Amy Lovell and Mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel. Photo Courtesy Amy Lovell

Perhaps Amy Lovell, 41, had instilled in her some inspiration and admiration for the public safety sector due to the fact that her father, now deceased, was once a fireman in Chicago and her sister served as a fire dispatcher.  However, prior to entering into public safety communications, Lovell was a teacher who taught pre-school, junior high and high school students for a total of 4.5 years.

Lovell is currently serving her 16th year in the Office of Emergency Management Communications in the Chicago Police Department as a police communication operator I.  She began her career as a call taker and served in that capacity for the required time frame of 18 months.  Immediately thereafter, she completed all the requisite tests and interviews and was promoted to police dispatcher.

“I feel that I still serve a purpose helping the citizens of Chicago as well as the officers,” Lovell said.

She points out that even the mundane tasks are important.  Lovell stresses it is important to direct calls to the right department and to anticipate the needs of officers in the field.

“I try to pay attention to different situations that require that little extra something,” Lovell said.

Lovell has diverse skills that are vital to her job.  She acknowledges she is able to multi-task, keep her emotions at bay, stay calm, and take things with a grain of salt.

“You cannot fall apart in the middle of something.  Citizens may not be nice to you, may be screaming and yelling at you.  The call to 9-1-1 could be the worst moment of their life,” she said.  However, Lovell admits she has to be the voice of reason amidst the, oftentimes, hysterical, unreasonable or screaming response on the other end of the phone.  She has discovered that by whispering into the phone and talking softly, she has been able to have a calming effect on the caller.

Though she is adept at handling all types of calls, Lovell acknowledges that those involving children, the elderly and domestic abuse can, as she says, “tug at the heartstrings.”  She also admits that suicide calls are difficult as well as “officer down” calls.  However, Lovell asserts that she has to go in dispatch mode immediately.

“You put on that cold face and do your job.  At the end, you walk away and say, ‘What happened?’”

Lovell points out that things change within a second and explains no two days are ever the same.  She works the day shift from 5:30 – 2:00 p.m.  “I absolutely love the day shift,” she says.

Lovell has received a number of awards throughout her career in public safety communications.  In 2013, she received the Illinois Dispatcher of the Year Award from APCO.  She has also received a number of Team Performance Awards from the Office of Emergency Management Communications for her work on various incidents in the years 2014, 2008 and 2007. In Fall 2012, she received a Unified Operations Award for her assistance with the NATO Summit.  She received a Special Award in 2011 for her work with the “Great Blizzard.”  In Fall 2007, she received Honorable Mention for her assistance with a large high rise fire where a life was lost.  She also received an Honorable Mention in April 2001 for piecing together two crimes that seemed unrelated but resulted in an arrest for two robbery offenses.  In June 1999, she received a commendation for a heat emergency.

Lovell acknowledges her work is a team effort; she works with police officers, supervisors and other dispatchers.  Consequently, she has many friends from her employment circle.

“It’s hard not to become friends with those I work with,” she said.  However, she also has friends outside the field.

Lovell admits the job can be stressful.

“This job is not for everybody.  You have to be a certain type of person to do this job,” she said. She deals with her stress by talking and venting with colleagues and spending time with family.  She emphasizes that family is a “rock” to her.  She often exercises on her lunch break or after work.

“I try to do positive things with that stress.  This job makes you a stronger person outside of the job.  I think that is an attribute.  I’ve become a lot street smarter because of this job and much more aware of what goes on,” she said.

In her spare time, Lovell, who is single, loves to travel anywhere and everywhere.  She has been on cruises, traveled to Las Vegas, Nashville, Los Angeles (Red Carpet Oscars) and to Washington, D. C. for the Bush Inauguration.  She also likes to attend live sporting events, and she attends baseball games as often as possible.

Lovell has a balanced life, enjoys her job and seems to have found her career niche.

“I still find value in what I do.  I still feel a purpose when I get up and go to work,” she said.

With that mindset and degree of satisfaction, she is well positioned to serve as a role model for others who might consider entering the public safety sector as well as an inspiration to those who are already in the field to advance to greater heights.

Karen L. Bune serves as an adjunct professor at George Mason University and Marymount University in Virginia, and she 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. Ms. 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. She serves on the Institutional Review Board of The Police Foundation, Washington, D.C.