TORRINGTON – When you first walk into the Torrington Police Department you will see a big glass window with at least one person sitting behind a wall of computers. There will also be the sounds of voices over the radio and the ringing of telephones.
You might be asking yourself, “who are these people behind the glass window?” They are the hardworking people of the Torrington Communication Center. The unsung heroes of the Goshen County community.
The hardworking people in the dispatch center don’t just provide emergency dispatch services for the Torrington Police department. They also work with Lingle and Fort Laramie Police Departments, the Goshen County Sheriff’s Office, Wyoming Game and Fish, Wyoming Highway Patrol, the U.S. Parks Service and nine different fire departments and Emergency Medical Service (EMS) agencies.
“We have four dispatchers, a supervisor and two part-timers,” said supervisor Bailye Geller. “The typical dispatch hours are 12 hour shifts from six to six. We work a Panama schedule which is nice because you get every other weekend off.”
Dispatchers work a rotating schedule where they will be on day shift for three months and then switch to night shift for three months.
When it comes to law enforcement work, dispatchers are often the forgotten heroes in the operation. They are generally the first point of contact when someone needs help in an emergency situation.
Before you are able to work as a dispatcher in Wyoming, you have to accomplish the Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) certification. The first certification you can receive as a dispatcher is the basic dispatcher certification.
To get the basic dispatcher certification, you must complete a commission-approved dispatcher basic training program and be an employed dispatcher in Wyoming. Once hired, a dispatcher has two years from the date of employment to complete a commission approved dispatcher basic training program.
Besides going through POST training, dispatchers in Torrington also go through a few months of local training as well. Most dispatchers spend about three months learning under a supervising training officer and taking quizzes to ensure they are learning and mastering the tools needed to be a successful dispatcher.
“We start with a guideline of three months, but it could take more,” Geller said. “We have it broke down into phases of learning and there are quizzes and tests they have to pass before they can move on to the next phase.”
Even though all dispatchers receive POST training and localized training, there are still situations that arise where the dispatcher will have to learn on the fly and constantly be on your toes.
“I tell new hires that you’re never going to know everything here on this job,” Geller said. “You can get comfortable and then something will hit you and it just kind of pushes you back and makes you realize you’ve just got to stay on your toes.”
When the phone rings, you never know who or what exactly will be on that other end of the line. The most important thing is to remember to stay calm and keep the person calling you calm, as well.
“I doodle to help me stay focused in stressful situations,” Geller said. “Your brain just kind of takes over in situations like that and just knows what it needs to do and what information you need to get.”
Even though Geller has ways to cope with some of the more serious calls, being in a small town where everyone knows everyone, you occasionally will get those calls that knock a dispatcher back.
“There are always calls that are going to knock you back a bit,” Geller said. “Especially working in a small town, a lot of times you deal with calls about people you know and that can be rough.”
Even though our interview was short, in the 45 minutes spent at the dispatchers’ office the phone rang a half a dozen times, there were multiple different calls on the radio from various agencies and there were a few driver’s licenses that needed to be run.
That small glimpse into a normal Wednesday afternoon shows you just how busy things can get during a shift working as a dispatcher. You never know what the person on the other end of the phone is dealing with when they call you. A slow day can turn into a busy one with just a simple phone call.
When that inevitable phone call comes through where it’s someone you know, the most important thing to remember as a dispatcher is to stay calm and know you are the only way that person will be able to get help.
“I just remind new hires that they are the way they get help,” Geller said. “That if they don’t do their job, that person isn’t going to get the help that they need.”
Keeping the person on the other end of the phone calm while officers, fire or EMS are en route to their location is one of the more challenging aspects of the job. During an emergency seconds can turn into minutes when you are waiting for help.
“I know in an emergency 10 seconds can feel like 10 minutes,” Geller said. “It’s hard to reassure them that help is on the way and I wish I could make them go faster. It’s heartbreaking listening to the person on the other end of the phone, especially when they know there’s nothing else they can do.”
Torrington Police Chief Matt Johnson is very proud of the dedicated work these “unsung heroes” do for the citizens of Torrington, and acknowledges their contributions are often forgotten by the general public.
“When we talk about the work of First Responders in keeping a community safe, we often think of the firefighter, police officer, or EMS person who arrives to handle the crisis at hand,” Johnson said. “What is easy to forget is that the success of all of those services hinges on our dispatch team. From the first moment they answer a 911 call, they provide a kind and calm voice in the midst of chaos for someone in need. At the same time, they quickly and efficiently coordinate resources and send help. Quite literally, they are the anchor point that keeps our community safe and they are very worthy of our appreciation.”
