Opinions

Editorial: County dispatch center offers Ripon better, faster service at less cost (WI)

Jan 7, 2021 | Opinions | 0 Comments

Recent objections to a proposal to move Ripon’s dispatch center from Ripon City Hall to Fond du Lac County have come in the form of first-person testimonials which, while gratifying in their endorsement of Ripon’s stellar emergency personnel, unwittingly make the case...

Our View: Thank you, Sheriff Jeff Danker, for all of your hard work and dedication (IA)

Dec 30, 2020 | Comm Center News, Opinions | 0 Comments

For more than 40 years, Jeff Danker has worked to protect people. For the last 28 years, he has done much as the sheriff of Pottawattamie County. During that time, he and his staff have worked diligently to make sure the county stayed current with the technological...

Your Views: Readers talk 911 dispatchers and more (IA)

Dec 21, 2020 | Articles, Opinions | 0 Comments

Thank you to Hanusa, Dawson on 911 bill On behalf of Iowa APCO and Iowa NENA, we want to thank the 88th General Assembly of the Iowa Legislature for passing Senate File 2373. This bill made an important change to Iowa law by defining telecommunicators/911 dispatchers...

Dispatch center decision should be made on data and practicality (WI)

Dec 17, 2020 | Articles, Opinions | 0 Comments

I have been watching the discussions on the 911 system at the City Council level. As someone who worked on the team that installed the initial system and was the team leader for the development and installation of the radio communications system project in FdL County...

Do The Job Right

Dec 8, 2020 | Articles, Opinions | 0 Comments

We all know the job; we all know the right way to do this job.
The post Do The Job Right appeared first on The Journal of Emergency Dispatch.

Tired of Being Tired by We SpeakDispatch • A podcast on Anchor

Nov 17, 2020 | Comm Center News, Opinions | 0 Comments

We Speak Dispatch is a group of 911 professionals discussing topics from the headlines, topics that are fun and interesting, topics that you care about. Our engaging conversations are designed to inspire more conversations, so if you have a topic you’d like to see...

Emergency Call: ABC’s awkward attempt at spotlighting 911 operators

Oct 7, 2020 | Articles, Opinions | 0 Comments

Luke Wilson hosts ABC’s new documentary-ish reality show Emergency Call from what I can only imagine is an escape room. There’s no other explanation for the hodgepodge of props that surround him, like the series of six clocks on the wall—the kind that show the current...

Opinion/Editorial: ECC reversal is something to celebrate (CA)

Oct 4, 2020 | Opinions | 0 Comments

When we last considered the Emergency Communications Center in this space, some 18 months ago, we were lamenting the horde of problems afflicting one of the most important service agencies in the community. Problems were so bad that the new executive director had quit...

Put Aside Caller’s Anger

Oct 2, 2020 | Articles, Opinions | 0 Comments

Eric Harne
Dealing with irritated, angry people is periodically part of the emergency dispatcher’s job description. This can be particularly troublesome when dealing with life-or-death situations and the person on the other end of the phone is belligerent and angry. Since it’s an issue that won’t go away, it becomes a matter of defusing the anger and resolving the caller’s problem without resorting to anger and creating a more significant problem.

‘9-1-1. Please Leave a Message’ (OR)

Sep 21, 2020 | Articles, Opinions | 0 Comments

The residents of Portland are getting a look at the future of police services, and response time in Portland. It’s not going to be pretty, judging from this Oregonian headline:“Intruder with knife, boy being held: No Portland police response for 1 hour, 36...