BigB911
New Member
Although I personally worked for a larger agency, there are many smaller agencies where the calltaker is also the dispatcher and running their own NCIC. My hat was always off to the folks who worked this way. It amazed me. You are right in that telling a caller "someone will be there right away" is wrong because a calltaker has no clue what is actually going on out on the streets and if there will be a unit available to be in that caller's location right away. Promising what you don't know hangs you wide open for liability. I wouldn't necessarily say "call away" though because where I worked our biggest problem was always having enough warm bodies to work communications. The intense stress coupled with low pay and crappy treatment by the public and other divisions within the agency made it near impossible to keep people around long enough to train them much less ask them to work overtime. When our shifts were short that only spelled more stress for those who did show up. :hammer:
Yeah, it's like that here, with every position equipped with a CML to take calls. Like the desk I'm at right now has NCIC, CAD, and a CML. Although I'm kinda like the "last resort" to take a call. We, too, have lots of forced OT. But what's nice is, is that we are paid pretty well here.
My favorite calls were the ones where "a cat is stuck in a tree". These folks are totally adamant that the cat is truly stuck. LOL! If logic wasn't accepted by these people generally the fix was the question, "Ma'am, when was the last time you saw a cat skeleton in a tree?" :shrug:
Hey...that's my line!!!
At any rate...always nice to find a fellow 911'er!:wave: