Dispatcher

by Alan Burton

Some call them dispatchers
Others are called operator or clerk
Or telecommunicator or aide
Some are police officers; most are not
Some are firefighters; most are not
The name Is not important
But they are.

Dispatchers serve many masters
Yet they are masters themselves
Some serve the police, or fire
Others serve EMS, or sheriffs
Some serve the highway patrol
Many serve all of these
Yet that's not important
But they are.

Dispatchers perform many functions
They command the radio channels
That no one else understands
They make sense of the unsensible
Hear the unhearable
Remember everything, forget nothing
Yet that's not important
But they are.

Emergency phone calls are never-ending
Problems to make a priest blush
Crises that defy resolution
Complexities to confound a lawyer
With the clock running
Someone is watching
Are they performing up to speed?
Yet that's not important
But they are.

Some deal with problems at the counter
Is the computer up?
The officer needs the information
Now!
Doesn't anyone realize that lives
Are at stake here?
Isn't this important?

Expectations are high
Pay too often is low
Hours are unusually long
Shiftwork and overtime
Christmas and Easter
Complaints are of no avail
There is no one to listen
Yet that's not important

Dispatchers are expected to know
What a police officer knows
Without the same training
For who does the officer look to
For questions about the law
Resources that are needed
For help...
Of course that's not important either.

Dispatchers are the hub, we know
They are the center of the universe
We know
Even if no one else does
And that IS important.

Dispatching is an outrageous career
But most won't make it a career
Few people can take it
Few people would want to
Few people have the stamina
Few people can afford it
And that IS important

Police officers need dispatchers
Firefighters need dispatchers
EMTs and paramedics need dispatchers
The community needs dispatchers
And that IS important
And so are They.

©1987 Alan Burton