A good police dispatcher should be void of all emotion, have nerves of steel and skin as thick as an elephant’s hide, eight arms, two heads, a crystal ball that never needs repair,?a bladder the size of a basketball and never need to eat or take a break,?all the while keeping a smile on his or her face, says Linda Gibbons.
Who better to write a position description for a dispatcher than a dispatcher? Especially one who is retiring from the Winfield Police Department after almost 22 years.
"A good dispatcher must have all the answers no matter the question, know the law backwards and forwards and take all needed information for a case so no officer needs to?leave the station to take a report," Gibbons says. "A good dispatcher should be able to solve problems that have been brewing for years in just a minute or two, should never expect a ‘thank you’ or ‘good job’ or any kind of an atta-boy.
"When ever things end on a positive note, it’s always ‘the officers did a great job’. When things go bad, it’s ‘the dispatcher didn’t get enough information’," Gibbons says.
A dispatcher has to help people work through medical problems until paramedics arrive, console people when a loved one dies, and calm hysterical people during crisis situations.
"We must make sure when there is a fire that no lives are in danger, no one is trapped, or any explosives are close by. And most of this is done when you are the only one sitting at the desk," says Gibbons. "I know this sounds like complaining, and I guess it is. There have been many rewards, and for that I am thankful, but the stress related to the job is tremendous."
There are times a dispatcher can’t leave the work at the door when a shift ends. Like the night a man called and told Gibbons he was going to kill himself, where he would be, and where the instructions could be found to take care of his body, and even the name of his next of kin.
"He then hung up and shot himself. And, yes, it still haunts me," she says.
There was no such thing as enhanced 911- which provides address and phone number information quickly ? when Gibbons started police work. There was just a box that showed the telephone number of the caller.
911 calls were more stressful then since the dispatcher didn’t know where the caller was and if the caller couldn’t tell her where to send help then it was doubtful help could be sent.
"Now, we know where the caller is at and what number they are calling from, and with the implementation of Phase I and Phase II for cell phones, soon dispatchers will be able to tell where the caller is when they call 911 on a cell phone," says Gibbons. "Now, that’s progress."
One of the most challenging incidents Gibbons recalls is one involving a call from a man who was having a stroke. He couldn’t tell her where he was. His neighbors heard the scanner traffic and called the police department to says where the man could be found. He survived.
Gibbons remembers another time when a young man called to report he and his friend had been in an accident. Their vehicle went off a bridge and landed upside down in the water. The two young men crawled out and were able to get back on the road. But, they didn’t know where they were. It was zero degrees and they were literally wet and freezing. They were found. They survived.
Her best memory? When she helped deliver a baby over the telephone.
The possibilities for future changes in emergency communications are endless, says Gibbons. With computers (mobile data terminals) in the patrol cars, officers will be able to run tags and verify drivers licenses themselves. They will become a necessity before long, Gibbons predicts.
"People expect dispatchers and police in general to do more now than ever before. Television shows like CSI and Law and Order have given the public a false sense of security in that they think we have the resources and expertise to do all those marvelous things to solve crimes," says Gibbons. "They don’t understand that it just doesn’t work that way. We wish it did."
A reception was held Friday morning for Gibbons at the First Methodist Church.
"Every job has its good side and bad side. So does dispatching and police work," she says. "Law enforcement gets in the blood. It’s addictive. It will be a hard habit to break."
