Who Answers the Call when 911 Needs Help?

Law enforcement administrators and officers are missing the value and importance of giving their Communications Centers a stronger voice.

It all started on the front porch.

When I was growing up, I used to sit with my dad out on the front porch during the climate- friendly months. Western New York winters are harsh and long, so when you can be outside, it’s a welcome change. I don’t think a lot of people knew that we were monitoring and solving the world’s problems as cars passed by.

My dad would set his Bearcat scanner on the windowsill facing outward, so we could listen to the crackle of the local police radio, the urgency of the firefighters rushing to a blaze, or even the nightly roll call for the volunteer rescue service in a nearby rural area. We left the 8 channels on “scan” mode unless something significant was happening, at which time we would lock that channel. The glider on the front porch with dad was sometimes marred by slapping at mosquitos, but I was also bit by a very different kind of bug. It was my first exposure to a Communications Center/dispatch environment, paving the way for a robust career of public service in law enforcement.

Just get your foot in the door.

After a great experience serving in the military, I found a new home where I could potentially sit outside eleven months out of the year. I was stationed at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, where my enlistment terminated in 1992. Like several other New Yorkers, Florida became my new home. I wanted to work for a particular law enforcement agency, but there weren’t any openings for the academy. My recruiter convinced me to “get my foot in the door...” by applying to be a Digital Communications Dispatcher.

I knew what the recruiter was doing, but he didn’t know my admiration for the big voice on the radio. I also wanted to make my dad proud. I was hired and worked both as a radio dispatcher and as a 911 operator. I always approached the job as a learning experience to fulfill my dream of being a deputy sheriff. It was a win/win as far as I was concerned, but I didn’t account for the trauma that came along with the job of being a Digital Communications Dispatcher.

Fast forward twenty-five years.

Twenty-five years later I was a lieutenant with a bunch of law enforcement experience and a yearning to lead. I was selected to return to the Communications Center where I had started, but this time I was in command. Many in the law enforcement profession would joke about my position. “What did you do wrong?” I never saw it as a punishment, rather a huge honor. I understand the sentiment, but unless you’ve been exposed at length to what the dispatchers and

911 people go through, you will never understand their selflessness. Even after retirement, I still look at it as an opportunity to bridge a very wide gap in leadership.

Though I never forgot my roots, I had been away from that environment for quite a while. I discovered the only things that changed in my twenty-five-year absence were the paint color, the furniture, and some of the monitors. The citizens were still abusive to the 911 operators and non- emergency call takers, the cops (including supervisors) were outright nasty to the dispatchers on occasion. The Communications Center employees even still had warring factions within their group, and unfortunately turned on one another more than they united. Add to that the inability of anyone in an executive administration position to have the desire to learn the inner workings, and it creates a class of mentally beat, highly stressed, underpaid and under-appreciated group of traumatized employees. They wear hardened shells of trauma. They are formally disciplined more than any other group, and often their misdeeds are trauma-related meltdowns or at the least, violations that would be forgivable in a lot of other areas of an agency.

The project.

I decided to explore the trauma to try to fix what I could, but at the very least, offer some hope for the good people working there. I made use of my tuition and completed a research project where I sought to answer some questions to help mitigate the workplace stress. I know that I wasn’t the first. The literature review told me that. Hopefully I won’t be the last. Staying in touch with some of my former co-workers and seeing the dispatcher chatter on social media tells me that. It seems that there are universal problems, and a universal lack of desire for anyone outside of the telecommunications profession to fix anything.

Points for executive leadership and administrators to ponder.

Even if you approached this issue from a business standpoint, you would see benefit in paying better attention to what is happening in your Communications/Dispatch environment. There is a growing movement to recognize telecommunicators as first first responders, as they are the ones who get the emergency response process started. In effect, they are the voice of reason on behalf of you and your agency when someone calls 911 or even for general inquiries. Ask yourself, do you want a maladjusted employee speaking on behalf of your officers or you?

A high turnover rate is costing you money in recruiting and in the hiring process. The underlying cause of the high turnover rate is likely job satisfaction, but it goes much deeper than keeping the soda machine stocked, or “letting” the adult employees dress down on the weekends.

Some states are recognizing post-traumatic stress as Worker’s Compensation cases. Not to mention, unresolved trauma contributes to poor physical health, which could affect your health insurance coverage costs. Loss of productivity or absenteeism generates the need to pay overtime.

I’m sure by now you are thinking, “Well they aren’t exposed to danger sitting in that air conditioned/heated center.” That’s the first fatal flaw in my opinion.

Trauma is trauma.

Don’t confuse physical danger with exposure to trauma. For instance, I had a 911 operator sit down for her shift at 6 am one morning. For the purposes of this story, I will call her Nicole. By 6:15 am, Nicole had handled a 911 call where a mother found her adult son dead with a needle in his arm. Minutes later, Nicole had another 911 call where a young father was describing the CPR that his wife was doing on their infant who was found face down in the bathtub. I can’t help but think that the overdose victim’s mother had been waiting for years for that moment, and when it hit, she unwittingly unloaded on Nicole. Also- think of what the understandably inconsolable father was saying to Nicole as she was attempting to get answers to very simple questions such as, “How long was the baby in the tub?” and “Can you verify your address?”.

I’d love to tell you that Nicole’s first thirty minutes that day was an anomaly, but it isn’t. They deal with even the kindest, most righteous people, but at their absolute worst moments. In a sense, the call takers experience the emergency over the phone with the caller. 911 call takers rarely have a break between emergency calls, and they certainly don’t get to pick and choose which calls they will take next. A tone goes off in their headset as they are tidying up from the previous call, and away they go. The information is live and fresh. It is raw emotion, not the settled down version an officer experiences once they arrive and the caller sees a physical uniform while the situation has had a few minutes to simmer.

Even in the most traumatic calls, the officers at the scene are afforded a certain amount of closure. You can physically piece together how things happened. A 911 call taker or dispatcher rarely- if ever, gets that closure. They put the call into the system and potentially spend the rest of their lives trying to fill in the blanks of what happened. There is research that will show you that hearing traumatic events is just as heavy as being there. Think of hearing the gunshots, or beatings, or screams, and not having the ability to reach through the phone to help. Think of the number of suicides your 911 call takers have listened to while on the phone with a distraught caller. It’s the elephant in every room, and I can guarantee it is way more prevalent than you think.

The four walls.

When a cop handles a traumatic call such as a baby drowning, hopefully by now we know that it is okay to tell someone that it has affected you. There are a few choices. You can drive away once you clear the call and go sit behind the elementary school and cry your eyes out. You can call home. You can drive around and listen to a funny podcast or loud music to try to distract you. You can even find your secret peaceful spot by the lake and pray, and hopefully find peace, not compartmentalization.

After a traumatic call, the emergency call taker has very limited choices. They can either stare at the four walls of the Communications Center, or look at the other employees, some of whom are already hardened and negative. That’s it. There is no leaving your seat in this environment.

I’m sure that most agencies across the nation have co-workers or supervisors who recognize when a call taker or dispatcher needs a break and has them walk it off for a bit. But let’s keep in mind that these Communications Centers are understaffed because of the high turnover rate. There is also a high absentee rate, because when you think about it, why would you fight with your mind or body to come in for more punishment? Sick leave balances are usually used up as they accrued, and the employees are often shamed or guilted for using it. From the management standpoint, staffing becomes a Rubik’s Cube, especially if you are hemorrhaging good employees.

The result is mandatory overtime for some centers. Their already overworked and under-appreciated staff are now being told that they face disciplinary consequences (if not social consequences) for saying “no” to working extra shifts to cover the shortage. Let’s face it, if one or two cops don’t show up for work due to illness or vacation, a commander can cross their fingers that nothing big happens, and the other officers can pick up the slack on the shift. This is not the case in a Communications environment. Someone must answer the emergency phone line. Someone must handle the radio channel and run warrants checks. Sometimes it is the same person. Either way, there must be a physical human presence for that to happen. Vacations are cancelled, birthdays are missed, and much needed time outside of the four walls becomes a near- impossible task in some cases.

Twenty-four seven.

The communications area is obviously a 24/7/365 environment. When an administrator reads about the latest app or receives a grant for the fancy new camera system, the inclination is to have the communications center monitor it. Afterall, they are there 24/7 anyway. This becomes intensive considering they are already spread very thin. Fear and intimidation of the upper echelons overshadow their ability to say “no” to their new task or app, since they are just “support people”. Something else to consider, each new app or program comes with its own alert tone or bell. It may not seem like a big deal, but in an already multi-tasked environment of bells, tones, and rings, adding a new sound could easily add to the chaos. Imagine the app being so new that you don’t know how to shut off the alert tone, so it dings and chirps for twelve straight hours like a smoke detector with a dying battery. Now imagine handling a 911 call with the same distraction.

It begs the question- are you giving the communications area the stake in the mission that it deserves. You demand a successful operation yet dictate how things are going to be in an area you may know very little about. It’s a recipe for failure. If you do give an officer or a supervisor

the task of overseeing the operation, at least have the courtesy to listen to what they are trying to tell you.

More valuable than you might think.

From Columbine and September 11th to Sandy Hook and the Parkland shooting. Add in the most recent shooting in Uvalde and other major disasters; you will see a common theme. A major flaw that is highlighted as a failure in the respective after-action reports is the communication. Think of how quickly the 911 call takers and dispatchers would be overwhelmed in an active shooter incident. Now, think about the last time you included your Communications area in any training scenario or exercise (other than reserving or monitoring a radio channel for safety). Have you given them some sort of dynamic exercise or training to test their skills or capabilities? Have you provided them with training or had them read the after-actions of major incidents? How do you recognize their shortfalls? Do you include them in your in-service training?

Suggestions anyone?

Here’s what I can say about my experience. Emergency Telecommunicators are often held to some very similar standards to the uniformed officers, including the actual uniform itself, which people don’t even see over the phone or radio. They are two very different machines to try to optimize. The two worlds may look similar, but only because the cops assume the Communications personnel should be held to their standards. Officers are conditioned to take orders without question, including running into a burning building if need be. Communications personnel are conditioned to question everything, no matter who you are. Get used to it. They are worlds apart from what makes them tick, and more importantly, what keeps them ticking. Here are just a few suggestions:

• -  Engagement is not only welcomed, but it should be mandatory. Give them a voice. Make them part of the decision-making process.

• -  Give them dogs. Consider connecting with a local therapy dog training facility and have them visit. Frequently. You won’t believe the amount of sunshine those dogs produce.

• -  Give them a quiet and dark space with comfortable furniture and soft music. It isn’t as counterproductive as you think. Soundproof it for the purposes of not hearing the chaos of the “floor”. A down room or a chapel area might give someone the solace they need to finish out their shift or even finish out their career.

• -  Consider establishing a mentor program between senior officers and dispatchers, or senior dispatchers and newer ones if you’re concerned about overly friendly interactions. The functions of a mentor program include the transfer of job knowledge, job satisfaction (for both the mentor and the mentee), and most relevant in today’s environment- employee retention.

• -  Review disciplinary cases and make sure they aren’t borne out of traumatic experiences. Thoroughly review the cases and make sure the supervisors aren’t being heavy handed. Keep in mind the different standards when deciding on punishment or rehabilitation.

• -  Have a supervisor check on the call takers or dispatchers after a frightening or disturbing call. Get them relief. Don’t just check in the moment, follow up in a few days. Consider keeping a spreadsheet and see if the number of traumatic experiences matches the timing of behavioral or performance issues.

• -  Open the doors to the religious community. Have local religious or spiritual leaders become part of the background. Let them wander around the non-secure areas. Give them privacy with employees who want to speak with them.

• -  Make whatever mental health services you have abundantly clear. Guarantee them anonymity. Don’t punish people for coming forward. Traumatic stress is subjective, and not for anyone but a professional to determine. Everyone is built differently with different triggers.

• -  Pay attention to the details of their environment. Something as simple as the fight for parking spaces can get complicated. Consider the fact that broken break room appliances or running out of cleaning supplies is more important in a 24/7 operation. We spent an entire holiday period without a kitchen because the water was shut off. It may seem like creature comfort to you, but remember- they can’t leave...

So, what are the answers?

I admit that I don’t know what the answers are. I’m hoping this sparks some conversations. My research project is available to anyone who wants to read it. I used other research projects as references. I did a YouTube video that highlighted 10 things that I’ll bet some of you never thought of about the communications area. The video might be helpful to show your officers or command staff.

Ask yourself when the last time you sat down with your communications supervisors other than sending a pizza or a video of officers thanking them for National Telecommunicators Appreciation Week. When was the last time you strategized keeping employees in the organization, or reviewed their training program or better yet- their burnt-out training officers? Do you conduct exit interviews? Do you provide the supervisors with proper leadership training? A conflict resolution course could be the ounce of prevention your center needs.

From my time on the front porch as a kid, until now, I give these true heroes the reverence they deserve. The salaries and pension percentages don’t match the tasks they perform, yet they feel so protective of all of us that they are slowly sacrificing their own health and well-being. They certainly don’t belong in the clerical category like other civilian employees in your agency. Though they deserve and appreciate the fruit platter or the bagels, give them more of your time, show a willingness to learn, and give them some of your attention. You might find an alarming trend or a diamond in the rough.

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Andrew Baxter is a retired police lieutenant with nearly three decades of experience in the profession. He hosts a podcast and YouTube channel called The Comm Center with Drew Breasy, and is on Instagram as @whatsaydrew. Check out https://thecommcenter.com