Hays Police Department celebrates dispatchers during National Public Safety Telecommunicators

On this episode of the Post Podcast, Hays Police Department communications Lt. Jeff Ridgeway shares information about the department's dispatchers as they celebrate National Public Safety Telecommunicators.

 

Transcript:

EDITORS NOTE: Transcripts are provided by an automated service and are not verified for accuracy.

 

James Bell 

The Hays Police Department is celebrating their dispatchers during National Public Safety Telecommunicators week Communications Lieutenant Jeff Ridgeway stops by to talk to us about that and more on this episode of the Post Podcast.

 

Jeff Ridgeway 

Just a week of giving thanks to our dispatchers are 911 operators across the nation. They have a job that typically goes without, you know, I can't say they go unnoticed, because they are very much a key part of first responders and I will one calls and even the administrative calls. So this is just a week to be able to just say, Hey, thanks, thanks for taking that call answering the call being that life link and helping getting resources, those first response resources to where they need to go.

 

James Bell 

Yeah, you know, I think it was maybe a year or two ago, you were kind enough to take me down into the dispatch center. We were working on a story. I don't know if the story is now but I was really taken aback by kind of the the professionalism of these folks, but also the stories that I heard, you know, of being that first first responder, and it's really, you know, they are kind of, in some ways behind the scenes, because he's on the phone. But some of the things that they have to deal with are just as heavy and serious as what you would think of as a street officer, right?

 

Jeff Ridgeway 

Well, the people calling, these are some low points in some people's lives, they are in crisis, desperate need for help, just from a wide range of aspects eating anywhere from people who are contemplating taking their own life to crimes that just occurred, whether it be a robbery a homicide, or, or, or even something, perhaps not as critical as as you know, hey, my dog got out of the backyard, which might be critical for some, you know, so they definitely get a wide range of phone calls. And whether it be through the 911 system or just a non administrative or the non emergency line. They are definitely that first point of contact with the public safety agencies and are just able to route the the assistance that's needed redirect people to where they need to go or or just be that lifeline when needed.

 

James Bell 

Yeah. Well, and they also have to deal with people like me calling down they're asking questions all the time. What was this? We heard sirens will tell us about it.

 

Jeff Ridgeway 

They have they have a good filter system? So they know. Absolutely.

 

James Bell 

Always professional, but also always. What's the word I'm looking for? Not correct. But you know, direct to the point very direct.

 

Jeff Ridgeway 

Yeah, they, you know, we have a limited number of like 911 lines, we've only we've only got 5 911 lines in the county that come and of course, we serve for the whole county here in Ellis County. So when you have just a limited number lines, they're very, pretty much say we gotta get off the phone because somebody else might be needed next. So they're very mindful of that concept. Yeah.

 

James Bell 

So you know, what is this? What are we doing this week to help kind of recognize those folks?

 

Jeff Ridgeway 

Well, just as an agency for us, we're just kind of getting a couple extra treats and give him some thank you cards and stuff like that, you know, buying them lunch, dinner a couple times this week, getting some ice cream, and just doing some different activities like that just as appreciation. They've kind of come up as a team, they've came up with special themed days where they're kind of getting to relax a little bit not being in their their normal, uniform expectations and being able to dress down for example, today, it's kind of America Day, so they're wearing America style thing. outfits, and then tomorrow will be their favorite shirt day. And yesterday, they were dressed up with your favorite sports. So I mean, just different things for for everyday this week. As we just again, our focus is just to make sure they understand that they're appreciated. They are definitely kind of forgotten at times. But they're very much a very critical part of our emergency response system.

 

James Bell 

Oh, absolutely. Yeah. And again, that first first responder, right,

 

Jeff Ridgeway 

yes, absolutely.

 

James Bell 

So you know, I don't know if we want to talk a little bit about kind of how that all works and kind of the jobs down there in the communication center. Because, you know, it's been what I think about two years now since the Hayes Police Department took over the responsibilities of running the center again,

 

Jeff Ridgeway 

Well, actually the Hays Police Department has well, You're correct. The Hays police department in the city of Hays is operated for many years and the county has provided the equipment. It was prior to a couple of years ago it was their own department within the city and it got combined back down to the police department. And you know, in 2021, they answered over 70,000 phone calls down there. Over 11,000 was being 911 calls but so they they're constantly getting a lot of phone calls down there. We serve and dispatch for 10 public safety agencies in our county five law enforcement for fire and of course, are county wide EMS. So they're constantly being busy. And one of the really needs information was looking back at some numbers from last year is our dispatch staff are able to answer 99% of the 91 calls within 10 seconds of it ringing. Wow, that is just an outstanding ability that's much, significantly higher than the national average of about 90%. Or that's national standard, I should say. So we're definitely doing really good in that aspect. We just have a phenomenal staff down there that is committed to their job committed to the the the role in making sure they can provide that service to our community.

 

James Bell 

That's incredible. You're looking for a couple more to join the ranks.

 

Jeff Ridgeway 

At the moment, we've got two openings that we're trying to get filled. We've got a couple of candidates that are going through our process and but we're always looking for a good, good dispatcher.

 

James Bell 

You know, I'm curious what you think about police officers in general the physicality the build a rundown somebody or the, you know, the quick action, quick thinking, you know, what kind of skills that does a dispatcher need to be effective at that job?

 

Jeff Ridgeway 

All right. You know, that's, that's a real tough question. I'll try to get that answered here. But from, from my observation, the ability to think fast, limited information, deal with unusual problems, just some common sense is probably the most common or most needed. skill set is just having that ability to, and, of course, he's always the doesn't hurt if you can stay calm when someone's upset on that on that phone. And even if they are redirecting their anger, you know, at the dispatcher and unfortunate it happens at time. So just being able to manage that that are definitely valuable skill sets,

 

James Bell 

I would think there's a pretty heavy tech component kind of involved in there, right. And especially right now, when you're redoing your system down there.

 

Jeff Ridgeway 

We just went last month ago, we spent transitions to a new computer aided dispatch software program and some other software that that the long term goal will make the I believe will make the job for our dispatchers easier. And so we've got four consoles in our 911 Center, that the average six monitors on each console. So there's a lot of screens, a lot of information that they're able to see lots of stuff coming in. So there is a bit of a tech skill set. They're working with the different software and stuff. But again, all that's intended to help them one, be able to do their job easier and give them access to the resources and information. Not only does the dispatchers need, but then that they can relay to the first responders you're out in the field.

 

James Bell 

Yeah, even before when I was down in there, the amount of information at their fingertips is actually it's it's mind boggling to me what they can access. And I can't even imagine what this new system I've got kind of an inkling of what it does.

 

Jeff Ridgeway 

Bringing in a new employee, I feel like without counting them, there's like 20 different resources that we have to set up the user profiles and give them access to ranging anywhere from the Kansas Bureau of Investigation to the FBI to various intelligence resources that we're able to provide them, again, the goal being there that they can read that information on to the first responders.

 

James Bell 

And I also thought it was it was pretty cool. They had, they had some entertainment going on, they had a TV show playing as well, because there is there's those times I imagine in a dispatch center where you're you're got a little bit of a lull, but then it's like you got to be ready to go on a moment's notice

 

Jeff Ridgeway 

Definitely has its ups and downs, there's moments of where the phones don't ring, perhaps more often than the early morning hours. And so there are moments where there are that downtime. And so to help get them through that downtime, we do have some opportunities, or we got a couple TV screens that are up on the wall, just they typically just have the video going they normally don't have much audio there. But but they all recognize that even though that's there, that phone rings, that's that's your focus on that. And it's a quick transition over and they're never seen there being an issue as far as not getting things done that they need to get done. And but you just have to recognize that it's not constant all the time something go go go there is some downtime. So to help break up that those downtimes we do provide some alternatives to help them.

 

James Bell 

Yeah, and I had to imagine it helps keep focus because you know, if you're zoning out, I think that would probably be the worst kind of situation just sitting there waiting for something to happen at your desk. You know, you have to be in that mind frame at all times. Right.

 

Jeff Ridgeway 

I mean, I don't think it's fair to expect anybody to just to sit there for hours and during those quiet times and just wait for the phone and you've you've, I mean, there's other tasks that they have that they'll take care of too, but I think we have realistic expectations on that aspect.

 

James Bell 

And I think, you know, Jim, generally across the city, I think everybody recognizes the tremendous work that they all do down there.

 

Jeff Ridgeway 

Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. Well,

 

James Bell  

I'll tell you, we've got just about a minute or so left. Any other last thoughts or anything you want to hit on before we go?

 

Jeff Ridgeway 

Well, again, I just want to express an appreciation to our staff down there, they're a great staff. They, even when we've been short handed over the last couple months, and they'll come in on their days off to help cover if someone is ill. It's just a great team that we've got down here and I really, the community has, I feel very lucky to have such an awesome staff that we have here. And it's really it's really great to to be able to work with such a great crew and a great staff and know what the expectations have the skill set that they need and translates very well into our first responder system. Very effective at what they're doing.