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Many moons ago at the ripe old age of 19 I
began my law enforcement career. I was still
too young to become an officer so I became a
dispatcher while I waited to go to the police
academy. I figured I’d do the “easy” job of
dispatching before becoming a cop and doing
real police work.
It sure didn’t take me long to realize that
being an emergency telecommunications operator
is no walk in the park. The two years I
dispatched was probably the toughest, most
stressful two years of my 19 year career to
date.
It takes a special person to be able to talk on
three radio channels to multiple officers,
answer phone lines and 911, while typing and
documenting your every move into a CAD system,
and oh, let’s not forget about operating NCIC
as well. Officers with dispatching experience
realize the little things that don’t come
through the radio frequency and can help make
the dispatcher’s life easier, sometimes by just
being a bit more patient, maybe for just a
second or two.
We as officers tend to forget, or have no real
knowledge of what dispatchers are going through
during the course of a shift at work. If it
were up to me, the initial training of every
rookie cop would be to be a fully trained
dispatcher. Now it’s nice that a lot of
training programs make new officer’s “observe”
by sitting in the communications division for a
week or two. But to me that’s about the same as
being driven around a NASCAR track by Tony
Stewart and expected to be as good as he is
when you climb out of the passenger seat.
It is true that there is a love-hate
relationship between dispatchers and the
officers they take care of. And that’s what it
is ladies and gentlemen; they are taking care
of you on the street. Dispatchers and Officers
both make mistakes, sometimes there is a lack
of communication on either end of the radio,
but in the end we are all on the same side and
operating with the same goal in mind-Your
safety.
After a high risk incident, Officers can sit on
the curb and drank a Gatorade, put a dip of
snuff in, or walk off and gather yourself for a
few minutes. Dispatchers have to sit in the
chair, in that room and have no escape from the
high stress incident they just handled over 911
and dealing with you barking orders at them
over the radio. It’s just on to the next phone
call that is holding for them to take.
So next time you get a little angry when the
dispatcher doesn’t answer your beckon call, I
would encourage you to go sit in their chair
for 8 hours and see what it feels like….You
might find yourself buying them flowers the
next day and begging for forgiveness.
As for me, well, I believe that God made
dispatchers so cops could have heroes too…
As Always, Stay safe and serve proud,
Andrew G. Hawkes
About the Author
Sergeant Andrew G. Hawkes has over 17 years of law enforcement experience. He has a BA in Criminal Justice and is currently completing his master’s degree
in Public Administration. Additionally,
he is a graduate of the Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas; has a Master Police Peace Officer Certificate from
the State of Texas; and, has a Police Instructor’s Licenses from the State of Texas.
Currently, Sergeant Andrew G. Hawkes is a member of the Collin County Sheriff’s Office (Texas) where he is a
senior sergeant in the patrol operations. Sergeant Andrew G. Hawkes is the author
of Secrets of Successful
Highway Interdiction. According to
Sergeant Andrew G. Hawkes, “After 17 years of highway drug interdiction, 500 felony arrests, 5,100 pounds in drug seizures,
and over $20 million (drugs, cash and vehicles), I have learned a lot of drug-busting techniques that I want to share with
you.” His book, Secrets of Successful Highway Interdiction, contains eleven chapters on Highway Drug Interdiction.
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