What's happening at your Comm Center during National Telecommunicators Week? We're having a barbecue and a bit of acknowledgment for everybody as well as special recognition for our "Dispatcher of the Year." (At the time I'm writing this, we've not yet made the selection because the nomination ballot deadline is still several days away.)
The selected dispatcher will receive a Commander's Commendation, a couple of vendor goodies from the recent APCO Western Regional Conference I attended in Portland in early March-a set of "9-1-1 Professional" license plate frames is just one example-and our captain's giving up his reserved parking spot just outside the back door to the Comm Center to our Dispatcher of the Year for the whole week. (It's inside the secured parking area where only department vehicles get to park.)
I was given the task of writing up something for the media this year and hopefully the local television news will give some time up during the week to let the public know what it's all about, too.
Speaking of the Western Regional Conference, I had a great time! I took vacation time and spent my own money to attend it, just like I do each year for APCO's Annual International Conference and Exposition. Y'all may think I'm nuts, but the networking opportunities and seminar courses are well worth the expense, in my not-so-humble opinion.
Since I'm not sent by my department, I've got free rein to be myself, to blow off a class if I would rather sight-see, and I'm not on duty so I can indulge in some "adult, recreational beverages" during lunch breaks-something that may strike my fancy during August in Boston, this year.
If any of y'all plan on going to Boston this year, look for a bunch of folks wearing "9-1-1 Console" shirts-many of the subscribers of that Dispatchers' e-mail Discussion list will be wearing'em, myself included. (I think mine will be the only one with the dashes between the numbers, though.)
I sat with and spoke to various communications personnel from Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Colorado, Canada and saw many of my old friends from other agencies in California, too. (There must have been some from Montana, but I don't seem to have gathered any business cards from that state.) Some folks I'd already "met" via e-mail contact or other on-line forums, but many were totally new contacts.
Wine Break
Just as it's gratifying to put field officers' voices to faces when they stop by the Comm Center, it's great to know a little bit more about someone with whom I've corresponded. (And particularly nice to share war stories over a glass of wine or just standing outside enjoying a smoke break during special conference entertainment activities. It was a total thrill to encounter dispatchers who actually read this column each month!)
If you aren't lucky enough to have your agency send you to these events, please consider making your own arrangements to attend the annual regional or international APCO conferences. I seriously doubt you'd ever have reason to regret the expense.
Spring sprang today as I was writing this article. My Comm Center is in a part of the country with very mild winters and an equally gentle easing into the prettiest time of the year. It does invite more tourists, though. The first really nice weekend was pretty darned busy!
A few days ago, the weather started out nice and warm but later deteriorated to cold and windy conditions, making for a busy shift with a nice, easy start to it. Our Commander and a few officers participated in a special function raising money for the Special Olympics Law Enforcement Torch Run: a local Red Lobster restaurant sponsors a "Tip A Cop" luncheon-where uniformed officers act as wait persons. (All their tips go to the Special Olympics.)
It's a pretty fun event; when it was over, he walked through the back door of the Comm Center wearing one of those foam rubber lobster hats. He'd been in full uniform, greeting customers at the door of the restaurant to explain "Tip A Cop"-with that lobster hat wiggling its claws-and he knew we'd all get a kick out of seeing him wear it. (The part he doesn't like about spending time in the Comm Center is that we're normally too busy to BS with him.) We enjoy an easy-going camaraderie with our command staff and field officers, alike.
One recent Thursday, the dispatchers planned a small birthday celebration for a favored officer who turned 29. (Cake, card, balloons and a chorus of singing dispatchers) At first, they were dismayed to learn he'd left early that morning for court 185 miles away who knew when he'd get back. However, it turned out well because it meant we didn't have to sneak anything into the Comm Center without him seeing it. <grin>
Face Away
He made a traffic stop on his way back (actually, he might have made several, since our officers can change frequencies to talk to any of our 24 Comm Centers as they travel throughout the state, but he made one on our radio). Anyway, that traffic stop gave us advance warning he was almost home and we could set everything up to surprise him.
He stopped in to tell us about the citation he'd issued "for littering"-the stop had been on a guy he'd witnessed urinating on the side of the road as he passed-and we did the birthday thing for him. Isn't it funny how the nice officers are always sincerely surprised when you acknowledge things in their lives? <big happy smile>
Now, about the traffic stop for the "littering" citation: The miscreant had been standing by the front of his car on the side of the highway, urinating into the roadway. (Not facing away, like one would expect.)
Our intrepid officer said he glanced at the car with the guy standing there, to see if it was a disabled motorist situation, and saw the arc ofummmwelllhe was able to tell the circumstances by the man's stance and a familiar glint of yellow. Trained eyes, you see. He thought, "What a jerk!" and pulled over up ahead of the location where the guy had been using the highway as his personal urinal.
The culprit got back into his car and re-entered traffic, but appeared to ignore the black-and-white pulling in behind him with the red spotlight ablaze. He ignored the activated overhead light bar, then ignored the siren, driving just under the posted speed limit.
Not Again!
At first, he ignored the change in the siren yelp, which our officer used to catch his attention. Then he pulled over a mile or so down the road, jumping out of his car to walk back to the officer's car. He was advised over the PA system to get back into his car; there wasn't any need to have him out wandering on the side of the highway a second time for a simple "littering" incident. Also, there would be less chance of the guy greeting him and possibly trying to shake his hand in an overly-friendly fashion. Just a little bit of fastidiousness, that's all. Our officer really wanted to cite the jerk for contributing to an already untidy world.
The "litterer" obviously knew why he'd been stopped - despite the distance between the crime scene and the location where he pulled over - because he got out of the car blathering excuses about having prostate cancer and an enlarged but "touchy bladder" and no public rest-rooms anywhere around.
(Right-how many businesses did he pass? Oh, if you're not a customer they "don't like it" when you ask to use their rest room? I see. Ever had anybody challenge you at a Taco Bell when you used the bathroom without buying a burrito first?? Uh huh.)
Then he didn't want to sign the citation. Oh my.
So that process was explained to him. He was puzzled: Peeing on the side of the road gets you put in jail?? Nooooorefusing to sign a citation gets you put in jail. Then he wanted to know how long that might be. Our birthday officer gave him a look and told him, "Probably at least until Monday, sir."
Press hard, three copies.
[grin]
Speculation in the Comm Center centered around why the guy was facing the passing traffic. Ewww. Did that enlarged bladder and prostate cancer thing make him want to use passing vehicles as a measuring stick of how much he was "passing?" 29, 30, 31okay 31 cars, that's a good pee!
Tracks or Wheels?
It's funny how our personal experiences color our perceptions and affect our actions at work, isn't it? One lazy Saturday day shift, one of our dispatchers experienced difficulty getting an all-terrain vehicle entered into the system, so she asked the handling unit to tell her "what kind of ATV" it was.
He repeated the make, which she had already documented. She asked again, adding, "What kind of ATV is it, wheels, tracks or both?" He was still puzzled, so she explained: "Well, does it have all wheels, all tracks, or a combination of tracks and wheels? I have to know this to enter it." (I sense readers nodding at this scenario.)
After a pause, the officer transmitted, "Well, RegisI think it's all wheels."
The dispatcher didn't miss a beat: "Is that your final answer?"
Moments like these are a welcome respite to the routine activity so common to the majority of the time behind the console-and very enjoyable after a sudden call spike. We expect to be busy in inclement weather, but when the weather gets nice like this, for a few weeks we kinda want to appreciate it, too, like everyone else. (Even though we're stuck at work, we do have windows and the back door is often open so some of the beautiful day can trickle inside the Comm Center.) Danged people getting into trouble out there in the world messes things up for everybody!
If the transition from "not very busy" to "slammed" is a gradual increase, an intermediate challenge could be trying to pick up the next call - and as many of them as you can - before anyone else does. Our ACD (automatic call distribution) phone system lets us snatch a call right off another phone where it's ringing, and it's always fun for me to see the dispatchers trying to One Up their partners. (Certainly much better than hearing someone snipe about another dispatcher not answering phone quickly enough.)
Many years ago, when I was holding down a console position on a midnight shift-for another agency-my partners and I were bored silly by the inactivity. We'd even instituted "Aspirin Races" and that excitement had palled. (Get some Tylenol tablets or Bayer aspirin--the ones with flat edges-and try to roll 'em across the consoles in a straight line. Don't let trainees do this, because they don't have enough experience under their headsets yet to dedicate to the delicate maneuvers.) [grin]
Anyway, around 5 a.m., the delivery guy for the court house snack bar buzzed for entry, and as most folks do, he greeted me with "Hi! How's it going?" I admitted it was a boring night with nothing interesting going on. As he stepped inside the doors with his arms full of the baked goods, he commented, "Well, that's good for us regular people, then, isn't it?"
Yah. I'd forgotten about that. It was good for the public when I didn't have anything to do during my shift. [ahem] I remember that epiphany occasionally, when we're only taking inquiry calls about child safety seats, directions to this place or that, or other unexciting calls on the business lines.
As thrilling as it may be to recognize someone during National Telecommunicators Week for a long-distance, high risk pursuit or a "glamorous" hazardous materials event handled without undue complication, wouldn't it be nice to acknowledge and reward someone for having worked more overtime than anyone else and taken absolutely no sick days for an entire year?
May your public be safe enough for y'all to conduct an Aspirin Race now and then -and don't forget that some folks standing on the side of the roadway facing traffic aren't just counting cars for traffic load surveys.
Happy to be here, proud to serve.
Linda
April 2000
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