Belleville Police Service highlighted the dispatch centre to mark National Public Safety Telecommunicators week, which wraps up today.
The local police service invited media to visit with dispatchers at the police station on Sidney Street.
The dispatch centre team worked last week with the option to dress more casual. They received daily treats and were all awarded the golden headset magnet to commemorate their efforts.
91X met with Kristine Gauthier, Director of Communications for Belleville Police Service, who provided an overview. She said that they currently have 18 dispatchers, which is considered a complete compliment to their current needs. A dozen of the dispatchers are full-time while six are part-time.
Each group of dispatchers are paired with a platoon team. There is a team of two to three dispatchers in the room at the station. One person handles dispatch calls, which consist of talking to officers and non-emergency situations. The other person deals with 911 calls directly that can filter in from the 911 Northern Office out of Sudbury. A third person is on hand to relieve the other two and also pick up calls if needed.
The team currently receives an average of 50-70 calls per day this time of year.
Gauthier, who was with Halton Police Service for 28 years, before working for Belleville Police the last six years, calls the role of a dispatcher a young person’s game. The shifts are 12-hours, with two-day shifts, two-night shifts, and four-days off.
She noted that Belleville Police Service has recently finished training two more people. She added that for this round of the hiring focus, they tried to think “out of the box” and look at life-skills a person. Gauthier said that their first priority remains looking for people who have are already in the role, have a degree in Criminology, Sociology, have taken the 911 Dispatch course in College, or a background in law enforcement. The second priority the hiring team looks for is life skills, who example working in a customer service role or dealing with vulnerable populations.
Loyalist College in Belleville will start their 911 and Public Safety Communicators program in the fall. Gauthier said she is thrilled to hear about the program, with the ability to train more people in the local region.
A local resident who had to travel to seek the program, is Belleville Police Dispatcher Lydia Dick. She offered an incite into her role when 91x had a view of the dispatch room. Placed in front of six computer monitors and two phones lines, Dick says that graduated the Seneca College program in 2022. Dick said she knew what to expect getting into the career, as she learned a lot from her father, who is a volunteer firefighter in Consecon.
She noted that she had a variety of customer service jobs, worked as a Resident Advisor in College, and at a high-risk centre for youth, before pursuing her career.
Dick added that she wish she became a dispatcher sooner, emphasizing that it is a very rewarding job and there are lots of supports in place.
She said that to be a dispatcher, you need to be open and honest. Dick noted that at first it was challenging when you need to be blunt and direct with people when getting critical information from them in a quick amount of time. Dick said that a good dispatcher needs to be able to talk to people, empathetic, compassionate and be a team player.
Moving forward, Belleville Police Service is getting ready for the province to shift to the 911 Next Generation System. The move is expected to be made by the province in 2025. The new system which Belleville is equipped for, will allow people to text and send video in to 911, which will create a broader way to communicate.
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