911 Dispatch

This page is to honor all Telecommunications Officers everywhere.They are the Heart and the Lifeline of the Force.

I am a dispatcher for the Chillicothe Police Dept.We have approximately 60 people in our dept including the clerks,Chief,Captains,Detectives and Sergeants,leaving about 40-45 road Officers.We have 3 dispatchers to cover all 3 Watches.Needless to say we have plenty to do.

Chillicothe is a small midwest town of approximately 20-25 thousand citizens.Even though it is a small town,many of the big City problems have found their way to our small town;drugs being the root of most of our serious crime.Also being a regional hub for an 8 county area we have tremendous traffic for a town of our size.We have 3 prisons and a VA Hospital located just outside our City limits which I suppose accounts for the large numbers of mentally and emotionally depressed souls we deal with daily.

A Dispatcher's day usually has many ups and down.Unless you have been a dispatcher you will never know the range of emotions that a dispatcher experiences.Some days the stress is such you wonder why you are here.Other days,when you feel you have indeed helped someone the feeling is wonderful.Some days you think if one more idiot calls you will throw the phone thru the dispatch window.Some times the abuse from the public;which in reality is who you are serving is intolerable.The false,stupid 911 calls received to me is the most intolerable.To be so busy;you have 5 phone lines on hold;you have 6-10 units with radio traffic;officers wanting warrant checks and then some idiot calls 911 to ask when Trick or Treat is or to ask for phone numbers or to report a theft that occurred 6 months ago.

Sometimes I really believe dispatchers in small Cities or Counties have more stress than big City dispatchers,because we do it all.Answer regular phone lines,911 line and hanlde dispatching and radio traffic.Also you are the personal secretary for every member of the Police Dept.Take messages(personal and job related);we are expected to know the answer to every question that could be asked on any subject.When days go good the rewards are great.

Even though we are not out on the "mean streets",we have the "mean streets" in our face every day.We pray for our Officers that we have to send out and get all the information that we can before they arrive on the scene.

It is so very rewarding when we play a role in helping to take a child from an abusive situation or to save a woman that has been a victim of domestic violence.To get help quickly to life threatening situations;be it a terrible accident,an assault in progress,a robbery in progress;to actually be a part of saving a person from physical injury or to actually help to save a life, the feeling is unbelieable.This is when we go home to our families and thank God for the wonderful life that we live.It is terrible the things that we see and experience.The ugly,seamy side of humanity that most citizens never have to experience.We are glad that they do not have to experience such things.

Our Officers are the greatest and show us respect for they know what an important part of their job that we are.Without a good dispatcher they are unable to make their arrests and they can at times be in danger if the dispatcher does not handle the calls properly.

Our Officers find out quickly the value of a Dispatcher when we have our days off and they have to cover the Watch.Most tell me they would rather be on the street,because in most cases they only have to deal with one situation at a time while dispatchers have to handle many things at once;just keeping track of where all the Officers are;their status;etc can be a full time job.

Thank you to all the fellow Telecommunications Officers.The public may not always appreciate us,but our Officers and our families do.

Big changes are coming to the Chillicothe Police Dept.We just recently got our new 911 High Tech System installed.Quite a change from our old system,even though it was the "ENHANCED 911 SYSTEM".

Now we are completely computerizing the entire department.No more typewriters.I think it will be great though some of the Officers are resisting it.They may as well accept it as there is no stopping this Computer driven world.I am very proud of our small City for being imagitive enough to stay abreast of the many new technologies.Dispatching can be so stressful;any thing to help you make it through the day is appreciated.

Please visit the special page that we have made for Telecommunications Officers