The emergency telecommunications professionals—dispatchers—who answer 9-1-1 calls and oversee the jail in Cook County are (L-R) Dispatch Supervisor/Jail Administrator Judy Sivertson, Nanette Arands (front, on phone), Kevin DeRosier, Darcy Ziller, and Lindsay Mielke. (Not pictured, Doug Gale)
Whether they are called emergency communication technicians, telecommunication professionals, or dispatchers, the folks who answer when you dial 9-1-1 play a vital role in protecting public safety.
Bill Carrow, president of the Association of Public Safety Communications (APCO), spoke at a press conference at the Pima County Sheriff ‘s Department in Tucson, Arizona to announce National Public Safety Telecommunications Week, celebrated each year during the second full week of April. The Pima County center handled the active shooting event at a Safeway in January where six people were killed and 13 were wounded, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.
Hopefully, the Cook County Sheriff ‘s Office will never have to handle such a harrowing event, but a small community law enforcement center brings its own challenges. The dispatchers at the Cook County Law Enforcement Center (LEC) are not just dispatchers, but jailors as well. Dispatch Supervisor/Jail Administrator Judy Sivertson said such an arrangement is not very common. “But because we are such a small department, it doesn’t make sense to have them separate. The Department of Corrections doesn’t recommend it. But we make it work,” she said.
There have been some changes at the LEC in recent weeks. Dispatcher Ben Hallberg has completed the required training and is now an on-the-road deputy. Dispatcher Amity Goettl has changed jobs to serve as the sheriff ’s administrative assistant. That meant two new dispatchers were needed, so Kevin DeRosier and Nanette Arands were hired and are being trained. They join Sivertson, Darcy Ziller, Lindsay Mielke, and Doug Gale.
The Cook County dispatchers handle a huge variety of calls, said Sivertson, ranging from minor, such as “My dog is missing,” “I lost my wallet” or “Do you have the phone number for the hospital?” Another common call is to report that a wolf or bear has walked through a person’s yard.
“Those sort of calls are important,” said Sivertson, “but they are not life or death.”
The life or death calls are tough. All of the dispatchers are emergency medical dispatchers and can coach callers through CPR if needed.
“We’ve taken some really awful ones,” said Sivertson, such as suicides, terrible accidents, and medical emergencies.
Because the dispatchers—or public safety telecommunications professionals— are the front line of the public safety system, Carrow asked the public to say thanks to our telecommunications personnel.
Carrow said, “This week is set aside to honor the hard work and dedication of our public safety telecommunications professionals. The personnel receiving emergency calls constantly deal with the public in the most dire of times. Radio dispatch personnel ensure that appropriate equipment and personnel are alerted and respond to the scene. They also maintain surveillance over first responders in the field, acting as their lifeline to ensure they make it to the scene and back safely.
“During this week we also honor the technicians that maintain radio and emergency phone systems, the trainers that provide basic and remedial instruction to our communications staff and supervisors, the managers, and the directors that guide the daily operations in centers across the country.
“Our call-takers and dispatchers are truly the first of the first responders, because without them no fire apparatus, police cars or ambulances would be dispatched. They act as the vital link in the chain.”
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