Dispatcher goes from low to high gear in one call
     
     
     As a student, Dave Hopkins worked part time in the
Department of Public Safety. One night, while he was in the
dispatch room assisting the regular officer on duty, a call
came in that dramatically affected his life.
     "It was a woman," he recalled. "She said she wanted to
commit suicide. That was before the new 9-1-1 emergency
systems we have now; we didn't know where the call was
coming from or who she was."
     Hopkins said he and the dispatcher kept the woman on
the line for nearly an hour while handling other calls. Each
one talked to her for periods of time while the phone
company traced the line. Once her location was known, two
police officers went to her assistance.
     "It was a stressful experience," Hopkins recalled. "I
think she was upset and wanted to talk to someone. When it
was over, I felt satisfied. I found that I had made a
difference. I like to think whatever problem she had, it's
worked out."
     That incident is an example of one of the more extreme
calls received by public safety dispatchers during their
eight-hour shifts throughout the day and night.
     Hopkins, one of five trained dispatchers, has been
behind the console for three years. He stressed that he and
his colleagues are trained to react. "There's no way to know
what the next call will be," he said.
     Incoming calls range from the routine- involving
requests for escort and messenger service to calls for
assistance to unlock an office or car door-to the serious,
including medical, fire and crime emergencies.
     A series of training programs-involving emergency
medical dispatch, basic communication and more than two
months of on-the-job instruction and supervision-must be
completed by each UD dispatcher before he/she stands a solo
shift at the dispatch desk.
     "I enjoy this job a lot," he said. "It can be very
stressful and very tedious, waiting for the next phone call,
and you have to be prepared, since that next phone call
could be from someone who is involved in an emergency."
     Hopkins said it's not unusual to have callers yell and
scream at him. But it's particularly frustrating, he added,
when they do not listen to the dispatcher's questions.
Dispatchers are trained to try to secure specific, useful
information, according to pre-established guidelines. This,
he said, helps them determine what type and level of
assistance to send to respond to an emergency.
     "When callers are excited," Hopkins said, "they'll yell
at you and that's to be expected. Most of the time they say,
'Get somebody here now!' But, once they realize you're
trying to help them, that you're sending help and it's on
its way, they usually calm down. It can get crazy, though.
     "Often, you're on the phone with the caller and, at the
same time, you're on the radio giving directions and more
information to the officers or emergency personnel who are
on their way to the scene."
     Hopkins said many people have misconceptions about
dispatch work because of television emergency and crime
programs.
     "People think there is constantly something critical
going on," he said. "They think that every call is a life-or-
death situation. Things can turn into a life-or-death
situation, but it's not always like that.
     "Some people in law enforcement look upon the
dispatcher's position as a stepping stone to a more
traditional police job," Hopkins said. "In my case, I really
love this work. I like how it can go from total calm one
minute to a major crisis the next. It's definitely not
routine.
     "I think I could keep doing it for a long time, and the
improvements in the system, with Enhanced 9-1-1, have helped
us a lot. Now, when someone calls, we know where they are
and we can get back to them, or send someone out to assist
them, if they get cut off. And, that wasn't the case when I
started."
                                               -Ed Okonowicz