It may not occur to most of us to think, who is on the line when we call 911? I recently visited a small, dark room located within the La Marque Police Department to get an idea of who these people are, how they work, and what kind of toll it takes on them as they deal with the roller coaster ride of a day in the life of the La Marque P.D.
This all came about due to the Citizen Police Academy class being held at the Police Station in La Marque. The first night consisted of a tour of the building and introduction to dispatch. As we all crowded into that small room, a young man named Michael, who has been doing this for 4 years, answered a 911 call about a possible entry into a home by a stranger, followed a police chase in progress and documented what was happening in real time. As he switched from one keyboard for the 911 call to the LMPD keyboard, another non-emergency call came through.
Completely unflustered, calm and collected, he dealt with each call in his soft, comforting voice, reassuring the 911 caller, providing the necessary information to the officers responding, and all the time, typing at breakneck speed, documenting the police chase that was going on simultaneously. Downright impressive. Oh, and while he was handling all this, a screen showed 6 other calls being handled by other cities.
HB1090, signed into law by Governor Abbott back in June just took effect on September 1st changing the state definition of a first responder. The new law now classifies dispatchers in the same way as EMS personnel, firefighters, and police. And rightly so. In addition to greater recognition, dispatchers now have access to special training and services that were not available to them before becoming first responders.
The work these people do is vital to the ability of EMS, fire and police to respond; especially during a weather event or an event like Santa Fe. Dispatch is providing critical information, not only to the men and women tasked with responding to an incident, but to the person calling in, dispatch is their lifeline, providing much needed reassurance that help is on the way and many times, walking that person through life saving procedures like CPR. The information they gather can often make the difference in how police, fire and EMS conduct themselves once on the scene. Often that information can mean the difference to a life lost and a life saved.
Shifts are 12 hours long and all too often, there may be only one dispatcher available to man the calls. If you were to visit YouTube and enter 911 calls, you would be able to listen to calls ranging from a woman complaining that Burger King got her order wrong (In fairness they got it wrong 3 times) to a woman reporting a suspicious person hanging around her house and her screams as the assailant attacked her mid-call.
Police officers are cross trained and able to fill in when needed but most will tell you that the dispatcher’s job is far more difficult than theirs and when Tina is looking for help, they tend to scatter. Dispatch is a demanding job and it takes a special set of skills to do what these people do. That said, I cannot think of a job more important to a community and the individuals responsible for keeping us all safe. To be that one voice, that lifeline, to someone having the worst day of their life, is a responsibility difficult to imagine. But just like most things, this job is either feast or famine. There can be hours and hours of silence and then a 4-car pileup on the freeway occurs, or a fire at an apartment complex breaks out and the event generates multiple calls – each one with a different perspective, a piece of information that could make a difference in how the firefighter or police officers respond.
There is no guesswork here. Each call must be answered, documented and responded to. Who is calling, where are they, what is happening, how many lives involved? Is this person calling legitimate or does he/she have a criminal record that could make the information suspect? The complexity of what the job requires is equivalent to the responder on the scene.
It is a very good thing that our Governor, our state, took action to recognize, support and honor the front line of first responders. We may never see them, but their value is immeasurable. So, think about who is at the other end of the line when you call the police department; even if you are not calling 911. Feel free to take a moment and thank them for what they do. Who knows, they may very well be the voice you hear the next time a hurricane comes calling or you witness an accident or need medical assistance. It would behoove us all to be cognizant of the job they are required to do and respect the talent, compassion, and remarkable skill required to do what they do. Pretty amazing, right?
In the picture is Sheila Maya, Tina Smith and Christa Weaver.
Not shown: Michael Turner, Angel Fontenot, Jarrod Lockett.
