I love this card. Thank you to Mrs Fuzz.
This made me laugh.
And it is so very true.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
MDS Training
Regular readers know I changed LE agencies a couple years ago. From a very large metropolitan LEA to a small LEA. Am glad to be back to my roots and knowing all my officers by name and face and voice.
My new agency is finally able to go MDS. Yippee. Get computers in the patrol units. Less air traffic. Easier to communicate with the officers too.
In my former LEA job all the units, even many unmarked, had MDS's in their vehicles. I love MDS dispatching. Lots of years experience with upgrades and changes and still love the overall effectiveness.
In my new LEA I am the only dispatcher that has worked with MDS dispatching. Only two of our newest officers have worked with MDS dispatching.
And NONE of us were part of the team who put together the training, design, and application. The team were senior sgt, senior dispatcher, senior lt, our department tech person and the company rep.
And now the training has begun. Instead of getting the experienced MDS dispatching people in at least the first class, we are all part of the last group to get trained. As the training room is nearby my dispatch center - and all their "training events" are popping up on my dispatch screen, I am already seeing a problem I pulled the tech person out to point out on my screen.
Why would the department not put the most experienced people as part of the team in the integration to more quickly spot problems and cut them off? To help with training? Share their experiences?
My new agency is finally able to go MDS. Yippee. Get computers in the patrol units. Less air traffic. Easier to communicate with the officers too.
In my former LEA job all the units, even many unmarked, had MDS's in their vehicles. I love MDS dispatching. Lots of years experience with upgrades and changes and still love the overall effectiveness.
In my new LEA I am the only dispatcher that has worked with MDS dispatching. Only two of our newest officers have worked with MDS dispatching.
And NONE of us were part of the team who put together the training, design, and application. The team were senior sgt, senior dispatcher, senior lt, our department tech person and the company rep.
And now the training has begun. Instead of getting the experienced MDS dispatching people in at least the first class, we are all part of the last group to get trained. As the training room is nearby my dispatch center - and all their "training events" are popping up on my dispatch screen, I am already seeing a problem I pulled the tech person out to point out on my screen.
Why would the department not put the most experienced people as part of the team in the integration to more quickly spot problems and cut them off? To help with training? Share their experiences?
Thursday, May 10, 2012
911 Agencies Deal with Pocket Dials at Scary Pace
911 Agencies Deal With Pocket Dials At Scary Pace
By: Marcus Thorpe
NBC4
Published: May 10, 2012 Updated: May 10, 2012 - 11:20 AM
CENTRAL OHIO --
It takes a special person to be a 911 dispatcher. You have to be at your best every second of every day.
And dispatchers are ready to act and react when you are having your worst day.
But along with the legitimate calls they receive, there are a prank calls, or accidental calls that come along.
Those calls still have to be answered, and in some cases dispatchers send emergency crews to the scene, only to find out there is not an emergency.
The New York Times reports that in 2010, about 40 percent of the calls to 911 were made by accident.
Tonight at 5 p.m., we are looking into the problem locally. What is being done? Does it slow down response time? And how do dispatchers and emergency crews deal with the growing issue?
Just found this wonderful teaser for a tv news piece. It's nice to see them acknowledging our skills. And truly love the questions asked at the end.
What is being done? Well, a handful of states (mine included), have passed a law about abuse of the 911 system, stating these subjects are subject to fines and citations. Yeah, try to get an officer to actually enforce it. We dispatchers can document all we want, but have yet to see an actual citation issued. Just lots of warnings issued instead. And each department has that one or two callers who call 911 for e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g, emergency or not.
Does it slow down response time? Again for dispatchers, the answer is a no-brainer. 911 calls are a priority. They pop up first on our boards, we put other calls on hold to answer them. And it takes at least a full minute to confirm it is not an emergency and give them a different phone number to call. Or longer when they want to argue with you about it. That means the next 911 call has to wait. And it could be a legitimate call for help. Which slows down the time to make up the request for call for service or for dispatching an officer.
And how do dispatchers and emergency crews deal with the growing issue? Well, as earlier stated, laws are made so people can be cited/ticketed for abusing the system, but aren't being utilized. So, instead, we get frustrated and angry but attempt to answer each 911 call as a potential life threatening emergency call and be as professional and patient as we can with the people who seem to lack common sense.
When we seem to get a high number of non-emergency 911 calls, butt dialed or children playing on phones, I try to take a deep breath and remind myself these @&#& people are my job security.
By: Marcus Thorpe
NBC4
Published: May 10, 2012 Updated: May 10, 2012 - 11:20 AM
CENTRAL OHIO --
It takes a special person to be a 911 dispatcher. You have to be at your best every second of every day.
And dispatchers are ready to act and react when you are having your worst day.
But along with the legitimate calls they receive, there are a prank calls, or accidental calls that come along.
Those calls still have to be answered, and in some cases dispatchers send emergency crews to the scene, only to find out there is not an emergency.
The New York Times reports that in 2010, about 40 percent of the calls to 911 were made by accident.
Tonight at 5 p.m., we are looking into the problem locally. What is being done? Does it slow down response time? And how do dispatchers and emergency crews deal with the growing issue?
Just found this wonderful teaser for a tv news piece. It's nice to see them acknowledging our skills. And truly love the questions asked at the end.
What is being done? Well, a handful of states (mine included), have passed a law about abuse of the 911 system, stating these subjects are subject to fines and citations. Yeah, try to get an officer to actually enforce it. We dispatchers can document all we want, but have yet to see an actual citation issued. Just lots of warnings issued instead. And each department has that one or two callers who call 911 for e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g, emergency or not.
Does it slow down response time? Again for dispatchers, the answer is a no-brainer. 911 calls are a priority. They pop up first on our boards, we put other calls on hold to answer them. And it takes at least a full minute to confirm it is not an emergency and give them a different phone number to call. Or longer when they want to argue with you about it. That means the next 911 call has to wait. And it could be a legitimate call for help. Which slows down the time to make up the request for call for service or for dispatching an officer.
And how do dispatchers and emergency crews deal with the growing issue? Well, as earlier stated, laws are made so people can be cited/ticketed for abusing the system, but aren't being utilized. So, instead, we get frustrated and angry but attempt to answer each 911 call as a potential life threatening emergency call and be as professional and patient as we can with the people who seem to lack common sense.
When we seem to get a high number of non-emergency 911 calls, butt dialed or children playing on phones, I try to take a deep breath and remind myself these @&#& people are my job security.
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