A&E Show "Panic 9-1-1"

I can't take credit for bringing this to anyone's attention.  Reader Conceita sent me the information back in November.  Sorry Conceita it took me so long to acknowledge.  A&E PRESENTS THE NEW ORIGINAL REAL LIFE SERIES "PANIC 9-1-1" TRUE CRIME THRILLER FOLLOWS REAL 9-1-1 CALLS THREE ONE-HOUR EPISODES PREMIERE THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 29 AT 10PM ET/PT

New York, NY - November 12, 2012 - A&E takes 9-1-1 calls to a whole new level in the new original real life series "PANIC 9-1-1." Using audio from real 9-1-1 calls to narrate the story, "PANIC 9-1-1" lets viewers experience every harrowing and terrifying moment of the callers' ordeals. Three one-hour episodes begin Thursday, November 29 at 10PM ET/PT.

More than half a million 9-1-1 calls are made every day in the U.S. For many, the dispatcher is the only link between life and death. One part thriller and one part true-crime show, each episode of "PANIC 9-1-1" features audio from real, urgent 9-1-1 calls between emergency dispatchers and frantic callers as life-and-death situations unfold around them in real time. Each call is a race against time where every second counts and getting the right details is crucial. Enhanced by stylized recreations and interviews with witnesses, officers, call dispatchers and, in some cases, the callers themselves, "PANIC 9-1-1" keeps the viewer guessing until the last second. Who lives and who dies remains a mystery until the very end.

In the premiere episode of "PANIC 9-1-1," emergency dispatchers in California receive an urgent call from a terrified single mother reporting an unknown intruder in her home. In Illinois, a lone gunman begins shooting a gun in a sporting goods store, and the store's manager must choose whether to flee the scene or stay on the line in order to save those around him. On a dark night in Oklahoma, a grandmother faces the grim possibility of using deadly force to protect herself from an intruder while she waits for police to arrive on the scene.

"PANIC 9-1-1" is produced for A&E Network by Sirens Media. Executive producers for Sirens Media are Valerie Haselton Drescher and Rebecca Toth Diefenbach. Anne S. Rothwell is co-executive producer. Executive producers for A&E are David McKillop, Elaine Frontain Bryant and Brad Holcman.

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Okay, advertisement is over.  Now the reason for this post.

Shortly after I read Conceita's comment to me, that the show sounds interesting and promising, I saw a commercial for the upcoming show.  They played a part of a taped 9-1-1 call.  And I got physically ill.

There are a couple shows on A&E my husband likes to watch.  So the channel is on the home television with some regularity (not as much as the History Channel, but regularly).  Whenever the commercial comes on, I change the channel.

Naturally, I had to start analyzing why I was feeling this way.  On just a commercial.   

Yes, I am sure some of it is my PTSD.  Even though I haven't seen a commercial for awhile, it took me three months just to write about it.  And my stomach is churning and I see my legs are a bit restless.

Just the first commercial brought back memories of some horrific calls I have taken over the years.  My first thought was not, "Oh, do I have a call (or two) that might interest you, A&E".  No, my first thought was, "I'm gonna be sick."

I am glad that the media is showing the general citizenry a piece of what our work lives are like.  I haven't seen a single show, but I really hope they are able to educate people about the stress these calls bring to the dispatcher.  And how little support and assistance is given to the dispatcher who is an auditory witness to life at its worst and at death.

"Over half a million 9-1-1 calls are made every day in the U.S.  For many, the dispatcher is the only link between life and death."

I wish our Supervisors and Brass would sit up and take notice of that statistic and fact.  Yes, many of those half a million plus 9-1-1 calls are not an emergency.  But they can be wearing.  Especially when it truly is life and death. 

And WE DISPATCHERS are the first and major link to getting help to the citizen calling and the officer responding to the call for help.

I hope A&E Producers of "Panic 9-1-1" truly highlight the facts of our job and not just sensationalize the trauma and drama of the calls AND not focus so much of the officers response but puts the spotlight on the dispatcher who made the intelligent and fast and sharp and perceptive decisions to answer the call for help.

Criminal vs Civil

After enjoying a day with my family to celebrate a little holiday cheer, I return to work and deal with a very angry member of the community I work for, one of my first phone calls for the day. And spend a great amount of time trying to explain the difference between a criminal call for service (which we would handle) and a civil incident/case (in which we would not respond). And listened to her mouthing off and start "kitchen sinking" list of complaints about the agency I work for.

On television and in movies, you never see an Officer or Dispatcher refuse to answer a citizens request for police presence. An officer responds and settles the issue and writes up the report. Yeah, right.

Hello to all those script writers out there! Learn the facts and write accordingly! Take the opportunity to educate the general public who believe everything they see on television and in the movies as fact.

Law enforcement agencies, like the local police departments and sheriff departments, as a rule, respond to requests of the criminal nature. Granted, many sheriff departments have a civil division to help with service of warrants and restraining orders, but the rule of thumb is, if you have a complaint of the civil nature, don't call the police. They're crime fighters. Civil servants that don't handle civil complaints. (Now that's an oxymoron-ish).

Spit It Out

Come on folks. You call 9-1-1 or a non-emergency phone number. You know what you want or think you're going to get. But, yet, you go, "ah, ah, ah, and ah, (long silence)". Not just at the beginning but several times during your phone call.

Spit it out. Hopefully you're not calling for help without any idea of what you're calling help for. Yes, we get those people who talk too much. But they don't drive me as nuts as those callers who can't seem to spit out what they are calling about.

And we're not talking about speech deficiencies here. It's different, too, when English is a second language. I am talking about those people where English is their only language and they still can't seem to speak it.

aaahhh.... so much of my time is wasted on these people. Like pulling teeth from a chicken. Oh yeah, chicken don't have teeth. But these callers do. And a tongue. And some type of working grey matter. Right???

Whew. I feel much better for that tantrum. I can see why kids like doing this.