APCO releases most extensive study ever of 9-1-1 public safety communications center staffing

Denver, CO- The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International released yesterday the Project RETAINS study on communications center staffing. The APCO International Project RETAINS (Responsive Efforts To Address Integral Needs In Staffing) tool kit was released at the APCO International 71st Annual Conference and Exposition in Denver, Colo.

The 9-1-1 call takers and law enforcement, fire-rescue and emergency medical service (EMS) dispatchers and their supervisors are the nation’s first of the First Responders and among the most unsung of the nation’s unsung public safety heroes. Everyday across America, personnel in public safety communications centers, staffed with as few as two and as many as more then 100, stand ready to assist citizens in their time of emergency.
More then 300,000 times a day, citizens call 9-1-1 and are dealt with by communications center personnel. This profession has historically been one that experiences high personnel turnover rates and frequent vacancies.

“This often life-saving work is wonderfully rewarding, but carries with it the awesome responsibility of making split-second decisions in a time-critical, error-free environment, while being empathic to citizens that are often in highly emotional, life threatening and distraught situations,” APCO International President Greg Ballentine said.

The APCO International Project RETAINS tool kit is the product of the most extensive, in-depth research ever conducted of the issues impacting the recruitment, hiring, processing, training and retention of personnel in 9-1-1 public safety communications centers. The tools are designed to assist communications center managers, human resource and management and budget department personnel, police chiefs, sheriffs, fire chiefs and elected officials, in addressing the challenges associated with hiring and retaining qualified personnel for this vitally important position.

“On behalf of the APCO Project RETAINS Team and the staff of the University of Denver/Denver Research Institute, it has been our privilege and honor to address this issue,” APCO International Project RETAINS Chair Steve Souder said. “We did so with a high sense of commitment to our 9-1-1 public safety communications colleagues, the agencies and jurisdictions in which they work, and the citizens they serve.”