{"id":10800,"date":"2016-06-20T08:00:04","date_gmt":"2016-06-20T12:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/?p=10800"},"modified":"2017-04-14T18:16:36","modified_gmt":"2017-04-14T22:16:36","slug":"calling-for-help","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/2016\/06\/20\/calling-for-help\/","title":{"rendered":"Calling for Help: A profile on emergency dispatchers"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Communications

Communications center; by Candy Thomson<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

When trouble strikes on the Chesapeake Bay, in the woods or at a state park, the call for help is answered by one of most important Department of Natural Resources employees you will never see: a police dispatcher<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Maryland Natural Resources Police<\/a> has nearly two dozen police communication operators working at the agency\u2019s 24\/7 dispatch center in Annapolis. They monitor all radio traffic, including mutual aid and marine VHF channels, take calls from the public and dispatch them to officers, while simultaneously entering that information into the Computer Aided Dispatch system. They must remain calm under pressure.<\/p>\n

\"Paulette

Paulette Pawling; by Candy Thomson<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t slip, I have to be focused at all times,\u201d explains John Anderson, who has been with the agency for nearly five years.<\/p>\n

Scope and vigilance<\/strong><\/p>\n

The staff handles calls not only for the police but also for department units, from forests and parks to fisheries and wildlife. Last year, the center processed about 38,000 citizen calls.<\/p>\n

The dispatchers are at the center of the action for conservation as well traditional law enforcement calls.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou could go from taking a call about a sick animal<\/a> one minute to checking someone\u2019s fishing license<\/a> the next, to suddenly getting a call for a boating accident<\/a>, where people\u2019s lives depend on how fast you react to the situation and carry out your duties to get the help they need,\u201d says Leonard Mathesius II, an eight-year veteran behind the console.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Did you know?<\/strong> The Maryland Natural Resources Police is the state\u2019s oldest law enforcement agency. These officers have the same authority as state troopers and additionally handle law enforcement on state lands and water.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Answering the call<\/strong><\/p>\n

Officer First Class Amelia Nelson is comforted knowing that a dispatcher is always at the other end of the call.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was responding to a vessel in distress in the middle of a thunderstorm,\u201d she recalls of the run that took her across the bay. \u201cDispatch was aware of the weather and the sea conditions\u00a0and was constantly in touch with me to make sure I was okay. They even asked me to let them know when I returned from my patrol boat safe and sound.\u201d<\/p>\n

The job of a dispatcher is both rewarding and challenging. Dispatchers are tethered to their workstations with very limited breaks. They work rotating shifts, including weekends and holidays, often sacrificing time with their families.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Michael

Michael Barr; by Candy Thomson<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Life-saving efforts<\/strong><\/p>\n

Newcomer Beth Coleman, with the agency for 15 months, says, \u201cIt\u2019s a job that I look forward to go to every day. You never know what you\u2019re going to encounter, from the smallest things to saving someone\u2019s life\u2026 it\u2019s all in a day\u2019s work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Recently Coleman received a call about an empty car with the motor running in a state park. A motor vehicle check returned only a company name for the license plate. Coleman\u2019s tenacity and dedication paid off as she searched several databases to link the vehicle to a missing suicidal woman. Officers on the scene stepped up their search, found the woman and rescued her from the water.<\/p>\n

\u201cI look forward to the challenge and going above and beyond what you have to do,\u201d says Coleman, \u201cAlways hoping for a good outcome.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

True teamwork<\/strong><\/p>\n

While dispatching has its highs and lows, there is no denying that it is a vital and essential part of the overall mission. Dispatchers are the lifeline to the public they serve and to the officers in the field.<\/p>\n

\u201cOften in stressful situations, I have requested something from the dispatch center only to be told\u00a0that in their diligence, the dispatcher has already taken care of it,\u201d says Master Officer Norris Shannon. \u201cThat’s teamwork, and we couldn’t do the job without them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mathesius sums up life in the dispatch center: \u201cI think the best thing that I take away from this career\u2014that beats absolutely anything that someone could give me\u2014is knowing just how great an impact we make on someone\u2019s life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Emergency Hotline 410-260-8888<\/span><\/h1>\n

Article by\u00a0Shakira Johnson\u2014<\/strong>Natural Resources Police communications trainer.
\nAppears in Vol. 19, No. 3 of the Maryland Natural Resource magazine, summer 2016.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Subscribe5_Dispatch\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When trouble strikes on the Chesapeake Bay, in the woods or at a state park, the call for help is answered by one of most important Department of Natural Resources employees you will never see: a police dispatcher.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[957,14],"tags":[3168],"class_list":["post-10800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-appnews","category-nrp-news","tag-magazine"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10800","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10800"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10800\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10815,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10800\/revisions\/10815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}