PoliceLink

Thanks for your post and comments. Not sure why no one responded...I'm a noob here and just trying to catch up a little.

It's not an easy job and the fact you noticed that is much appreciated.

Without them life would be very tough!  Always make sure you take care of 'em!

I never saw this one!!

I totally appreciate your comments. We are considered the "unsung heroes" of emergency services. I have seen ads taken out in the newspaper thanking everyone and their dog for saving their childs life, but they forgot to than the dispatcher who gave CPR on the phone and stayed on the phone with a hysterical mom for 45 mins while the ambulance went to the northern most part of the county. But KNOWING that I had a huge part in doing these things is enough for me.

I LOVE my job. I couldnt consider doing anything else, and I forgot what it was like to have a "normal job". I get up every morning and put on my uniform and badge, and do what I do best. I use all my sweet skills that many people dont even consider me for, such as my huge tolerance level for stupid people and how I can save a life without shedding a single tear or breaking down. I have a combination of patience and pride. I walk into a grocery store and know how much I helped you when i see you perusing the veggies and smile a little, because you have no idea that the person who helped you is perusing the veggies as well. I never say anything or talk about what I do, but when you say thank you. I nod, say youre welcome, a small smile will creep across my face and I will walk away, and HOPE you never have to call me again. not because I dont like you, but because I want you to be safe.

Thanks for the post.Unless an officer has been in our center for more then a short visit, they really do not have a clue what all we do. We just got a new Sgt over our squad. Our last Sgt had been with us for 5 years. Our new Sgt has been with the police department for a long time, but  God Bless him...........told us, he had no idea what all we actually did, until he came in here.It has opened his eyes up a lot he says.He has been a welcome addition .I really wish, the police department, would require the officers to spend at least a full shift( and during a normallly busy time, including shift changes ), to see what all we actually do. Have them listen to our calls, listen in on the police channels, to hear all we hear,and are responsible for. To see what running a subject really entails, especially when they are out of state too. As a Dispatcher, I also realize what all the officers do out there. So I really appreciate when someone takes the time to recognize what we do too.The simple thank you's we may get, along with hearing the words, that an officer is 10-4, is all we really need.Thank you for taking this time to post to us all!

Why We do it !   Just like officers firemen and ems workers ect .. I think you are born to do it !  the voice in the dark the calm before and after the storm .. it is a calling I have been doing it since i was about 20 wow a long time love it and wouldnt trade it for any other job .. pay is not the best trust me . but it is more then that ..

I have posted this beofre however I love it ! hope you all enjoy it !!!!

¡?**You can carry on more than 4 conversations simultaneously!?



?**You have a bladder capacity of a tanker!?



**You can resume a conversation with co-workers 4 hours later, in mid-sentence and everyone knows that you are talking about!?



**You have a long term telephonic relationship with one or more ?paranoid schizophrenic PTSD suffering relatives of a public official.



**You have ever had to explain to a college educated, gainfully employed, tax paying property owner that: His/her child's lack of interest in vegetables was not a police matter!





**You have ever muttered the phrase: "They let him carry a GUN?"



**You find yourself typing "height" and "weight" instead of "width" and "height" when adding dimensions to the HTML "IMG SRC" tags on your web-site.



**You answer your home phone "9-1-1, what is your emergency?"



**You spend more on fast food than utilities.



**You see nothing wrong with eating a Taco Bell Grande Meal or pizza at 3 a.m



**You consider coffee an indispensable work tool.



**You answer your home phone "dispatch".



**You answer dispatch phone "hell" instead of "hello".



**The only thing that gets your adrenaline going is the walk to and from your car.



**You find humor in other people's misery.



**You're only happy if you have something to complain about.



**You consider patience a weakness ,not a virtue.



**Your idea of a good night involves someone burning a house down, getting shot, chased or dismembered.--->My guys have already told me that this was wrote for me!!!



**You have forgotten what it is like to actually eat a warm meal.



**Your dog doesn't recognize you and the kids think you're just the person who drops by every now and then to bring groceries and do the laundry.



**You think it's funny when a would-be suicide gets bored waiting for the gas from the stove to do it's thing and lights a cigarette to pass the time resulting in an explosion that leaves her neighbors homeless but she still survives.



**You truly believe stupidity should be painful.



**Dinner consist of a 2 liter bottle of soda and whatever you can scrounge out of the vending machine.



**Antacid tablets, or better known as dispatcher candy, become your regular desert.



**You read newspaper accounts of a major incident that occurred during your shift and can point out all the incorrect information...and then laugh about it.



**Family members comment about how nice you "used" to be before you started this job.



**You believe in aerial spraying of Prozac and/or birth control over certain parts of your city.



**You have no idea what a holiday is, other than it's the day when everyone gets drunk and beats up their family members.



**You get impatient listening to people relate a story - You want "just the facts".



**You believe 90% of people can't look up a telephone number.



**You get easily bored with happy content people.



**You can talk on the phone, listen to the radio and type request into the computer at the same time without missing anything.



**You think it is funny when a "regular client" kills himself while breaking into a business.



**You can give directions to any location in your city off the top of your head.



**You can relate a 10 minute story over a 2 hour time period, after many interruptions, without losing your place.



**You refuse to allow anyone to say "have a quiet shift".

Sheepdog267, I am not sure that the dispatchers would ever get 10% more pay than the LEO on the road; however I do feel that Emergency Dispatchers should recieve benefits under the Administrative Special Risk category.  As it stands in Florida 911 dispatchers have to put in a full thirty (30) years of service in order to retire with only 48% of their average salary.  If they could be put under the Administrative Special Risk category they could retire in only 25 years in the Florida State Retirement System.

I dispatched for a little over two (2) years and I really enjoyed my job as a dispatcher, but I can honestly tell you the skill level and mental acuity required to function in a busy 911 center makes it very difficult for dispatchers to reach that thirty (30) year mark.  The shift work and stress frequently lead to medical problems *God Bless You Jan*, that force the hard worked dispatchers to retire early which in return lead to significant FRS penalties.

When I was Employed with the SO our CPT offered all of us dispatchers a letter, and all information reguarding this.  We all sent letters to our local senator and representatives; however the request was shot down.  I feel that if enough dispatchers got together to adv. on this subject maybe things could change for the better.