Hello

Okay, okay. Been away for awhile. Not away from the work, but away from here. And I really need to get back. Makes me feel better to share my experiences with those who have dealt with similar problems.

Guess you could say I am back in fighting form. Like many dispatchers, sometimes the work grabs your inside, twists, and holds on with feverish strength to weaken the person. The combination of callers sharing their drama and trauma hour after hour after hour; the officers eating their mikes and angry you ask them to repeat; the co-workers who seem to find time to talk and socialize while you're going from call to call to call, can really wear down a person.

So, new attitude is needed.

Like many departments across this great land, we have had layoffs and reduction of staffing. Which has reduced some services to the public, like no more officer response for cold crimes, but citizens encouraged to use the on-line reporting system for their case number.

Citizens are not happy with these changes. Feel shortchanged and frustrated. Yeah, as a citizen I can agree. But it is a sad reality of our current economic times. And no improvement is seen anywhere in the horizon.

How are other agencies dealing with the changes? Do those agency dispatchers also get the feeling like they are getting dumped on? Made to sooth the angry citizens? Getting yelled at more by citizens? How are you handling the additional stress?