For the past 24 years, I have proudly served as a call-taker; teletype operator; police dispatcher; hostage negotiator; and more recently, a peer support team facilitator for the Fairfax County, Virginia, Department of Public Safety Communications. During those 24 years, I have had the privilege of serving alongside some of the best telecommunicators in the industry: my coworkers. These professionals have handled the unimaginable with skill, knowledge, compassion, empathy, and a fierce sense of duty. Day in and day out, they answer the call—from a mother whose child is not breathing, from the suicidal veteran who can’t see themself living past this moment, from the wife who was assaulted by her husband, from the panic-stricken person trapped in a house fire … sadly, the list of frantic, distressed callers goes on and on. 

These skilled telecommunicators take call after call, often without breaks or time to reset between. This inundation takes a toll that can create an agency full of the walking wounded. Telecommunicators are expected to be ok without being given the tools or support to actually survive this job until retirement, healthy and whole. 

There has been a push to recognize the mental health impacts to public safety personnel over the years, which is long overdue, but a lot of the push is directed toward policer officers and other on-scene emergency responders, not directly toward dispatchers/telecommunicators. In many instances, they are relegated to training and classes that aren’t directed specifically at them. They must take training courses that are meant for jobs that aren’t the ones they are doing daily. They must take the parts that apply and leave the rest. I can personally say that I have attended many training courses meant for both the police and the fire department. I came away with new knowledge and skills but wanting more. 

There has been a long-standing separation between sworn personnel and those serving in communications centers. This separation echoes in training opportunities and resources. This starts at an agency level but extends as far as the federal government with telecommunicator’s Standard Occupational Classification being designated as clerical. This reinforces the mindset that dispatch isn’t truly public safety. Why does it matter? One of the many reasons is, without proper designation, telecommunicators are not eligible to claim job-related injury for mental health issues that are a direct result from on-the-job experiences. Police officers are covered; dispatchers are not. 

Police leaders are the change makers. Supporting the agency’s professional staff will not only maintain a healthy resilient staff, but it will also create waves of impact within sworn staff and stakeholders. 

What can you change? 

It’s important to look for and support bills on the state or federal level that change the designation of telecommunicator from clerical to protective service workers. Show professional staff that their leadership has their back. 

Understand the job. Leaders (and all officers) should consider doing sit-a-longs in the communications center. Sitting side-by-side with the person doing the job while they are doing it gives insight into the specific needs of the agency and the staff. 

Acknowledge there are stressors in the job. The Resilient 9-1-1 Professional by Jim Marshall addresses the nine unique stressors related to 911 professionals. Read this book and provide copies to the agency command. Telecommunicators want to be understood, but it also helps to understand each other. 

Offer peer support to dispatchers. If the agency has a sworn peer support team, add dispatchers. If dispatch has a separate team, offer to train together and invite each other to meetings. The more all agency members work together, the better the result. 

Focus on resiliency for all team members, not just sworn personnel. Teach skills to help the walking wounded heal. There are some great resiliency trainings. Train and reinforce these skills. Make self-care fun. Do agencywide challenges. 

 Seek out training that is specific to the job telecommunicators do. This is not to suggest that the agency ONLY provide training specifically for telecommunications—include all professional staff in any relevant training sworn members have available—but also seek out classes geared toward dispatch/telecommunicators. 

If the agency is hosting a course, ask the instructors to acknowledge the role of telecommunicators. For example, a Critical Incident Stress Management Course held at the Fairfax County Police Academy had an instructor from Virginia Law Enforcement Assistance Program (VALEAP) who just so happened to have personal knowledge of dispatch. He sought out input from the dispatchers in the room and used examples of dispatch in his scenarios. I felt seen. Let non-sworn staff feel seen. 

Lessen the divide. Negative talk is cancerous. It spreads and is rarely curable when it’s allowed to grow and move through an agency. All team members are public safety. Create that mindset during training of sworn staff. If the agency doesn’t already require sworn staff to do a sit-along in communications, think of adding this to the training requirements. This is valuable for new hires, but there is an even greater understanding when an officer who’s been doing the job for a while gets to see things from the other side of the radio. It can be very eye-opening. 

One of the most important things is to find passionate people. These people are ready to put the work in. They already have ideas and momentum. They want to move mountains. Let them. 

Telecommunicators’ needs may be different from those of sworn employees, but they are public safety. They are the first of the first responders.

Please cite as

Christina Harris, “Protecting the First of the First Responders,” Police Chief Online, November 20, 2024.