MECKLENBURG COUNTY, N.C. — Staffing shortages have been a common and at times debilitating side effect of the pandemic. Mecklenburg County, like many other communities across the country, is facing a 911 operator shortage.
When someone dials 911, they are counting on a dispatcher to answer the call quickly. The MEDIC call center gets about 500 calls a day… READ MORE
A man is having a mental crisis in a public place. Bystanders notice and dial 911, but since the man seems to offer no threat to others, no police car with blaring sirens arrives.
Instead, a white van pulls up and two people wearing street clothes emerge. They ask the man what he needs, if he is hungry, or even offer him a cigarette. They draw on years of training and experience in de-escalation and provide the man with information on local resources that can help him; they offer to drive him if he wants a lift…
Police in North Carolina are searching for the person they say is responsible for a “swatting” call that sent authorities to a family’s home earlier this week.
The Burke County Sheriff’s Office responded to a 911 call just before 2 p.m. Tuesday (January 4) from an individual claiming to have just shot their parents with an AK-47 at a Morganton residence, WSOC reports. While attempting to get more information, the caller reportedly told the 911 dispatcher, “I don’t know if I can take it anymore,” before ending the call.
When deputies arrived at the residence, they found that everyone inside was safe and determined that the call was an example of a dangerous trend called “swatting.” …
MANISTEE COUNTY — Michael Machen, Manistee County’s emergency management coordinator, has learned over the last nine months just how many people are involved in the safety of the visitors and residents in the area.
“I think the thing that’s been most eye-opening to me is how many people are actually involved in this stuff. You would think “Hey, emergency management, that would stay with law enforcement, police or fire or rescue, maybe even the hospital,” he said. “But I’m involved in meetings of people from the county commissioner’s office, people who do public safety stuff, people who work for the schools. There’s more groups (at the) local emergency planning committee…
When Terra Culley became a part-time dispatcher nearly 24 years ago, she had no idea it would lead to her penning monthly newspaper columns that now have been compiled into a book. November 29 was the release date for “Beyond the Voice of 9-1-1 Dispatch.” It is a collection of some of her favorite columns, long enjoyed by readers of The Licking News, The Cabool Enterprise and the Houston Herald.
“It never even occurred to me that I’d ever write,” said Culley, who uses the columns, and now the book to provide insight into what a dispatcher deals with on a daily basis…
Learn about current efforts to continue to protect the 4.9 GHz Band for public safety as well as recent filings, key decisions impacting these efforts, and how you can support PSSA’s initiative to protect the 4.9 GHz band for public safety.
