The communications center is the head of any public safety operation. Without an effective operation in place, it is a challenge to maintain operations with any level of efficiency.
Call taking is an under-appreciated skill. It takes the patience of Job, the assertiveness of an experienced interrogator, and a dash of mind reading to try to understand what is happening on the other end of the line.
Mix in an unhealthy dose of caller panic, rudeness and the occasional cluelessness and it makes for a very stressful job.
I know that most of us gripe about how often the dispatch doesn’t match what is actually happening on scene. Some of us even question the competency of our communication colleagues.
Here’s my challenge — try it sometime. It’s much more difficult than it seems. Add in the increasingly mandatory prearrival instructions and it raises your blood pressure that much more.
Short staffing 911 call centers is short-sighted. It’s crucial for agencies to ensure that operators are well trained and taken care of so that the stress level is at a reasonable level.
You never know when you’ll need them, but when you do you’ll want them ready to respond just like the rest of the 911 system.
