that this was another home invasion situation. The police were looking for the residence of a key holder who lived on Whitnal Street. “I started freaking out,” Ray says. “My friend lived on Whitnal. I immediately went to my supervisor and explained what I knew. I didn’t know her exact address, but I was able to explain to officers how to find her apartment. While they were trying to find the exact location, I was on the phone trying to call her. I had no luck and thought that the robbers were in her house and not allowing her to answer the phone. I had so many thoughts running through my head that I was going crazy. When the officers finally located her apartment, they found that she and her family were safe,” Ray says.
At the time, Ray did not recall that her friend’s neighbor also worked at a check cashing facility. She was the one the robbers took to the store. In the end, both ladies were unharmed. “I do remember the emotional toll that evening took on me. The moment I knew my friend was OK, I broke down. I needed to step away for a while to regain my composure,” Ray says.
Ray does have outlets to relieve stress. She enjoys being involved with her children and bowling. Ray is of the opinion that being a police dispatcher is a very demanding and stressful job. If she had to do it all over again, Ray says she would still become a dispatcher. “It is a very rewarding job. I do have a passion for the job. I love my job,” she says.
About the Author
Karen L. Bune serves as an adjunct professor at George Mason University and Marymount University in Virginia, and is a consultant for the Training and Technical Assistance Center for the Office for Victims of Crime and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice. She is a nationally recognized speaker and trainer on public safety issues. Bune is Board Certified in Traumatic Stress and Domestic Violence, and she is a Fellow of The Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress and the National Center for Crisis Management.