Site News: The Tapes Are Valuable

There seems to be an explosion of logging tapes being released to the public, and which I’ve been adding to the tape library (check the left column for the links). It’s partly due–sadly–to what seems to be an increase in murder-suicides, domestic murders and other stress-type incidents. It’s also driven somewhat by the media’s need to be dramatic. However, I think for the major incidents that we’ve recently experienced, there’s also a public-policy need to hear the tapes, and learn how they were handled. The lesson from these tapes is clear when you listen to them–the very first seconds of an incident are going to send you, the dispatcher, in one direction or another. Either the 911 caller is hysterical, or they’re calmly describing an horrific scene. Either the officer is yelling for help on the radio, or calmly broadcasting tactical information for cover officers. Take advantage of the tapes. I added 12 new ones during March, and 11 new tapes so far in April. They could prepare you for the next critical telephone call or radio broadcast.