What the heck is going on in the dispatch center?!

[SCPD]

first off.it does not make me a tough guy because i think your post made you look like a jer*.
second.i changed my original post because i realized i should not have name called.
third. if i have to explain to you the relevance of multitasking and this thread,it ain't worth it.i guess you just didn't get it from the start.

Actually, I don't think you get it. I am not taking sides here, but TV is not a job requirement or a necessity. I posted on this thread that if you are going to have a TV all channels should be blocked except news and weather. If it's slow get a magazine

If you don't have a TV you can monitor the weather and news via the internet. Also weather reports can be heard via scanner since most police desks have them.

 

[Jay911]

Just out of curiosity, what's the difference between reading a magazine and watching TV in terms of occupying yourself during down time?

 

[kenisned]

Just out of curiosity, what's the difference between reading a magazine and watching TV in terms of occupying yourself during down time?

Television is a medium that uses many different senses and I feel it is more distracting.

Not to mention that using a radio relies on your listening/hearing, which TV competes with.

 

[Pimpala03]

Which is why ours stays muted 95% of the time.

 

[emtbrat29]

wow i have never heard someone grip over something as small as a tv in a 911 center if it wasnt for us dispatchers what would you do. in our center we watch them and they are not a distraction to us cause when it comes down to time to work we work. yeah we also read but you expect us to sit and read the 12 hours we are there come on now or just news and weather get a grip we are people too and so what if we watch a little tv in the down time immagine this if the tv was on the news or weather all the time i bet you most of the dispatchers would be sleeping on the down time now you wouldnt want that now would you i know i would rather have a dispatcher watching tv over sleeping anyday so get off your high horse and drop it already

 

[kenisned]

wow i have never heard someone grip over something as small as a tv in a 911 center if it wasnt for us dispatchers what would you do. in our center we watch them and they are not a distraction to us cause when it comes down to time to work we work. yeah we also read but you expect us to sit and read the 12 hours we are there come on now or just news and weather get a grip we are people too and so what if we watch a little tv in the down time immagine this if the tv was on the news or weather all the time i bet you most of the dispatchers would be sleeping on the down time now you wouldnt want that now would you i know i would rather have a dispatcher watching tv over sleeping anyday so get off your high horse and drop it already

Not on a high horse at all.

I simply expressed my opinion, which is shared by many others.

I can't believe the option is sleep or tv?

 

[DJ88]

emtbrat29, I totally agree with everything you said. And to add, it's really none of our business what dispatchers do during down time. We need to leave that up to their supervisors and worry about more important things.

 

[emtbrat29]

at least someone agrees with me. i know for a fact we do other things then just watch tv or sleep like pay bills plan events or like me work on things for my home business. try sitting in a room for 12 hours and only watch the weather or the news repeat it's self for hours during down time especially since you can not leave the building for lunch or to go for a late night coffee and then tell me we have it easy. so now that i have clarified this a bit from the inside the 911 centers and dispatch rooms i hope it makes people think twice about bad mouthing the dispatchers

 

[Jay911]

emtbrat29: The truth is, I'm sure, that many of the complainers have no experience in dispatch and no knowledge of what the job is like.

I tried to make the situation clear to people above, but it appears there's no pleasing some people. It's akin to the people who see firefighters at a grocery store with the pumper and gripe about "our tax dollars" paying for people to go shopping - not thinking of the fact that those people have to spend 10 to 24 hours together in one place and obviously need to eat.

It's not at all worth getting worked up over. At the end of the day, I'll still be at my dispatch center watching TV responsibly and/or going with my crew to the grocery store (since I work both ends of the radio), regardless of whether or not the complainers are made to 'see the light'.

 

[scannersnstuff]

DJ88 AND JAY911 thank you very much for being supportive of the people behind the scene's in emergency services.what they are trying to say is "if you don't walk the walk.don't talk the talk". !

 

[SCPD]

wow i have never heard someone grip over something as small as a tv in a 911 center if it wasnt for us dispatchers what would you do. in our center we watch them and they are not a distraction to us cause when it comes down to time to work we work. yeah we also read but you expect us to sit and read the 12 hours we are there come on now or just news and weather get a grip we are people too and so what if we watch a little tv in the down time immagine this if the tv was on the news or weather all the time i bet you most of the dispatchers would be sleeping on the down time now you wouldnt want that now would you i know i would rather have a dispatcher watching tv over sleeping anyday so get off your high horse and drop it already

By your analogy Dispatchers are godlike and we should let them do what they want because if it wasn't for you dispatchers we wouldn't know what to do. I know I would fire you if I caught or found out you we're sleeping.

If you have a TV, I hope you are responsible with it.

 

[scannersnstuff]

et al everybody else that was supportive in this thread.

 

[SCPD]

emtbrat29: The truth is, I'm sure, that many of the complainers have no experience in dispatch and no knowledge of what the job is like.

I tried to make the situation clear to people above, but it appears there's no pleasing some people. It's akin to the people who see firefighters at a grocery store with the pumper and gripe about "our tax dollars" paying for people to go shopping - not thinking of the fact that those people have to spend 10 to 24 hours together in one place and obviously need to eat.

It's not at all worth getting worked up over. At the end of the day, I'll still be at my dispatch center watching TV responsibly and/or going with my crew to the grocery store (since I work both ends of the radio), regardless of whether or not the complainers are made to 'see the light'.

You have no clue about what experience any of us have. You're guessing. The discussion was about Police Dispatchers and having a televison. What do Firefighters at a grocery store have to do about this? The truth is for me is that I'm glad I don't live in Canada.

 

[scannersnstuff]

i'm sure they're glad you don't live there too !.

 

[onsceno]

I really tried holding myself back from posting a reply to this thread, but it's been erking me reaaaaal bad.

I'm not going to disagree or agree with anyone that has posted a reply to this thread directly, however simply state my 2 cents...

As far as I'm concerned, from a supervisor's standpoint, the title of dispatcher may as well be called professional multi-tasker. If you can't multi-task, you don't belong in a dispatch center. In other words, I have yet to see anything wrong with a television or other "entertainment" device such as radio or internet in a dispatch/communications center. What I do see wrong is when people become distracted and can't do their job because they've been distracted by one of these devices. I'm not tooting my own horn by any means, but there have been plenty of times where, yes... the TV is on... and I happen to be the only one working - answering administrative phones, 7 towns via 911, as well as dispatching police, fire, and ambulance for my town. Now........ I can do that. Others may not have the ability to do that. As I said, as far as I'm concerned, those who cannot do not belong in that type of environment.

The problem is, when the time comes to "get to it", when the proverbial defication hits that spinning fan, you better get in that frame of mind to get the job done. PERIOD! There's nothing wrong with having fun on down time, but when works needs to be done you better be able to handle it. As long as everyone finishes their tour safely, your job has been done properly.

On a side note... as I sit here typing this (multi-tasking monitoring 8 radios and watching TV) I have to add one more thing. Not all "background commotion/noise" is those working there or a TV or radio. MANY times it is other radios that are all part of the job.

I think this gets my point across...

Be safe all!

 

[kenisned]

emtbrat29, I totally agree with everything you said. And to add, it's really none of our business what dispatchers do during down time. We need to leave that up to their supervisors and worry about more important things.

When my life and the rest of my crew's life is on the line, you can bet your XXX that it's my business.

I've been ignored on the radio. It's happened more than once. I have all the radios they do in the car so I know it's not other traffic. When they finally answer, I hear The Price Is Right in the background.

I stumbled upon an mva with noone else around, 1 patient in serious condition and I called numerous times on the radio and was not acknowledged. Was it because the dispatcher was watching TV? Who knows... Eventually, I switched to SPEN One and was acknowledged.

To say it's not my business is incorrect.

 

[policefreak]

emtbrat29, I totally agree with everything you said. And to add, it's really none of our business what dispatchers do during down time. We need to leave that up to their supervisors and worry about more important things.

Actually, if I may, as concerned citizens, and some of us emergency workers, it IS our business what dispatchers do. If we hear some impropriety on the radio, it is our duty to be concerned about it, and perhaps bring it to light. Now, I started this thread having little understanding what actually goes on behind the scenes of a dispatch center. I asked here and found out that this is a common practice. Of course there is a time to get serious and stay focused, but if they can separate that from their "down time" then I am all for it. TV is sometimes one of the best ways to de-stress, and for all I know it probably helps them do their job better. On the other hand, Kenisned may have a valid point in his last post about dispatch not answering up. I wonder if anyone has heard of any documented instance of distracted dispatchers causing a major problem. Again just my two cents.

 

[kenisned]

On the other hand, Kenisned may have a valid point in his last post about dispatch not answering up. I wonder if anyone has heard of any documented instance of distracted dispatchers causing a major problem. Again just my two cents.

And let me be fair... I don't know if it was the TV and I doubt it.

However, knowing it's there and understanding how distracting it can be....

I think it would be better to remove that concern, as the public would certainly not understand the need for it to be on for anything other than incident/weather related reasons.

 

[SCPD]

I really tried holding myself back from posting a reply to this thread, but it's been erking me reaaaaal bad.

I'm not going to disagree or agree with anyone that has posted a reply to this thread directly, however simply state my 2 cents...

As far as I'm concerned, from a supervisor's standpoint, the title of dispatcher may as well be called professional multi-tasker. If you can't multi-task, you don't belong in a dispatch center. In other words, I have yet to see anything wrong with a television or other "entertainment" device such as radio or internet in a dispatch/communications center. What I do see wrong is when people become distracted and can't do their job because they've been distracted by one of these devices. I'm not tooting my own horn by any means, but there have been plenty of times where, yes... the TV is on... and I happen to be the only one working - answering administrative phones, 7 towns via 911, as well as dispatching police, fire, and ambulance for my town. Now........ I can do that. Others may not have the ability to do that. As I said, as far as I'm concerned, those who cannot do not belong in that type of environment.

The problem is, when the time comes to "get to it", when the proverbial defication hits that spinning fan, you better get in that frame of mind to get the job done. PERIOD! There's nothing wrong with having fun on down time, but when works needs to be done you better be able to handle it. As long as everyone finishes their tour safely, your job has been done properly.

On a side note... as I sit here typing this (multi-tasking monitoring 8 radios and watching TV) I have to add one more thing. Not all "background commotion/noise" is those working there or a TV or radio. MANY times it is other radios that are all part of the job.

I think this gets my point across...

Be safe all!

We'll stated. I think for myself, the point is that if you cannot be responsible with the TV it or the dispatcher needs to go. As Kenisned stated, when you are not being acknowledged and you hear the price is right, even if the dispatcher is busy it is not a good thing to hear. It leads to other conclusions then the dispatcher is doing his/her job. And yes it should be left to the police chief or the head guy/gal at the comm center whether to have a TV.

 

[emtbrat29]

did you ever think that they might be on a 911 call when you were calling to report that mva i know it has happened to me where i was on a 911 call and someone called on the radio i was actully giving cpr instructions and still at a point managed to answer the radio it took me about 45 seconds to answere but i still answered the radio