The Jackson Police Department (JPD) has 48 positions budgeted in dispatch communications, yet only 32 of those are filled.
Across the country, police departments struggle to hire enough employees to keep jobs in dispatch communications filled.
“All across the country, it’s challenging for dispatch,” said JPD Deputy Chief Tyrone Buckley. “It’s nothing unique to Jackson..
ST. LOUIS, Missouri (KMOV) — When you call 911, you want someone to answer. But as more and more cities struggle to hire dispatchers, concerns grow over safety.
“We’re down to five full-time dispatchers when we budgeted for eight, we’ve been trying but we just can’t find suitable candidates,” explained Bridgeton Mayor Terry Briggs.
Briggs recently announced the city plans to outsource their dispatch to St. Louis County. The proposal will go before the city council this week and if approved, would take effect this coming summer. It could save the city more than $500,000 a year…
TUCSON (KVOA) – A year ago, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey declared an emergency at the border and deployed the Arizona National Guard to assist law enforcement agencies in Southern Arizona.
Now, more than 200 Arizona National Guard members are surging personnel capacity for law enforcement agencies in Southern Arizona.
Southeastern Arizona Communications, or SEACOM, is one agency benefitting from the additional help.
The staffing shortage existed before the pandemic but calls have increased…
While cybersecurity is a growing concern in this day and age, general public safety and good ol’ physical security should not fall to the wayside, as these areas will easily benefit from technological gains in the years to come.
Effective communication avenues are an area that is often taken for granted when it comes to public safety. Emergency services need to be able to communicate instantly and securely among teams, especially during a crisis, where frontliners need clear instruction and direction from dispatchers or their commanding officers to properly coordinate effective and strategic use of their services…
When the city of St. Louis took over its police department from the state in 2013, it immediately cut the number of 911 dispatchers. Now, it’s absolutely desperate to find more of them.
With 40% of 911 callers being put on hold, some for 10 minutes or more, St. Louis is training police officers to work overtime as 911 call takers, the Post-Dispatch reports. And with 37% of police dispatcher positions unfilled, the city also is funneling new police academy graduates into the 911 dispatch center. It’s even training police cadets aged 18-20 to take 911 calls…
DAVIESS CO. – A new 911 Central Dispatch Center is up and running in Daviess County.
The new center combined dispatchers from the City of Washington and the Daviess County Sheriff’s Department.
Daviess County Sheriff Gary Allison says the idea was formed many years ago in the hope to increase emergency response time. The new center is a culmination of local partnerships and hard work over the last several years…
