Amy Tallent

When Amy Tallent was working as a cashier at a grocery store, she confided in one of her customers, a police officer with the Hendersonville (Tenn.) Police Department, that she might like to pursue a different career path. He encouraged her to consider the police department, and she applied to be a police dispatcher. Now, almost 10 years later, she is the communication training officer and alternate terminal agency coordinator for a department of more than 100 commissioned officers in a city with a population of more than 50,000. The officer who urged her to apply is now her direct supervisor.

Tallent began training others in 2009, and she works with each new trainee from their first day on. She starts by teaching the basics at orientation, which includes a tour of the building and the dispatch room, as well as exposure to the various radio channels and software. For dispatchers, the training in her department is on-the-job training rather than classroom-based. Tallent is currently working with her 13^th trainee; training can last anywhere from 3-6 months. Since she is both a police and fire dispatcher, she trains others in both areas and must ensure that her trainees are certified in all aspects of the job.

Tallent emphasizes what is important and what it takes to do the job. She notes that every day is different and believes that having empathy and understanding what others are going through at the time of their crisis is essential. “I always wanted to do something that would help people in one way or another,” Tallent says. She also stresses that a good work ethic is important for dispatchers, and points out that one cannot make many mistakes on the job. Organizational skills are critical to perform the necessary tasks.

Tallent explains that one has to be able to take orders and multitask. Because her agency is a small one, the dispatchers also serve as call takers. Tallent explains that she can be call taking and dispatching simultaneously— with a phone on each ear, listening to both and talking to officers.

For Tallent, the toughest part of the job is helping victims of crime. “Any time someone suffers, I really feel for the people,” she says. She recalls a case in 2006 when there was a tornado. One elderly woman called 9-1-1 from a cellphone and said her house had collapsed on her. During the call, the cell tower went down. Tallent didn’t know where she was or who she was and was unable to obtain her location. Tallent never learned what happened to the woman, and she felt responsible because she wasn’t able to do anything to help.

Tallent emphasizes that it takes a strong backbone to be a dispatcher. “The people we deal with are not having the best day and will take it out on the dispatchers. You have to be thick-skinned,” she says. “You don’t want to hurt yourself doing that. You have to handle the situation and move on and not carry it around with you. I use a lot of humor. If you don’t laugh, you’ll cry.”

For Tallent, her first two years on the job were the hardest and she took most of her calls to heart, but she is not affected to that degree any longer. The key, she says, is to figure out how not to take it home with you. “I do need a lot of quiet time,” she says.

Tallent, 30, has a daughter, as well as a dog, cat, frog and hamster. When she is not working, she enjoys watching movies with her daughter and visiting family. Her family is very supportive of her work and also very proud of her accomplishments. Her agency has named her “Employee of the Month” twice and “Communications Officer of the Month” on four different occasions. She has also received letters of commendation from her supervisors and citizens.

Tallent says the easiest part of her job is working with other officers. “There is a good family here,” she says. She notes the officers and dispatchers are her brothers and sisters. Most of her friends are in the same career field.

For those considering entering the field of dispatching and calltaking, Tallent suggests doing an internship or sitting in and observing the tasks involved and the role that both dispatchers and calltakers play.

Tallent knows she is in the right place, and she is passionate about what she does.

“I began this career at the age of 20 with very little life experience. Like many who apply for a job in a communications center, I found the reality to be completely different from what I had expected. Now, I’m closing in on my 10th anniversary with the Hendersonville Police Department and cannot imagine doing anything else,” she says. “I try to put my all into training and reassuring the overwhelmed new dispatchers, helping to maintain an efficient communications center, assisting with the future consolidation of our county’s PSAPs and, of course, serving the citizens who count on us to be there in their time of need. I attribute much of my success in this career to my team of coworkers and the guidance of a supremely dedicated supervisor. All the rest is good old fashioned hard work,” Tallent says. Would she do it all over again? “I absolutely would.

About the Author
Karen L. Bune serves as an adjunct professor at George Mason University and Marymount University in Virginia, and is a consultant for the Training and Technical Assistance Center for the Office for Victims of Crime and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice. She is a nationally recognized speaker and trainer on public safety issues. Bune is Board Certified in Traumatic Stress and Domestic Violence, and she is a Fellow of The Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress and the National Center for Crisis Management. She serves on the Institutional Review Board of The Police Foundation, Washington, D.C.