Fairfax County seeks input from scannists

[ka3jjz]

From the Scan-L listserver;

Fairfax County reporting form

73s Mike

 

[jim202]

I smell a rat with this form. Think about it for a while. Why would a public safety agency be looking for feedback from scanner listeners? They have the ability to get this same information from every radio user on the system. They would also take the radio users much more seriously than anyone from the outside public.

I would look at this as maybe a survey on just how many people are actually listening to the system. How many have the ability to listen to the systen in the digital mode and what talk groups are being monitored.

Do as you please, but this is starting to smell like big brother wanting to know what your doing in the pivacy of your own home.

J

From the Scan-L listserver;

Fairfax County reporting form

73s Mike

 

[Dank]

I too, was surprised by the survey so I clicked on links up the tree and found 2 links. One for those who have contacted Fairfax County by phone and those who have done so by radio. I think they are looking to rate the service of their call takers needing assistance. I've used a scanner long enough to know it can't transmit - only receive. I guess someone scanning their system wanting to report an abusive response made by a Fairfax employee could use the form too.

 

[freqhopping]

Hmm.

Well, there is this new female that's been dispatching on the fire side on Friday evening's. She's bad. She is very hard to understand, either foreign or a really bad speech impediment. You can hear someone in the background coaching her. You can also hear sighs in the voices of the working units.

 

[Al42]

Do as you please, but this is starting to smell like big brother wanting to know what your doing in the pivacy of your own home.J

It could also be used as ammunition in a request for money to encrypt the system.

 

[fireradio]

As someone else said, the previous page [ https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/police/pscc_qa.htm ] has two choices: one for people who have used the phone, the other for those who have "contacted us by radio."

Although quite unlikely, this very well could be for actual users of the system - putting it on the public website is just easier than trying to conduct an internal survey. Also, there are many neighboring agencies who use the system to talk to Fairfax - Arlington, Alexandria, Prince William, Loudon, etc. This form could also have been created with these mutual aid agencies in mind.

Who knows what the intentions of this study are. I'll have to do some asking around, I guess.

 

[Al42]

Although quite unlikely, this very well could be for actual users of the system - putting it on the public website is just easier than trying to conduct an internal survey.

I took a closer look at the whole thing. Delete my previous post - I don't think it's so unlikely. Masochistic, maybe, but not unlikely. (Although I've heard [and worked with] dispatchers much worse than most of theirs.)

 

[corbintechboy]

I don't think they are asking for input from scanner users. This site https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/police/pscc_qa.htm says "Click here
if you have contacted us by radio" and I don't believe anyone with a scanner can transmit to contact there local law officials. Or it could be a case of poor wording...Who knows!

 

[Skidmo]

I notice that the form mentions specifically “listening" in three of four categories.
I also don’t think “contact” implies two way communication.
Just a thought,
S

 

[Al42]

I also don’t think “contact” implies two way communication.S

You can't "contact" them by listening to them.

 

[n4voxgill]

I sure hope they have a union and it hears about this. Thats just what the hardworking dispatchers need, a bunch of people with no training nor experience evaluating them. This would be like having kids playing with toy soldiers grading the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

As a life member of APCO I am forwarding this to the Virginia Chapter and see if they can't get it stopped.

Gill

 

[n4voxgill]

There is a posting on the virgina site for Fairfax, I hope whoever made this request up also creates a vacancy.

Fairfax County Application Center, 12000 Government Center Pkwy., #170, Fairfax, VA 22035


DIRECTOR, DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS

Dept. of Public Safety Communications

Job # 05-9005

$77,031 to $120,000 (Grade E10)

 

[brownlab]

To me, this looks like a “feedback” type of form used to evaluate training. The questions seem to be focusing on how well the dispatcher communicates information. If the general public (us) can understand the information, then the “real users” should be able too as well. If there is enough positive feedback, then the trainers are doing their job. I would be more concern if the questions were focused on what type of radio traffic is being listened to.

That said, one never knows what any data will be ultimately used for.

BL

 

[leonzo]

Fairfax County Survey Form

I recently retired from the County. Give me a chance to check on the purpose of this form before people start contacting "represntatives" and such. My best guess at the moment is the form is intended for other public safety people who use the radio system or services of PSCC. When I have the "official answer" I will post it here.

 

[senduhelp]

Hmm.

Well, there is this new female that's been dispatching on the fire side on Friday evening's. She's bad. She is very hard to understand, either foreign or a really bad speech impediment. You can hear someone in the background coaching her. You can also hear sighs in the voices of the working units.

I think that we should be slower to judge new dispatchers, having been a former dispatcher myself I know that it takes time to learn the profession. If there is someone in the background "coaching" her then she must still be in training. It seems that in Emergency Communications everyone including field personnel get irritated far to early with new dispatchers just because they do not have the lingo down the way they think they should. Now field safety does come into play, you shouldn't get anyone hurt in the field, but getting the language down comes with experience.

I haven't heard this particular dispatcher but from the posting it seems a language issue with her that could be corrected with confidence and experience.....

 

[KT4HX]

I think that we should be slower to judge new dispatchers, having been a former dispatcher myself I know that it takes time to learn the profession. If there is someone in the background "coaching" her then she must still be in training. It seems that in Emergency Communications everyone including field personnel get irritated far to early with new dispatchers just because they do not have the lingo down the way they think they should. Now field safety does come into play, you shouldn't get anyone hurt in the field, but getting the language down comes with experience.

I haven't heard this particular dispatcher but from the posting it seems a language issue with her that could be corrected with confidence and experience.....

First off I haven't heard her either. I agree that if the problem is just a matter of being new to the job, and learning the lingo, that certain allowances need to be made (except in cases of life threatening conditions - perhaps the trainer would take over in extreme cases). However, if it is a matter of actual language skills or lack thereof, I feel that is a different matter entirely. If the person in question does not have a good command of english, then in my view, they shouldn't be in that position until such time as they have gained a certain level of proficiency. I am not against anyone having english as their second language, but in a profession where lives are on the line daily, there should be a language skill criteria that a dispatcher would have to meet. If they can't qualify in that area, then it would seem language courses should be mandated until such time as they can meet them. That would seem the logical approach, but perhaps logic has little to do with it?

 

[leonzo]

Ok, after checking with people at the PD and PSCC the answer is this. The form was created for people who call the communication center via telephone and interact with the personnel there. The form can also be used by another public safety person who interacted with the communication center via radio. The form has been available on line for two years. The sergeant I spoke with said that in that time span 10 people have posted a reply, and some of them contained no message. If a scanner monitor wishes to fill out the form they may but the scanner community was not the intended target audience. People calling the comm center via telephone were. This is all part of "quality performance" evaluation model that the comm center follows with their personnel.


Most importantly this IS NOT A PRELUDE to making any changes to radio procedures or encryption for Fairfax County public safety. That said there are plans for several talkgroups to be encrypted. When I retired in March of 2005, only the sheriff departments SERT team (kind of like a swat team) was encrypted. Eventually talkgroups like internal affairs, jump, vice, the police department tac team and emergency management will be encrypted as well. Dispatch talkgroups will remain in the clear for the forseeable future.

I hope this accurate inforamtion reduces the rumors and mis-information concerning this form, once and for all.

Sincerely - a retired member from county governemnt after 26 years.