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Manchester Police Department dispatchers are the epitome of multi-taskers, taking emergency calls, researching the location, keeping an eye out on other screens and dispatching an officer to the scene all with the goal of keeping everyone safe. Photo/Pat Grossmith

MANCHESTER, NH – Last Thursday at 3 p.m., Manchester Police Department dispatchers Alexa Perrotti, 27, and Matt LaDuke, 25, arrived at their desks to see 12 calls already stacked up awaiting officers’ arrival.

That’s the norm, says Supervisor Kristin Wilder.

One dispatcher, taking the calls, is on one concerning an 11-year-old who is being followed by someone in a truck who is screaming the “N” word at him and his friend. Police are immediately dispatched.

Dispatchers answering calls – an average of 261 per day, 70,213 so far this year — must obtain as much detailed information as possible from the caller:  Name, location, what happened, anyone hurt, is a weapon involved.  While doing that, the dispatcher is simultaneously researching the call itself – have police been to that location before, were there any threats and assessing the danger level to both the citizen and police.  The information is needed to ensure both the safety of the caller and the officer…