Inquiry about 911 operators

I've never been a 911 operator, but I had a mental health internship at a rape crisis center that included the anonymous help line - yeah, it's pretty hard to leave some of that at work, especially at first. I heard someone beat their way through a bathroom door when a girl that'd called from her pimp's house tried to escape an assault by barricading herself in the bathroom, but was too afraid of being arrested to call the police (and she was very young and didn't realize how much danger she was in when she she called us instead of 911). At that point, I kept her on the line, trying to get enough information to call 911 myself (on another line). I heard thudding as the door fell down and a scream, then the line went dead. Being an anonymous line, we didn't have any ability to trace the call. I actually was forced to take a week of leave after that because I was convinced I heard someone being murdered (I don't know if this is true, no way to follow up). I had nightmares for about a month and compulsively checked the local news for deaths. Of course, I didn't TRY TO CALL HER BACK AFTER I TOLD HER TO HIDE, DIRECTLY CAUSING HER ATTACKER TO FIND HER. But I'm sure even seasoned operators get a call every now and then that really sticks with them.

Now as a therapist (still an intern, but I have 2 years of experience providing therapy), I am much more able to distance myself and maintain emotional boundaries. But I have trouble with certain situations - mainly older men (I'm a mid-thirties female) weeping over the grief of losing someone. Women of all ages and younger men or children can weep, I can deal with that, but something is triggered in me with men of my father's age crying about losing their parents. So I can imagine that there are specific types of calls that still really get to 911 operators.

They're coming to get you, Barbara!

for some people maybe. but 80% of 911 calls are idiots calling about dumb crap every day. another 15% of 911 calls are disconnects and open lines from pocket dials. there are only about 5% real calls that come in and after working there for so long you just become immune to the real emergencies. although maybe one or two can slip through an be difficult to answer.

No. They don't give a *beep* about people. If they hear someone being killed it doesn't phase them one bit. They just go back to work and take the next call. What do you think?

Sonny: Is there a country you'd like to go to?
Sal: Wyoming.

It depends what kind of agency you work for. Some agencies are so large they will have call takers, police dispatchers, & fire dispatchers as separate positions. Some agencies you may have one person doing all three or if it's a municipality without a fire department they may just have the call taker and police dispatcher in one position. I have worked for a large county that had all three separated & I worked as a fire-rescue dispatcher. I know work for a smaller agency as a call taker and police dispatcher combined. Some places are incredibly busy & different types of crimes are more prominent in certain communities, etc.
SIDE NOTE: regardless of what type of agency we work for, we will NEVERRRR go looking like she did. That was the stupidest part of the movie. Ridiculous nonsense.

I, personally, take my job very seriously. Yes, we get a LOT of *beep* calls. People will call the police for anything and everything. "There is a spider in my car, can an officer come kill it?" or "I thought there was a rooster in a tree so I threw my car keys up and now they are stuck in a tree so I need an officer to come out with a ladder." Yes. Those are REAL calls that I've received this month. Yes, we roll our eyes at some things. Yes, we get used to certain things and it becomes routine. That being said, I know what to ask and I know what to listen to in a caller's words and tone of voice, sounds or voices in the background, etc. You can bet your ass I'm taking it serious. I never want to be the person on the line that doesn't help. I don't want to miss information that could prevent an officer from getting injured. I want everyone safe at the end of whatever situation is going on. You NEVER know how quickly a situation will turn. Emergency telecommunicators are a life line for the public and officers. I take my job very seriously and anybody in this field that doesn't, I strongly urge them to quit and good riddance. There is no room for indifference. The way I see it is that if I'm speaking to you you're probably already having a *beep* day, possibly the worst day of your life depending on the severity. My job is to get you help and do my best to calm you down if necessary. Some of our questions may seem tedious, but I assure you they are speeding up the process.

Emergency telecommunicators have the ability to care immensely yet detach from a situation. It gives us the ability to think logically and take one step at a time which makes things more efficient. Does EVERY call get to us? Absolutely not. It becomes "routine" for us. I can tell you that the response about us not caring is BULL *beep* Just because something is routine does not mean it doesn't effect you. Not giving a *beep* We have the ability to detach and compartmentalize our emotions. Nobody, I repeat NOBODY, that "doesn't give a *beep* would do this for a living, especially if you're good at your job. In order to be good you HAVE to care. There is no room for indifference in this profession because indifference can cost someone their life. Being able to detach and treat a situation procedurally does not make you heartless. It makes you the kind of person that someone who loses their mind and can't focus NEEDS. When you're listening to someone screaming and crying because they found their father's body hanging after he committed suicide or the first thing told to you when you plug in at 6am is that you have three 45's (dead bodies) because three motorcycles got in to a head on collision with a semi, you need to keep calm and focus on the next step you need to take in order to get as much information as possible and get help out in a timely manner. Many of us tend to have type-A personalities. That structure and organization helps us focus on the matter at hand while still being able to multitask while still sticking to a procedure. That doesn't mean when the call is over you don't feel anything. You do. You think about the people affected. The victim, their family, the people responding, etc.

Here are some statistics from a study done by 9-1-1 Magazine:
81% of dispatchers have trouble sleeping
76% overeat due to stress
81% have trouble letting go of tension
83% experience an increase in headaches, stomach problems, neck and back pain, breathing problems, heart palpitations, teeth grinding or muscle spasms
14% take prescription medications for migraines
17% take prescription medications for stomach problems
14% take prescription medications for depression/mood swings
11% take prescription medications for anxiety
(Considering it's almost 5am and I'm on this discussion board, we can confirm the trouble sleeping. I also get migraines, carry tension in my shoulders and back which are constantly hurting, and I occasionally grind my teeth at night.)

"Some studies have shown that 42% of public sector employees suffer from burnout"
Burnout is defined as a stress condition brought on by being involved in an intense situation for a long period of time without adequate rest and recreation.



Here are also some links discussing the issue and some actual calls/radio transmissions:

http://psc.apcointl.org/2015/09/03/stress-and-the-9-1-1-telecommunicator/

http://www.officer.com/article/10830662/hazards-of-being-a-9-1-1-dispatcher

http://www.copshock.com/police-dispatcher-trauma.php

http://m.mentalfloss.com/article.php?id=71371

http://youtu.be/YHT2nUhanyM

https://youtu.be/G_ht2vAYPoc
(If you don't think this effects us, you're so very wrong)


http://youtu.be/E85VckohGcs (as an FYI as to what is going on behind the scenes: listening to her radio channel, listening to other channels for pertinent information, listening to fellow dispatchers that may be relaying information, typing in everything the officers are saying, forwarding requests to fire/rescue/ems, documenting EVERYTHING that is being said AND what she is doing, and within a few minutes requesting mutual aid from neighboring agencies...processing ALL this information in an organized, efficient manner, heart racing because physiological responses are the only way to process what's happening while its occurring, and worried about the safety of EVERYONE involved from the public to the first responders)