Telecommunicator Spotlight: Emergency Services Dispatcher Marichris Mercado
Marichris Mercado thought she wanted to work in law enforcement, but after going on a ride-along she decided she might not want to work in the field. She attended San Diego State University and received her B.A. in criminal justice. After working at a variety of jobs for seven years, Mercado landed her first job as an emergency services dispatcher for the San Diego Sheriff’s Department. She now serves as a tactical dispatcher and a phone academy instructor for the department.
Her role as a dispatcher is diverse. The calls Mercado receives run the gamut and include those involving domestic violence and children. “They are kind of hard, especially when there are children involved. As a dispatcher, you have to remain detached,” she says. “It is very high stress, but I think my personality fits it.”
She finds it rewarding to go home at the end of the day, knowing she has helped people in some way. The calls she likes the most are the ones that have a happy ending. She particularly likes the calls in which she is able to help the elderly get what they need in an emergency situation.
Mercado has the skills needed for the job, including multi-tasking and working under pressure. As a dispatcher, she has to handle numerous tasks at the same time and she is relied upon to solve a problem “at the drop of a second,” she says. Mercado was initially hired as a radio trainee. She started in the phone academy and had six weeks of training for 9-1-1 and non-emergency calls before moving into running license plates and warrants, followed by a return to the classroom and the radio academy. Mercado received both classroom and hands-on training, and she learned about the various types of radios. The training process took a year. “I feel like the training is so good. It’s pretty rigorous,” Mercado says. The job also has a two-year probationary period.
As a phone academy instructor, her trainees are with her for a month. “Our hiring process is vigorous. When they are hired, I always congratulate them on just getting the job,” Mercado says. She teaches them about the computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system, entering calls and analyzing calls, and she stresses customer service. Throughout her interaction with the class, she tries to make a positive impact. Twenty dispatchers were recently hired, and all of them went through her academy. Many new dispatchers, Mercado says, relocate from out of state to San Diego for the job.
Mercado acknowledges the job can be stressful. “I kind of detach myself. I try not to get too attached to the call,” she says. There is one incident, however, she will never forget. It occurred approximately three years ago, when a fellow dispatcher’s car broke down on the way to work and a deputy sheriff picked him up. The deputy subsequently went on a pursuit call, went off the road and was ejected from the car. Everyone heard it on the radio, and the entire communications center was in tears. “That was the call that changed my perspective. It made me realize how this job impacts the dispatcher. It was a big thing for me,” Mercado says.
Mercado is no stranger to stressful situations. She worked the 2007 San Diego wildfires that required 12-hour work days consecutively for approximately a week and a half. In 2011, she also worked the San Diego countywide power outage when the number of calls increased due to people being stuck in elevators, traffic collisions due to signal outages and medical aid for individuals who rely on electricity for oxygen tanks, defibrillators and other medical equipment. Mercado received a meritorious citation from the command staff of the San Diego Sheriff’s Department for her work on both incidents. Recently, Mercado was nominated by her agency for the Dispatcher of the Year award.
Mercado, along with five other dispatchers, formed a Tactical Dispatch Unit that goes out in the field and assists with special enforcement details in areas without a communications system and without dispatchers. A whiteboard is utilized on location and within a perimeter. “We go out to the field with them and assist with communications. It is very different than being in the communications center,” Mercado says.
Mercado is married with a 5-year-old daughter. Her husband is a former probation officer who understands the nature of Mercado’s job. She was born and raised in San Diego and has a circle of friends from her job. “I’ve met some really great people. My inner circle is definitely the ones that work with me,” Mercado says.
Mercado works to maintain a healthy life balance. Highly motivated and on top of her game, she approaches her career with gusto and professionalism. Undoubtedly, she is where she belongs.
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.