Photo Chris Swab

I’m the oldest of four siblings and the only girl. Both of my parents worked hard, long hours, and I became a second mom to my brothers, which sometimes isn’t the greatest position to be in. I was in charge of the house when my parents were gone, and that meant household chores, laundry, cleaning and starting dinner. Most of the time, we got along fine. But there were times when I wished I was an only child.

If you’ve never been around a bunch of boys, it’s very much like the “pack mentality” of wild dogs. There were times they would turn on me and the chase was on — them laughing hysterically and me crying, “Wait ’til mom and dad get home!”

One day while playing outside (yes, we used to play outside) with the neighborhood kids, things got out of hand. The kids had split up into groups and were playing war, tossing chunks of dirt at each other. My brother, Scott, took a rock to the back of the head, which was totally unacceptable. Nobody hurts one of my brothers and gets away with it. That kid ran for his life, and I never saw him on our street again.

I like to compare the love-hate relationship we have with our families to the relationship between telecommunicators and police officers. We are the only ones who can make fun of, tease or curse our counterparts. And heaven help the one who ever tries to harm them. Why? It’s because we’re family. And just like all families, we can be a little dysfunctional.

Why Can’t We All Just Get Along?
I mean really, we spend more time with our work family members than we do with our biological families, so why do we have an us-vs.-them mentality?

Trust me, I’ve heard it all: “All those dispatchers do is eat.” “What are they doing in there, their nails?” “Why do I have to repeat myself all the time?”

And on the other side of the radio, I’ve heard: “Why can’t he run these checks on his laptop?” “Why can’t she ask for things in the right order?” “Do I need to get them a stool and bucket? He’s been milking this call forever!” (And these are just the comments that I can put in print.)

Think about this: We can’t do our jobs without each other. Put yourself in your comrade’s shoes.

Why do you think a field officer is using you to run all his warrant checks? Consider officer safety. Remember, they’re out in the field — literally. They have to be on constant alert to their surroundings. They never know if a suspect or someone nearby wants to do them harm. Add a partner and/or a victim, and then our radio traffic, now their attention is split even further.

If that officer is with a bad guy or suspect, do you think they want to turn their back on them to return to their vehicle or take the chance the thug will run? Consider what part of town that officer is in. Is it “officer friendly?” Are any parts of town really “officer friendly”? Sometimes when an officer or deputy is unsure about an NCIC hit due to all the sound alikes or AKAs, they will ask the telecommunicator to run it and interpret for them.

See? They need you. Don’t forget to give the officer as much information as possible on what’s just occurred or other in progress calls. I ask my telecommunicators in training: What information would you want to know if it were you responding to the call? If there’s a reason for a lack of information, tell them. If patrol requests information from you, try to get back to them in a timely manner. If you’re unable to, give them a reason: the phone is busy, no answer, waiting for a callback, etc. Communications is our business after all.

Don’t Take It Personally
Remember, not everyone respects and is considerate of our brothers and sisters. So when you hear what you construe as “attitude” in an officer’s voice when they answer you or make a request of you, remember that the officer may not be in a safe or comfortable position. Some citizens aren’t afraid of getting in an officers’ face — yelling, screaming, spitting and sometimes worse.

Please, don’t take it personally. The officer is trying to do their job and doesn’t need the added stress of a co-worker giving them a hard time. Trust that they’re doing the best they can. And if you believe this isn’t the case, be the professional one. Don’t aggravate or elevate the situation by trying to outdo or one up the offender. Use your chain of command, and go to your supervisor. You don’t want to be disciplined for being unprofessional as well. Besides, it only perpetuates the problem.

Make sure you have a reason to be upset. I’ve seen telecommunicators get furious with field personnel for being “belligerent,” but when the transmissions are played back, the tapes tell a different story. Let your supervisor be your buffer. As one co-worker of mine used to say when I would get my feathers ruffled, “Put it in a bubble, and let it blow away” (complete with hand gestures).

Speaking to Officers
You need to understand that, just like you, telecommunicators need certain pieces of information to complete certain tasks. Remember that when you ask for something. For example, for a wrecker, we have much more to do than just make a phone call. There’s a wrecker log to fill out. We need to make sure the registered owner is aware, and if not, make all attempts to contact them, which may or may not require us to contact another agency. And then if no contact is made, we need to enter the vehicle into the state database as abandoned. And that, my friends, requires more paperwork.

Long after you’ve moved on to your next call, your telecommunicator is still working on that “simple” wrecker call.

We are the mothers of multi-tasking, but there’s a threshold. Remember, depending on how big your agency is, there can be as much as a 1:40 dispatcher to field units ratio. And contrary to popular belief, we weren’t issued a crystal ball with our headset. We don’t know where “by the red car” is. Unless you tell us where you are or exactly what you need, it makes our job much more difficult and stressful. Don’t get me started on those officers who forget to call out their traffic stops or suspicious persons, or call out a prisoner in custody when we show them as available. (You guilty ones know who you are!)

Pet Peeves
Telecommunicators have other pet peeves, as well. Asking for information on something like a red four-door that you saw in the BOLO log from last week makes us want to pull our hair out. When we ask you to stand by because we’re on a landline, calling in instead doesn’t make us available any faster.

Please tell us everything you need on a subject at the beginning of your request instead of asking for it piece by piece. Most of us will drop the information after we give it out and get ready for the next transmission. Most telecommunicators will give you a hint on how they need information given to them. We have several databases we work with and each one is different. About half of my deputies give me last name first, even after I ask for first name first. Another thing that bugs us: When more than one unit is on scene and both run the same person.

And what I think is the biggest pet peeve, for me anyway, is squelching your radio. I’m surprised that I’m not deaf from all my years on the radio. In case you don’t know what causes this, squelching is when two or more radios on the same channel are in close proximity and one is keyed up. OMG! I worked at an agency where one of the telecommunicator’s ear drums actually burst from a loud squelch.

Helpful Tips
Here are a few oldies but goodies for both sides of the radio: Speak clearly into the radio. No mumbling! Make sure you hold the transmit button down for a full second before and after you transmit. Remember your environment people. Officers, don’t be surprised when a telecommunicator asks you to repeat yourself if you’re standing directly in front of an alarm that’s going off, a fire unit or in a lot of wind.

Pay attention to the radio. Telecommunicators, don’t divide your attention so much that your units have to repeat themselves over and over. And patrol, your telecommunicators worry when you don’t answer the first or second time. Yes, they really do! Nothing gets our stress level up more than when we can’t raise someone on the radio.

I’m an advocate of patrol officers and telecommunicators meeting face to face. If staffing permits it, go to roll calls and ride-alongs. Patrol, spend some time in the comm center and watch what your co-workers do behind the scenes. I promise, it will make your head spin on a busy shift. My agency has ride-alongs for telecommunicators and shadowing in the comm center for patrol rookies built into its training program. I’ve also found that some deputies and officers who sound like Squidward from Sponge Bob Squarepants on the radio are really the nicest guys and gals in person.

Trainers, teach your trainees respect and professionalism for their peers. It has been my experience that trainees mimic and follow your lead. If you portray a positive attitude and pride in what you do, you’ll have a positive and happy employee. If you grumble and complain about your co-workers and job, you’ll produce a miserable employee. Remember why you chose this profession in the first place. And if you have lost that “oomph” that you used to have and can’t get back on track, it may be time to consider a new occupation. Our job is too important to be mediocre at it.

Supervisors, don’t tolerate bad behavior. Put your best people in as trainers. Teach and expect good customer service skills.

The Bottom Line
Telecommunicators, answer promptly and professionally. Keep track of your field units, and cut them a break when they’re with the public. And field units, answer promptly and professionally, updating your telecommunicators whenever possible, and cut them a break when they ask you to stand by. Remember, we are family.

About the Author
Cindra Dunaway is a 9-1-1 dispatcher for the Lee County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office. Contact her via e-mail at cdunaway@sheriffleefl.org.