Stories shared by dispatchers and call takers across the country to help new recruits feel more comfortable in their jobs and gain confidence
"There are so many reasons I became a dispatcher but the most important one to me was to be a part of the community I live in and feel like I’m making a difference. For the past eight years I have felt that way pretty much every day, whether I am helping citizens, officers or my fellow dispatchers. Dispatching is more than a job to me. It is a meaningful, rewarding part of my life and it is a large part of who I am. The job evolves and changes every day and there is always something new to learn. I feel blessed to have a career that is both rewarding and challenging and that allows me to be an integral part of making the community a better, safer place." - Diana
"I actually took the job because I was looking for a "foot" into a city agency. After 10 years I took a secretarial position within the city, thinking I really just wanted to be a secretary. Turns out after 10 years, I became a dispatcher and didn't realize it. I came back within a year. This job, while demanding, also gets in your blood. What we do is worthwhile, helping the citizens and helping our officers. The chance to do something that is meaningful, exciting and challenging is hard to pass up! " - Susan
"I was looking for an interesting job to retire from " - Brenda
"I was in a new city when someone I didn't know was knocking on my door in the middle of the night. I called 911 and the girl was not very nice and told me officers were on the way. I waited and called back 15 minutes later and was told officers were on the way. Officers arrived 2 hours later and I found the call had been entered as a noise complaint. I tested and was on the job 6 months later because people deserved better service. " - Jack
"Remember people over property, officer and citizen safety, speed and accuracy, don't partake in gossip, respect yourself and your job" - Janis
"Use the resources around you, your co-workers, your supervisors, and even speak to patrol units, get their perspective on what they need from a dispatcher or the questions that really concern them when headed for certain calls. " - Jack
"Keep asking questions! We all do. This job is a constant learning experience. " - Brenda
"Doesn't take things personally, is unbothered by yelling and name calling/won't return aggression to a caller or lose sight of the objective in the midst of hostility, follows policy and procedure, remains courteous and patient with difficult callers as well as all callers, can think critically with regards to scene safety for the caller as well as first responders; knows that when a call doesn't make sense, its important to ask "Why?" Asking "why" something is happening can often lead to the truth and clarify things that don't add up. " - Nicole
"We can't take things personal in this career field. " - Cleova
"Patience, active listening, calm demeanor, organization " - Jack
"Empathy, Compassion, Tenacity, Positive Attitude, Multi-Tasking, the ability to handle lots of caffeine and have fun in the midst of chaos." - SL
"Lori* is always engaged with her work, is kind, friendly, extremely knowledgeable , and invested in her trainees succeeding in their careers. She always takes the time to find the correct answer, and is extremely patient. She's one of the best dispatchers I've had the pleasure of working alongside, and I know all of her trainees feel lucky to have her as a solid guide through this often hectic, but rewarding job. " - Virginia
"She constantly has a positive attitude, has a wealth of knowledge and reacts well in crisis. She is a great example to all around her. " - Nataley
"She is there for her employees and gives input in helpful ways instead of degrading "
"She is a relatively new dispatcher and has a great sense of humor. She is friendly and is a great morale booster in the Comm Center. It's good for new dispatcher to see someone who is positive and tries to build up. She does a great job with that. Sometimes a senior dispatcher is too far removed to remember what it's like to be "newbie" in law enforcement. It's good to have someone with 3-5 years on, who has a good grasp of the job and still has a good attitude to help mentor new employees. "
"I'm always happy to see when new trainees are placed with Sarah*. She is very dependable - always here to work her shift. She is professional and shows care for each caller. She has a lot of knowledge that she always imparts in a positive way, although we deal with so much negativity in our line of work. " - Jenna
"Jessica* is very supportive of others, knowledgeable, and very passionate about her work " - Jack
"Benjamin* always has a positive attitude towards his job. He maintains his composure in dealing with citizens and is good at his many jobs as call taker and trainer. "
"Its hard to pick just one instance. There are so many during the course of one day, from giving CPR instructions, to someone calling in threatening suicide, to just a coworker helping someone out in a non injury accident that is just compassionate to them. " - Steve
"I feel everyday that all my coworkers make a difference in someones lives. "
"I can't recall any specific event. However, I have a co-worker that I really enjoy listening to when she answers calls. I can only hear side of the conversation, but she is always kind, patient and sometimes even funny. I rarely hear her raise her voice, even with difficult callers. When she does, it's because it's necessary to get the proper information quickly, and never in a rude or disparaging manner. I can't help but think that her demeanor with the public makes a difference in their experience with our department. It's pretty amazing, especially since she is one of the more senior dispatchers in our center. " - S
"I was working the radio traffic for a call that my co-worker sitting next to me was on the phone portion of the call. My co-worker had just an open line with a woman who never once spoke to the phone, but my co-worker was able to relay enough information to me that when my officers went on scene they had enough to go on to kick in the door at the unit we had researched and thought belonged to that cell phone. What they found when they entered was truly terrifying but they were able to save that woman's life. The officer thanked me later, this woman had been beaten and when they entered the woman was cowering in a corner and the boyfriend was standing over her with a baseball bat raised over his head. All of his thanks were immediately passed on and shared with my co-worker. Yes, what we do can be very stressful, sad, and some calls are seemingly unbearable, but what other job allows you to just listen, type, and save a life? Not many." -Renee
"I have worked with this girl for 9 years... and her heart never ceases to amaze me. When some of us get frustrated with our callers, she is always the one that wants to go out there herself and fix everyone's problems. It doesn't matter if they are some random homeless person on the street, or an elderly person in a million dollar house, she treats them all like they are the most important people at that moment, which is what we should all do." -Trisha
"Someone who can anticipate what the police need. I think its best for calltakers to dispatch as well. It helps them be more familiar with what officers need. In terms of fire and medical, you need someone who is compassionate but direct. "
"Patience, the need to help others, not minding chaos or being interrupted. You have to be flexible and enjoy not having the same routine day in and out. " - Clare
"To be a good employee no matter where you work you must have a desire to do your best in any job you are hired to complete. Specifically you must know that working for a 911 center means that you are working long hours which requires you to be away from your family, what feels to be half of the time. This does not come without rewards. When you speak to that person who is in the lowest point of their life displaying desperation and ready to end it all, and then by the end of the call when the officers are arriving you are on a first name basis with the suicidal person and they are laughing with you and wanting to make a better life for themselves. Or you speak to that young child who is listening to their parent(s) arguing and at the end of the call you tell that child what a great job they did and you can hear the pride in their voice that they did the right thing. There are so many scenarios that bring you pride in the 911 industry. Successfully getting someone to administer CPR which ends in a life save, Delivering a child, of just being there for someone when they need a helping hand. I must add also that as I am within 6 years of retirement [this City] has been a wonderful opportunity for me. You feel secure in your job and do not feel like you will be laid off, you get a pension, retirement. I realize that young people today do not understand the value of retirement or pension, but think about the fact that by the time I am 53 I will be retired and doing whatever I would like to do for the rest of my life! " - Robin
"Best advice I can give you is, first off, don't take it personal. People are only human, and they get upset, or stressed and sometimes it may be over nothing at all, but for that moment, they aren't in their right mind and they may say some things that may really get to you, or really upset you. Take it with a grain of salt. These are people we may never meet in real life or never talk to again, and nothing that is said has any weight on the kind of person you are. Don't take it to heart. Let it roll off and know that you are doing what you can to help them, whether they understand that or not. Secondly, trust in your training. So many times we see or hear stories about dispatchers or call takers that didn't do what they were supposed to, and they got in trouble. We have rules and regulations for a reason, to protect you. Trust in that, and trust in your training and don't let fear control how you do this job. The minute you let fear dictate how you do your job, that is the moment you have lost faith in yourself. You can do it, just believe in yourself and what you have been taught. Fight on, let the bad stuff go, and remember through it all, you are helping those in need. When people are in their darkest hour, you are who they reach out too. Be proud, but be humble and love your fellow man. " - Michael
"What makes for a good call taker/dispatcher are a number of things. In my opinion, some of the most important attributes would be the ability to multitask, keep calm under stressful situations, and not take things personally. You will have to adapt to situations such as finishing a CPR call and moving right into taking a burglar alarm. The calls don't stop because you are affected. " - Matthew
"Do your job and work as team. Talk with each other instead of running to tell on each other for mistakes being made. Regardless of personal feelings we're all humans working a hard job. It is impossible to never make a mistake in the this job. Communication with each other is key. "
"There are several qualities that make for a good call taker and dispatcher. Strong listening skills and patience are paramount for this type of work. But one of the most overlooked skills needed for this job that is never mentioned in the job description is anticipation. When you have an officer that pulls someone over, a dispatcher needs to mentally prepare themselves for something crazy to happen and be ready to relay information and dispatch other units to assist that officer if he gets in trouble. The number one priority of any 911 dispatcher or call taker should always be to ensure that their first responders are safe. " - Tyson
"Attention to detail, desire to serve, eagerness to learn and grow, working outside the box. "
"Being able to listen, not just to the words that are said but how and what context they are used in. I have called back on a hang up, the person that answered said there was no problems at loc and she did not need any assistance. She was obviously upset turned out to be a physical domestic that she was a victim of. "
"Call Taker / dispatcher: Be used to and ok with not having closure; or not knowing the outcome. I have seen coworkers struggle with this. We won't know the outcome. We wont get closure on every call. For me, my closure is knowing I did my part to help them. I have to disconnect after that knowing once my part is done it is out of my hands. Nothing was going to change it. "
"I think that the best quality a good call taker/dispatcher should have is patience. It will be used both on the phone and radio. When you truly look at the definition of patience it means to have the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble or suffering without getting angry or upset. Having true patience leads you to self-restraint. Being patient with callers, radio traffic, co workers and or supervisors is the key to success. We have little control over our work at times and learning to control one self can you get through the most difficult situations. It makes me think of the many times a caller has screamed at me over the questions I ask in trying to help them, or the officer that can't seem to call traffic correctly all shift. Keeping everything in perspective and practicing patience makes it easier to come back the next day and do it all over again." - Sherri
"I feel I was trained by some of the very best dispatchers and call takers. They always taught me to be the best person I can be on every call. Always be kind and always realize it may seem like a routine call for us or even something that may be minor in our minds but to the person on the other end of the call this is most likely one of their worst days. Always be patient and kind. Not everyone we speak to will be patient and kind to us but as long as we leave them with a memory that calling 911 was helpful and a good thing that is what matters. I was taught to just be kind and if they start freaking out or even being rude its proven the calmer and kinder you remain 95 percent of the time it actually calms them down. "You catch more flies with honey than vinegar" " - Jenn