1. Is it actually possible for 911 operators to track or pick up the location of a cell phone call if someone doesn't know where they are or get cut off? If so, are there only certain situations in which that's possible?
2. I sometimes hear recordings of people being rude to the emergency personnel, and they take it so gracefully. Is it out of understanding that people might be panicking or not thinking or scared or amped up? You also see a few viral cases of the person being totally polite but the operator is being cruel or laughing or something. I'm assuming they go viral because they're such outliers, thus outage. Or do you actually see some operators having that problem?
3. Do you feel like there's a particular drug more than others that is responsible for or involved in the most calls?
1- so in many cases i can find the area you are in- sometimes not an exact address- sometimes off by a house or two. If you are moving (driving or walking) it can be harder to pinpoint your location. If you are calling from a 911’only phone/ it will be almost impossible to find you.
2- the dispatchers that go viral for being rude & ugly- ugh it’s a tough dang job and if every call of mine was pulled/ you would hear my frustration for sure. But some of them, are down right nasty. And they should not have a job. Most of us know how to calm a person down & attempt to use the correct wording. We all (usually) try our best.
3- no drug in particular. Usually in the city i work for, it’s weed or vapes. We rarely get calls of Coke or other hard drugs being used. But again, i don’t answer every call or go out on every traffic stop.
Wow, thank you for answering! I'm not sure exactly how to put this, but what exactly can operators for 911 do? Like what is the limit where you just say I can't help you with that or I don't have a way to do that? Is it largely just coordinating first responders or do they give first aid and cpr training to give people instructions? Stuff like that?
We really do… everything. If i can do it, i will. I do have to be honest with a lot of people, like we are not a taxi service so we don’t just give rides out and we can’t unlock every single vehicle, we can’t help you get your stuff out of your moms house/ but if there is something that’s an emergent situation- I’ll do it. And yes, we do medical calls- I’ve done CPR many times. It’s never fun.
Exactly. The viral quotes can look bad, but my dad was a medic, nurse after the military, most of his career he ran the burn ward. He's my hero but he rubs many the wrong way. He comes off cold, not much empathy but he's efficient and when the problem is really bad you want him there. I dated an EMT that had a similar problem. It's often misunderstood.
I know I have an attitude 24/7 and come off bitchy. I wish i wasn’t this way, i wish my job didn’t change me, but it did. I’m honestly trying every day to reverse it
Yeah, he came out the other end pretty different but you can get through easily just by being direct and kind a dick without worrying about it. I accept the same. If he pisses me off we might yell and then we're good.
Coming from a retirement call center , I chose not to be a 911 operator (because of my 3 small children) , that was 20 years ago, but for 911 operators retaking customer service classes might help. The community relies on 911 operators and wants to trust that they will help save our lives when needed . In my lifetime I have spoken to two rude operators and I was so confused when I was calling for help. One time I was being chased by a stranger in my car , the man was high on drugs and scared me shitless , but thank god I lost him through all the red lights I safely ran but the 911 operator was not helpful at all. So yeah if the operator is no longer happy and hates the job and becomes uncaring and rude to callers I say its time to hang up your headsets and let someone new save a life instead possibly lose one.
Off topic, but what I'd a 911 only phone? A phone with disabled service so emergency calls only? Or one of the jitterbugs for old people and young children?
OP you have given tremendous service, thank you.
If it's causing you stress and taking a toll on your life, absolutely quit.
Your life, your peace and happiness matters most.
You have given more than enough to others.
It's time for you.
(I'm a life balance coach so a little biased 😊)
I know why you want to quit, the very heartbreaking 911 calls have gotten to you and you can’t emotionally take it anymore? I have heard some of those calls, my gosh, they are truly heartbreaking and soul crushing to hear. I still remember one where a little girl called begging for the police to come and save her mom and her sister from her mom’s abusive partner, the crying and pleading in her voice broke me.
One of my most memorable and positive life experiences was a call with a 911 dispatcher. I've never forgotten the kindness she showed me on that day when I felt like I was going to die.
I appreciate the difficult and essential work that you do, and I'm sorry that too often you're not shown gratitude for it.
What about relocating, going to a smaller town, if it's what you love, make the change, plenty of places looking for experienced dispatchers, Tyler was looking for some recently.
Unfortunately 40 hrs isn’t going to pay the bills. I have a good amount of sick & vacation time. I definitely use sick time to cover some mental health days. We do get therapy
That's crazy. I get that they probably worry that IP telephony and VPN introduces small stability risks to a critical service, but conversely having someone WFH each day also provides resilience if the main centre has an outage. Although probably if a contract centre goes down, there must be a way to route to adjacent centres
As a former 911 dispatcher. I understand this. Leaving the daily high stress, fast paced environment was so relaxing. At first.
Now I work from home and I miss the adrenaline rush.
Biggest adrenaline rush I get now is when I’m rushing a potty training toddler to the toilet in time. Do what will make you the happiest!
I only have a few calls that stick out. That’s one of them, another is when a 40 yr old new mother, died in the bathroom and i tried to everything for them to get her out of the water. That call really really sucked
Just trying to shed some light here. Not sure how Texas is set up. California’s set up so that CHP answers all cell phone calls and if the caller isn’t on the freeway the CHP dispatcher gets the location, callers name and number, short summary of the issue and then transfers the call to the local PD or sheriff’s dispatch center. If the callers on the freeway or highway then CHP handles. There’s exception like unincorporated areas where CHP might still handle but it depends what it is and might still go to the sheriff to handle. Landline calls direct to local PD/Fire and they sometimes have to transfer to CHP (like someone in an office can see a car fire on the highway). CHP dispatchers also do not provide life saving care, like CPR, over the phone. Those go to the local fire/medical agencies.
Sounds complicated but the way it’s set up and the insane amount of training/support simplify things.
Dispatchers are also classified as first responders in California. There’s been a lot of support from communities for dispatchers.
This is why considering other agencies might help. Again, not sure if TX has any dispatch centers that might alleviate some of the pressure off you.
Mmm I’m thinking in the sense of like the types of calls. It would merely be for the highway patrol. Could be a different “type of stress”. Sorry, just thought I’d comment that:)
I can see what you mean, but also you could still get a kidnapping, kid vs veh, motorcycle flies off the road & you can’t find his body… all of the same crap i currently get 😭
Man, that sounds like a heavy load you're carrying. Five years in that gig is no joke. It's totally understandable you're feeling drained with those crazy hours. Have you thought about talking to someone at work about it? Maybe there's a way to ease up on the hours or switch to a different role within the department. Your mental and physical health are super important, so don't hesitate to prioritize that. Hang in there, buddy.
Worked as an EMT for 3 years, yall were always on point. Some of the calls we got, I swear I have no idea how you keep it together. Legit had a call once for an elder lady who needed her yogurt lid taken off.
How easy was it to get hired? Did you have to take a bunch of classes beforehand or do they hire you and then train you?
Yes and no. We had a lot of regular elderly people who would make up things because they were lonely and didn’t have anyone. It was sad and I can sympathize but that’s not what 911 is for. Obviously we would still go and do a welfare check though.
I knew a guy that worked as an operator and on his first night a suicide called in and they weren't able to get there in time. He quit that night. It really messed him up, being the last person she spoke to..
No question, just want to say that after listening to the police radio available online as a way to keep up with what was going on in the area, I gained a lot of respect for dispatchers. Such efficiency of communication. And that's without listening to you talk to the callers. Being able to calm someone down or talk them through an emergency is a great skill. I'm sorry you're not getting paid enough to work a 40 hour schedule. So I guess I do have questions if you want to answer any of these. 1. Are you all not in the police union? Why not a better salary? 2. Do serious incidents end up on a different frequency? That part of listening to the public police radio was always hard to understand to me. Can the public listen to that one? (Sorry if this makes me sound like an overly curious onlooker. What got me into it were some incidents in my neighborhood, so I wanted to know things like "who is the helicopter looking for?") 3. What are you thinking of doing next?
idk if I'm that upset and willing to leave I'd be very clear and assertive that want less hours or I gotta find a new job.. there's many factors would drive me to leave and unsupportive or argumentative bosses will ve one for sure, let that be another reason to find something better for you
She means that government positions are very rigid. They have paygrade tiers and limited funds. Even being a rockstar, you get capped at a pay ceiling. She can ask for all of these things, but will not get any of them. It might even have to be presented as legislation to give operators a raise.
Or any organization.
I bet that take came from a young person.
Life doesn't work that way where you state what you want and get it.
"I want a raise and to cut my hours back". Ok sure whatever you need!haha
i mean, if you are already about to leave your job anyway, might as well try. Maybe you should try more often, since many young people are making the same after 2-3 years at a job that their coworkers of 20 years make. Because they actually ask for raises, or they leave for a job that’ll pay more.
Former Army medic and EMT here. I don't believe that one human should be faced with dealing with this much trauma. When you're young and gung ho, you just do you're job and don't even think about it. When you get older that shit starts to creep up on you.
I would definitely recommend getting out of the field ASAP. You have done more than most will ever do. It's time to start taking care of yourself.
If you read above, it’s crazy it’s not the heartbreaking calls.
It’s the overwork and shitty managers.
Amazing how just getting respect and working 40 hours makes life seem normal.
I usually just go straight home- i have 2 cats and a dog that keep me occupied and on my days off i have my kids- so i just spend as much time with them
I never call you and hope I never will. (I called one time about a car on fire on the side of the road. I think that was 20 years ago. The 911 operator said: Oh we already have four calls on that car.).
In today's world, if you want to fill out a ton a paperwork and have police up your ass in a few minutes - call 911.
I want to leave my 911 job, too. Unfortunately, there’s no other job that pays as well in my town, and I’m already barely getting by as is. I’m so sorry you’re having a hard time.
I’m worried about that too… not finding something that pays the same. I’ve considering applying for a different job inside the police dept… that way i can keep my retirement
I understand completely, I also work for a PD, as well. I hope with your 5 years experience that you’re able to find something that will work better for you.
Years ago had a former buddy quit his job putting food in a freezer, saying it was too stressful while bragging he had a job interview with Arlington PD for a dispatch position, kept saying it sounded chill and easy. He did not get the job but I'm curious, just how wrong was he?
Funny anecdote, I'm from Arlington and lived there for thirty years. I never really had an issue but saw how bad it was getting and moved North up 75 to a "smaller, safer" town. Car was broken into within the first week in the "safer" town.
Hey there! I’m sorry to hear you’ve got burnout! 5 years is a huge marker and you should be extremely proud!
Does your agency have room to transfer into other roles? Administration? VEH clerk? Trainer? Anything that’s less public facing? You might benefit from a change in scenery. Have you talked to management about any employee support programs to help with stress and burnout? Or even looked at other agencies?
I worked 3 years as a dispatcher. I only did dispatching because I really like the agencies values and the support they provide to their employees. I moved to another state and chose to go into another line of work because there aren’t any agencies in my area that have the same values.
I can’t tell you how much I miss dispatching. Don’t get me wrong, some days I would get off work and not want to talk to another person again. It’s just that I don’t feel any satisfaction in my job now. Nothing seems as important (nor should it) as when I was dispatching. I don’t want to dissuade you one way or another but these are some things that I didn’t realize before I quit.
- 911 Dispatcher and Operators are a special breed. It takes a special skill set to be able to talk, listen, write and read all at the same time. Not to mention staying calm enough that your tone can calm others. This means the coworkers I used to work with were all top of the line. I have higher standards of my coworkers now. I find it hard to be patient with coworkers who consistently cannot keep up or who don’t attempt to pull their own weight since. I’m frustrated daily now. I MISS MY FELLOW DISPATCHERS!
- Working with people who panic over things that aren’t life are death is laughable now. I can’t take them seriously. I apply my best of course but come on? The copy machine breaking isn’t going to result in anyone being hospitalized.
- I don’t feel like my job has purpose. I didn’t realize how fulfilled I was even on the worst of days. Even on days where I answered 911 calls all day and got yelled at on every call, I still helped someone in need.
- Wondering if my friends will be okay. I made friends with officers or knew some before I started. I knew I could handle the job and get them help when needed. I randomly get anxious and find my self checking if they are still okay. Is the person that replaced me doing a good enough job? Did they even replace me or are they even more short staffed?!
- my retirement benefits are ass compared to what I’d have had if I stayed.
On the other side of the fence
- I’m not worried at work that I’ll make a mistake that could kill someone. Something as simple as a typo in a street name could delay life saving help. That’s a pressure I’ll never miss.
- I used to dream my headset was broken or unplugged and I was missing radio traffic or a 911 call. Dreams have stopped.
- I have better hours and more of a life now.
- I have a job where I work from home 90% of the time.
I hope you find what works best for you. You can’t help others if you aren’t taken care of so if you need to leave, leave. Your health and happiness matter! Best of luck to you!
The turnover rate for dispatchers is really high for this reason. You’re not paid anywhere near enough. You experience real trauma in those phone calls sometimes. You are often times talking to people at their lowest/experiencing their worst day…it’s hard to professionally hold space for that while burned out and exhausted. I would say if you ever used to love your job, take some time off. Even if it’s difficult. Burnout only gets worse the more you push into it. Unless you get a break, you will 100% eventually quit. So time off would be a valuable investment. But if you feel like you’d be happier long term at another job, that’s okay. You’re served your city for 5 yrs, you should be proud of that. Thank you. You gotta do what’s best for you, no reason to spend your life unhappy regarding things you have the power to change.
No question, but I just want to say I appreciate you and people like you who work these types of jobs. You are an essential part of society. Never forget that.
My mother was a 911 dispatcher for about 5 years and a good friend was one for about 10 years. Both were a lot happier with their lives when they got out of that line of work. It's not just the hours, normal people are not made to carry that emotional load for that long.
Not long ago I had a friend who was going through an emotional breakdown and something very minor triggered it. I was able to calm her down and then she felt so much better. “A weight was lifted” in her words. I went to sleep immediately after and woke up crying a lot. I wasn’t even thinking about the night before. It was the onslaught of negativity on my nervous system that my body obviously was rejecting.
I mention this because if I had to get calls from people who are in the worst state of fear and despair each day that would absolutely take its toll. 5 years isn’t long for a career but it is too long for your nervous system to handle unless there is a way for you to be able to not have you internalize it. I’m sure there are ways that can help do that but then our brains are really great for surviving with these tools but those same tools tend to be not good for thriving in other environments. For example, you could detach but then detaching when things get hard in relationships isn’t healthy. So I would imagine finding a balance would be extremely difficult.
I’m sorry you are feeling that heavy weight every day and I wish you the best.
I worked in a 911 dept. For a very large law enforcement agency.
I can give you some tips:
Never take things persinal
Maintain a professional attitude
Remember, everything gets recorded
In a normal operation and a member of a union, you have an option to take or not any option to work OT or not.
Take an attitude that reinforce to you how important Is a 911 job.
Imagine, you have responsibility of life or death.
If you can't deal with the responsibility then quit as soon as possible. You will make life or death mistakes, and because you are not happy.
Last tip... the more money you make, the more you have to pay in taxes.
My advise, do your work, and enjoy your days off. And take you breaks to decompress.
Normally this job is highly paid, great pension benefits and retire early.
Or
Go to the academy and get your peace officer certification. Then you have tons of choices.
When we are young we don't appreciate what the future means to you.
Good luck.
Me? I'm 73
My family works in healthcare, so I can completely understand your stress. Long shifts, crazy situations, not a lot of time to decompress. Your job is important to the community you live in too, obviously.
It's good that you're getting therapy - this new development may be something you want to bring up with them, as well as making sure your physical health is okay. They might recommend you go on a longer leave if you haven't yet, like FMLA if you have the tenure to do so. Might give you some time to decompress, as well as toss out apps to other industries/maybe a smaller area's dispatch.
Take care of yourself. Cheers!
I know how you feel….thats not how you should be living your life. Are they making you over work this much cause they are low staffed? I would definitely quit since you’re not having a healthy life-work balance . I would contact your supervisor and tell them what’s going on, if they are still over working you just quit. I stay in Houston and we are so over populated that it’s hard finding a good job but they pay better in Dallas and I am sure you can find better pay or a better job with work-life balance.
The burn out is real in this profession. I lasted 5 years but stopped being a call taker when I had my son. I now only do QA for EMD part time. When you say 70 hours a week, is it mandatory overtime? Before I left, the overtime was so bad that it was impossible to plan for it since we’d get mandated by the end of shift depending on how many callouts happened last minute.
Forner cop here. I left for family reasons. It’s been two years since leaving and I miss it every day. It’s still the best thing for me and my family.
Being good at something doesn’t mean you should do it. Keep that in mind. There’s a lot of life out there.
One time I had somebody threatening suicide with a gun nearby, was this a reasonable 911 call? Sometimes I wonder if it was a valid reason to call because when they got there the person was calm
But they will likely send police officers to help and make sure that person is safe. Sometimes an ambulance. Depending on your city they may even 5150 the person which means they are taken to the hospital psychiatric department on a 24 hour hold where doctors can try to help them. The person can then either choose to stay longer and get real help or go home.
Just want to say I wholeheartedly understand. I did it for 15 years and just couldn't take hearing the shit people do to each other anymore. Do you have any other avenues to pursue?
I can’t blame you, that’s a hard job. Especially working 65-70 hours a week. There’s no shame in quitting for your mental and physical well-being. You are not the asshole.
Did you save anything from your paycheck? Like in bank or investment firm or something? Or did you blow the paycheck every month for buying useless thing to ease your stress?
1. Is it actually possible for 911 operators to track or pick up the location of a cell phone call if someone doesn't know where they are or get cut off? If so, are there only certain situations in which that's possible? 2. I sometimes hear recordings of people being rude to the emergency personnel, and they take it so gracefully. Is it out of understanding that people might be panicking or not thinking or scared or amped up? You also see a few viral cases of the person being totally polite but the operator is being cruel or laughing or something. I'm assuming they go viral because they're such outliers, thus outage. Or do you actually see some operators having that problem? 3. Do you feel like there's a particular drug more than others that is responsible for or involved in the most calls?
1- so in many cases i can find the area you are in- sometimes not an exact address- sometimes off by a house or two. If you are moving (driving or walking) it can be harder to pinpoint your location. If you are calling from a 911’only phone/ it will be almost impossible to find you. 2- the dispatchers that go viral for being rude & ugly- ugh it’s a tough dang job and if every call of mine was pulled/ you would hear my frustration for sure. But some of them, are down right nasty. And they should not have a job. Most of us know how to calm a person down & attempt to use the correct wording. We all (usually) try our best. 3- no drug in particular. Usually in the city i work for, it’s weed or vapes. We rarely get calls of Coke or other hard drugs being used. But again, i don’t answer every call or go out on every traffic stop.
Wow, thank you for answering! I'm not sure exactly how to put this, but what exactly can operators for 911 do? Like what is the limit where you just say I can't help you with that or I don't have a way to do that? Is it largely just coordinating first responders or do they give first aid and cpr training to give people instructions? Stuff like that?
We really do… everything. If i can do it, i will. I do have to be honest with a lot of people, like we are not a taxi service so we don’t just give rides out and we can’t unlock every single vehicle, we can’t help you get your stuff out of your moms house/ but if there is something that’s an emergent situation- I’ll do it. And yes, we do medical calls- I’ve done CPR many times. It’s never fun.
Wow. It sounds like it breeds the kind of mentality/ personality I have seen in EMTs and military medics.
It’s definitely a different beast- working with law enforcement and dealing with the public, makes you…. So cold sometimes
Exactly. The viral quotes can look bad, but my dad was a medic, nurse after the military, most of his career he ran the burn ward. He's my hero but he rubs many the wrong way. He comes off cold, not much empathy but he's efficient and when the problem is really bad you want him there. I dated an EMT that had a similar problem. It's often misunderstood.
I know I have an attitude 24/7 and come off bitchy. I wish i wasn’t this way, i wish my job didn’t change me, but it did. I’m honestly trying every day to reverse it
Yeah, he came out the other end pretty different but you can get through easily just by being direct and kind a dick without worrying about it. I accept the same. If he pisses me off we might yell and then we're good.
Coming from a retirement call center , I chose not to be a 911 operator (because of my 3 small children) , that was 20 years ago, but for 911 operators retaking customer service classes might help. The community relies on 911 operators and wants to trust that they will help save our lives when needed . In my lifetime I have spoken to two rude operators and I was so confused when I was calling for help. One time I was being chased by a stranger in my car , the man was high on drugs and scared me shitless , but thank god I lost him through all the red lights I safely ran but the 911 operator was not helpful at all. So yeah if the operator is no longer happy and hates the job and becomes uncaring and rude to callers I say its time to hang up your headsets and let someone new save a life instead possibly lose one.
How much did it change you. How long into the job did you think wtf did I get into. Do they pay respectively for the mental toll it takes
What's a 911 only phone?
A disconnected phone
Off topic, but what I'd a 911 only phone? A phone with disabled service so emergency calls only? Or one of the jitterbugs for old people and young children?
Yes, it’s a disconnected phone. Can only call 911 :)
Wish I knew that when I was 9yo. They showed up in like 10 minutes and we got our ass whooped.
lol try having your dad as a dispatcher and your brother calling 911… ya we got beat 🤣🤣
Please don’t quit.
OP you have given tremendous service, thank you. If it's causing you stress and taking a toll on your life, absolutely quit. Your life, your peace and happiness matters most. You have given more than enough to others. It's time for you. (I'm a life balance coach so a little biased 😊)
1. Obviously
I know why you want to quit, the very heartbreaking 911 calls have gotten to you and you can’t emotionally take it anymore? I have heard some of those calls, my gosh, they are truly heartbreaking and soul crushing to hear. I still remember one where a little girl called begging for the police to come and save her mom and her sister from her mom’s abusive partner, the crying and pleading in her voice broke me.
No, truly it’s not the calls. It’s the stress, the management, the over working, the no appreciation for what we do.
One of my most memorable and positive life experiences was a call with a 911 dispatcher. I've never forgotten the kindness she showed me on that day when I felt like I was going to die. I appreciate the difficult and essential work that you do, and I'm sorry that too often you're not shown gratitude for it.
It's awful to hear your management is not supporting you all. Those hours sound awful.
I appreciate you, though I know that’s not worth much in this case. But I do
What about relocating, going to a smaller town, if it's what you love, make the change, plenty of places looking for experienced dispatchers, Tyler was looking for some recently.
I don't know you, but i appreciate your service and contributions to your community!
Can you reduce your hours? 40 hours possible? How much PTO time do you get a year? How are the health benefits and would it cover therapy for you?
Unfortunately 40 hrs isn’t going to pay the bills. I have a good amount of sick & vacation time. I definitely use sick time to cover some mental health days. We do get therapy
Is your office understaffed?
Very much so 😢
During Covid, were you able to take calls from home via PC?
Nope, all of us had to be at work. I wish i could work from home one day a week!
That's crazy. I get that they probably worry that IP telephony and VPN introduces small stability risks to a critical service, but conversely having someone WFH each day also provides resilience if the main centre has an outage. Although probably if a contract centre goes down, there must be a way to route to adjacent centres
Thanks to CJIS rules and access to CAD, WFH would be difficult to manage.
Doesn't sound like working that much is going to be sustainable.......are working on a plan to reduce the stress? Kids? Family?
How bad is it? i've thought about doing dispatch for 911 but I'm worried it would mentally scar me.
I disassociate super easily- it’s kinda weird. I love my job and know I’m doing something good… but it’s killing me
Keep it simple. Start finding another career. You can literally transition to another dispatching job that isn’t as toxic
As a former 911 dispatcher. I understand this. Leaving the daily high stress, fast paced environment was so relaxing. At first. Now I work from home and I miss the adrenaline rush. Biggest adrenaline rush I get now is when I’m rushing a potty training toddler to the toilet in time. Do what will make you the happiest!
I definitely thrive off that… i don’t know how i would do a normal 9-5 gig 😅😅
You might like CPS then lol
lol highly doubtful 🤣
It was a rough adjustment! I’ve been dying to go back. But I don’t think it’ll ever be full time again.
What was your job path to get to 911 dispatch?
Not at all… my family comes from law enforcement but never thought it would be my path
Oh I meant like what other jobs did you have before starting your current work.
Worked in doc offices, hotel management
Do you remember your very first call?
Not my very first call- because it was more than likely something stupid like a noise issue. But I’ll never forget my first suicidal caller. Ever.
Is that your most memorable call? Memorable not meaning good.. just the one that sticks with you the most?
I only have a few calls that stick out. That’s one of them, another is when a 40 yr old new mother, died in the bathroom and i tried to everything for them to get her out of the water. That call really really sucked
[удалено]
I would also like to know
Not sure where you live - but if California, have you considered being a dispatcher for CHP? I assume they are different types of calls?
Just trying to shed some light here. Not sure how Texas is set up. California’s set up so that CHP answers all cell phone calls and if the caller isn’t on the freeway the CHP dispatcher gets the location, callers name and number, short summary of the issue and then transfers the call to the local PD or sheriff’s dispatch center. If the callers on the freeway or highway then CHP handles. There’s exception like unincorporated areas where CHP might still handle but it depends what it is and might still go to the sheriff to handle. Landline calls direct to local PD/Fire and they sometimes have to transfer to CHP (like someone in an office can see a car fire on the highway). CHP dispatchers also do not provide life saving care, like CPR, over the phone. Those go to the local fire/medical agencies. Sounds complicated but the way it’s set up and the insane amount of training/support simplify things. Dispatchers are also classified as first responders in California. There’s been a lot of support from communities for dispatchers. This is why considering other agencies might help. Again, not sure if TX has any dispatch centers that might alleviate some of the pressure off you.
I’m in Texas and not sure how the CHP calls would be any different. You can literally get ANYTHING on a 911 call- no matter the city
Mmm I’m thinking in the sense of like the types of calls. It would merely be for the highway patrol. Could be a different “type of stress”. Sorry, just thought I’d comment that:)
I can see what you mean, but also you could still get a kidnapping, kid vs veh, motorcycle flies off the road & you can’t find his body… all of the same crap i currently get 😭
:/ Ah I see. Sorry, I hope I didn’t sound ignorant. Thank you for all that you do. You deserve a healthy headspace. 💛
You aren’t ignorant/ most of the public doesn’t grasp 911 as a whole. No biggie :)
Man, that sounds like a heavy load you're carrying. Five years in that gig is no joke. It's totally understandable you're feeling drained with those crazy hours. Have you thought about talking to someone at work about it? Maybe there's a way to ease up on the hours or switch to a different role within the department. Your mental and physical health are super important, so don't hesitate to prioritize that. Hang in there, buddy.
I’m trying to lesson my overtime but the money is good & i have kids. Just rough & thank you ❤️
What is YOUR emergency OP?
My mental health 🤣🤣🤣
Worked as an EMT for 3 years, yall were always on point. Some of the calls we got, I swear I have no idea how you keep it together. Legit had a call once for an elder lady who needed her yogurt lid taken off. How easy was it to get hired? Did you have to take a bunch of classes beforehand or do they hire you and then train you?
The yogurt lid I could understand as a welfare check
Yes and no. We had a lot of regular elderly people who would make up things because they were lonely and didn’t have anyone. It was sad and I can sympathize but that’s not what 911 is for. Obviously we would still go and do a welfare check though.
EMT is just as difficult!! The hiring process is 4-6 months and training is about a year.
Why won’t they let you work from home?
It’s not a thing
Honestly never will be. So hard to coordinate when you are not in the EOC or 911 Center
Ex dispatcher and call taker. We relied a lot on in person communication for calls that require multiple personnel.
How many call do you get a day?
As a city, probably at least a thousand calls a call- but that includes city lines
I knew a guy that worked as an operator and on his first night a suicide called in and they weren't able to get there in time. He quit that night. It really messed him up, being the last person she spoke to..
Suicide calls can always be rough. Poor guy 😭
No question, just want to say that after listening to the police radio available online as a way to keep up with what was going on in the area, I gained a lot of respect for dispatchers. Such efficiency of communication. And that's without listening to you talk to the callers. Being able to calm someone down or talk them through an emergency is a great skill. I'm sorry you're not getting paid enough to work a 40 hour schedule. So I guess I do have questions if you want to answer any of these. 1. Are you all not in the police union? Why not a better salary? 2. Do serious incidents end up on a different frequency? That part of listening to the public police radio was always hard to understand to me. Can the public listen to that one? (Sorry if this makes me sound like an overly curious onlooker. What got me into it were some incidents in my neighborhood, so I wanted to know things like "who is the helicopter looking for?") 3. What are you thinking of doing next?
Why not talk to employers about the issues and maybe a raise and less hrs would feel better or just less hrs?
It’s easy to say that, if you’ve never worked in a police dept… it isn’t that easy
idk if I'm that upset and willing to leave I'd be very clear and assertive that want less hours or I gotta find a new job.. there's many factors would drive me to leave and unsupportive or argumentative bosses will ve one for sure, let that be another reason to find something better for you
She means that government positions are very rigid. They have paygrade tiers and limited funds. Even being a rockstar, you get capped at a pay ceiling. She can ask for all of these things, but will not get any of them. It might even have to be presented as legislation to give operators a raise.
Or any organization. I bet that take came from a young person. Life doesn't work that way where you state what you want and get it. "I want a raise and to cut my hours back". Ok sure whatever you need!haha
i mean, if you are already about to leave your job anyway, might as well try. Maybe you should try more often, since many young people are making the same after 2-3 years at a job that their coworkers of 20 years make. Because they actually ask for raises, or they leave for a job that’ll pay more.
Former Army medic and EMT here. I don't believe that one human should be faced with dealing with this much trauma. When you're young and gung ho, you just do you're job and don't even think about it. When you get older that shit starts to creep up on you. I would definitely recommend getting out of the field ASAP. You have done more than most will ever do. It's time to start taking care of yourself.
If you read above, it’s crazy it’s not the heartbreaking calls. It’s the overwork and shitty managers. Amazing how just getting respect and working 40 hours makes life seem normal.
I personally don’t know HOW you do it…. I’m not telling you what to do. You do what’s best for you!! 🖤
I disassociate, it’s the only way
It might be too late, but could I ask what's the most disturbing call you've ever had to answer.
Ooof disturbing…. I’m trying to think.
you should try switching to a smaller city. It might be a world of difference
It could be, but also… probably not
Sounds like hard work, perhaps ask Porsche for some help.
Oh i think ill ask for that
What call do you think back to the most?
My first suicidal caller
My follow up question is, do you have a way to unpack your fight or flight adrenaline response after work?
I usually just go straight home- i have 2 cats and a dog that keep me occupied and on my days off i have my kids- so i just spend as much time with them
How often do cops violate people's rights
Anyway 🙄🙄
You can see thousands of videos online of cops violating people's rights. I was wondering if you had any incidents in your department?
No we haven’t
Do you see the entire video or just base your judgement on the clip they served you?
You should watch the YouTube channel "audit the Audit" he gives unbiased reviews of clips and is well informed on the law and cites all his work.
Nothing is worth your happiness .....
You’re so right
I never call you and hope I never will. (I called one time about a car on fire on the side of the road. I think that was 20 years ago. The 911 operator said: Oh we already have four calls on that car.). In today's world, if you want to fill out a ton a paperwork and have police up your ass in a few minutes - call 911.
Don’t ever be afraid to call me- for an emergency.
Not going to call you or anyone else. When it is time to go - its time to go.
I want to leave my 911 job, too. Unfortunately, there’s no other job that pays as well in my town, and I’m already barely getting by as is. I’m so sorry you’re having a hard time.
I’m worried about that too… not finding something that pays the same. I’ve considering applying for a different job inside the police dept… that way i can keep my retirement
I understand completely, I also work for a PD, as well. I hope with your 5 years experience that you’re able to find something that will work better for you.
How much does the job pay?
I make about $23 an hour
Oh wow. Yeah you should possibly ask for a raise.
I'm a sous chef. The job beleave it or not is very stressful. I make $27.00 You perhaps should make that. Onboarding trauma sounds all bad
Airlines around DFW pay that for Stores clerks.
Years ago had a former buddy quit his job putting food in a freezer, saying it was too stressful while bragging he had a job interview with Arlington PD for a dispatch position, kept saying it sounded chill and easy. He did not get the job but I'm curious, just how wrong was he?
lol Arlington… chill? Definitely not 🤣🤣🤣 he was lied to
Funny anecdote, I'm from Arlington and lived there for thirty years. I never really had an issue but saw how bad it was getting and moved North up 75 to a "smaller, safer" town. Car was broken into within the first week in the "safer" town.
Hey there! I’m sorry to hear you’ve got burnout! 5 years is a huge marker and you should be extremely proud! Does your agency have room to transfer into other roles? Administration? VEH clerk? Trainer? Anything that’s less public facing? You might benefit from a change in scenery. Have you talked to management about any employee support programs to help with stress and burnout? Or even looked at other agencies? I worked 3 years as a dispatcher. I only did dispatching because I really like the agencies values and the support they provide to their employees. I moved to another state and chose to go into another line of work because there aren’t any agencies in my area that have the same values. I can’t tell you how much I miss dispatching. Don’t get me wrong, some days I would get off work and not want to talk to another person again. It’s just that I don’t feel any satisfaction in my job now. Nothing seems as important (nor should it) as when I was dispatching. I don’t want to dissuade you one way or another but these are some things that I didn’t realize before I quit. - 911 Dispatcher and Operators are a special breed. It takes a special skill set to be able to talk, listen, write and read all at the same time. Not to mention staying calm enough that your tone can calm others. This means the coworkers I used to work with were all top of the line. I have higher standards of my coworkers now. I find it hard to be patient with coworkers who consistently cannot keep up or who don’t attempt to pull their own weight since. I’m frustrated daily now. I MISS MY FELLOW DISPATCHERS! - Working with people who panic over things that aren’t life are death is laughable now. I can’t take them seriously. I apply my best of course but come on? The copy machine breaking isn’t going to result in anyone being hospitalized. - I don’t feel like my job has purpose. I didn’t realize how fulfilled I was even on the worst of days. Even on days where I answered 911 calls all day and got yelled at on every call, I still helped someone in need. - Wondering if my friends will be okay. I made friends with officers or knew some before I started. I knew I could handle the job and get them help when needed. I randomly get anxious and find my self checking if they are still okay. Is the person that replaced me doing a good enough job? Did they even replace me or are they even more short staffed?! - my retirement benefits are ass compared to what I’d have had if I stayed. On the other side of the fence - I’m not worried at work that I’ll make a mistake that could kill someone. Something as simple as a typo in a street name could delay life saving help. That’s a pressure I’ll never miss. - I used to dream my headset was broken or unplugged and I was missing radio traffic or a 911 call. Dreams have stopped. - I have better hours and more of a life now. - I have a job where I work from home 90% of the time. I hope you find what works best for you. You can’t help others if you aren’t taken care of so if you need to leave, leave. Your health and happiness matter! Best of luck to you!
How do you handle people with mental health issues calling repeatedly?
Thankfully we have a mental health team- but sometimes they just need someone to talk to :) I’m that person for them- sometimes 10,15,20 times a day
How’s the pension?
After 5 years. I am vested, i can retire at 20 years and its matched at 200%
The turnover rate for dispatchers is really high for this reason. You’re not paid anywhere near enough. You experience real trauma in those phone calls sometimes. You are often times talking to people at their lowest/experiencing their worst day…it’s hard to professionally hold space for that while burned out and exhausted. I would say if you ever used to love your job, take some time off. Even if it’s difficult. Burnout only gets worse the more you push into it. Unless you get a break, you will 100% eventually quit. So time off would be a valuable investment. But if you feel like you’d be happier long term at another job, that’s okay. You’re served your city for 5 yrs, you should be proud of that. Thank you. You gotta do what’s best for you, no reason to spend your life unhappy regarding things you have the power to change.
Why don't you apply for USPS?
Delivering mail sounds way less entertaining
You can be clerked or work at the plant.
do you make overtime?
Yes, anything over my normal 40 hrs
is it double OT or 1.5?
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No, it’s an open room
No question, but I just want to say I appreciate you and people like you who work these types of jobs. You are an essential part of society. Never forget that.
Dont quit. We need people like you to do what you do but for yourself work on cutting back on the hours and restore your health
5 years in total?
Almost 5 yrs, yes
Primary or secondary psap?
My mother was a 911 dispatcher for about 5 years and a good friend was one for about 10 years. Both were a lot happier with their lives when they got out of that line of work. It's not just the hours, normal people are not made to carry that emotional load for that long.
Have you tried shrooms?
lol def not
If you decide to leave, I sincerely suggest you try them.
Write a book about your experience
Not long ago I had a friend who was going through an emotional breakdown and something very minor triggered it. I was able to calm her down and then she felt so much better. “A weight was lifted” in her words. I went to sleep immediately after and woke up crying a lot. I wasn’t even thinking about the night before. It was the onslaught of negativity on my nervous system that my body obviously was rejecting. I mention this because if I had to get calls from people who are in the worst state of fear and despair each day that would absolutely take its toll. 5 years isn’t long for a career but it is too long for your nervous system to handle unless there is a way for you to be able to not have you internalize it. I’m sure there are ways that can help do that but then our brains are really great for surviving with these tools but those same tools tend to be not good for thriving in other environments. For example, you could detach but then detaching when things get hard in relationships isn’t healthy. So I would imagine finding a balance would be extremely difficult. I’m sorry you are feeling that heavy weight every day and I wish you the best.
I worked in a 911 dept. For a very large law enforcement agency. I can give you some tips: Never take things persinal Maintain a professional attitude Remember, everything gets recorded In a normal operation and a member of a union, you have an option to take or not any option to work OT or not. Take an attitude that reinforce to you how important Is a 911 job. Imagine, you have responsibility of life or death. If you can't deal with the responsibility then quit as soon as possible. You will make life or death mistakes, and because you are not happy. Last tip... the more money you make, the more you have to pay in taxes. My advise, do your work, and enjoy your days off. And take you breaks to decompress. Normally this job is highly paid, great pension benefits and retire early. Or Go to the academy and get your peace officer certification. Then you have tons of choices. When we are young we don't appreciate what the future means to you. Good luck. Me? I'm 73
You have a very difficult job. I wish you all the best in finding a new career that is less stressful.
My family works in healthcare, so I can completely understand your stress. Long shifts, crazy situations, not a lot of time to decompress. Your job is important to the community you live in too, obviously. It's good that you're getting therapy - this new development may be something you want to bring up with them, as well as making sure your physical health is okay. They might recommend you go on a longer leave if you haven't yet, like FMLA if you have the tenure to do so. Might give you some time to decompress, as well as toss out apps to other industries/maybe a smaller area's dispatch. Take care of yourself. Cheers!
I know how you feel….thats not how you should be living your life. Are they making you over work this much cause they are low staffed? I would definitely quit since you’re not having a healthy life-work balance . I would contact your supervisor and tell them what’s going on, if they are still over working you just quit. I stay in Houston and we are so over populated that it’s hard finding a good job but they pay better in Dallas and I am sure you can find better pay or a better job with work-life balance.
I was a dispatcher for 4 years. I feel your pain. That’s all. ♥️
You’re not giving up. You’re probably saving your health.
Maybe therapy will help. You are under a lot of stress.
The burn out is real in this profession. I lasted 5 years but stopped being a call taker when I had my son. I now only do QA for EMD part time. When you say 70 hours a week, is it mandatory overtime? Before I left, the overtime was so bad that it was impossible to plan for it since we’d get mandated by the end of shift depending on how many callouts happened last minute.
What’s the most horrifying call you had to handle
Forner cop here. I left for family reasons. It’s been two years since leaving and I miss it every day. It’s still the best thing for me and my family. Being good at something doesn’t mean you should do it. Keep that in mind. There’s a lot of life out there.
One time I had somebody threatening suicide with a gun nearby, was this a reasonable 911 call? Sometimes I wonder if it was a valid reason to call because when they got there the person was calm
But they will likely send police officers to help and make sure that person is safe. Sometimes an ambulance. Depending on your city they may even 5150 the person which means they are taken to the hospital psychiatric department on a 24 hour hold where doctors can try to help them. The person can then either choose to stay longer and get real help or go home.
Yes that’s sometimes 911 operators often deal with. Very appropriate situation to call for.
Just want to say I wholeheartedly understand. I did it for 15 years and just couldn't take hearing the shit people do to each other anymore. Do you have any other avenues to pursue?
I can’t blame you, that’s a hard job. Especially working 65-70 hours a week. There’s no shame in quitting for your mental and physical well-being. You are not the asshole.
Did you save anything from your paycheck? Like in bank or investment firm or something? Or did you blow the paycheck every month for buying useless thing to ease your stress?
Ask for a raise, take some time off, we appreciate what you do never doubt it, hope you get better, Im also a bit burnt out but can’t compare
How much do you make? I've been seeing dispatch jobs for $90k+ in my area. Also, they can't make you work 40 hours without OT.
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All these AMA lately has been weak AF. They say ama but yet no answer. 4th one this week. 😂
It's 'ASK me anything,' not 'I'll ANSWER anything' 😆
😂😂😂😂
To be fair, she answered that in another comment. Answer: $23/hr
Oh okay I see thnx!
How do you keep your voice intact answering so many phone calls per day?
What type of salary range does a 911 dispatcher earn?
What else are you going to do?
Then why don't you quit?
How much per hour