“You can’t let your emotions affect how you do your job because it could impede the outcome for citizens and officers,” says Padty Mayhew Davis.
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Baltimore County Police Dispatcher, Stacy Starkloff, Deals with ‘Slice of Real Life’
“You have to have a backbone with the police officers,” Stacy Starkloff says. Additionally, she has to remain calm in stressful situations and, regardless of whether or not she is nervous, she cannot give up and has to pull through. Starkloff is also a fast talker. “It works to my advantage,” she says.
Mandated Telecommunicator Training Takes Effect in Florida
Here in Florida, one of the biggest changes that will be happening for the public safety telecommunicator is state-mandated standardized training (also known as the Denise Amber Lee Bill). Effective Oct. 1, 2012, all public safety telecommunicators must be state certified. It also calls for continuing education with recertification every two years.
Holiday Schedules in the Comm Center
I finished putting up the Christmas and decorations shortly after Thanksgiving. My daughter especially enjoys this time and likes tradition. The boys on the other hand are starting to act like their father the “Scrooge,” asking “Why do we have to drag all this stuff out? We’re just gonna have to drag it all back [...]
T’was the Night Before Christmas in the Dispatch Center
Editor’s note: As a rule, we don’t publish poetry, but exceptions prove the rule. So, with apologies to Clement Clarke Moore, we make an exception this holiday season: T’was the night before Christmas, and all throughout comm. We sat at our consoles, expecting it calm the dispatchers with their headsets, the CAD in high gear. [...]
Heather Perkins: ‘It’s Been One of the Best Decisions of My Life’
Before deciding to become an emergency dispatcher in July 2000, Heather Perkins, 32, from Santa Quin, Utah, was the manager of a movie theater. After she was transferred to manage a dilapidated mini-theater, she decided to leave and pursue a career in emergency communications even though she knew virtually nothing about the field. She took [...]
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Dispatching: A Profession or a Job?
- Naples City Council Bristle at Cost of New Radios; Suggest Officers Share
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FCC Says PSAPs Must Be Able to Receive 9-1-1 Texts
- Residents: Go Slow on Address Change
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Dyersville, Iowa, to Dump Dispatchers
- Kansas Dispatchers Help Save Lives under Stress
- Utah Man Ties Up 9-1-1 Line, Wants Ride Home from Walmart
- Atlantic County (N.J.) Working on Reverse 9-1-1 System
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General Dynamics Introduces New Portable Communications System Analyzer for Land Mobile Radio Systems
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Zetron’s MAX Dispatch Now Supports More Radio Types
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Lmartinez: Awesome job Cindra & Chris! I absolutely agree...
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Cindy Dunaway: It's so hard to look back on calls we have taken w...
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: With the way our government leaders and Congress h...
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Tanya Gotcher: Regardless of what the dispatcher said to the call...
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Sash: Congratulations for a job well done!...
Mitigating the Damage from Mistakes: Four Tips
Cindra Dunaway on February 20, 2012
in Calltaking/Dispatch, Commentary/Blogs, Operations
As much as we strive for perfection in the public safety field, at times we will stumble and make a mistake. Some mistakes are easier to fix than others. Some mistakes we never want to think about again. Some make us laugh; some make us cry. Hopefully, you’ve never made a mistake that caused someone [...]