SHREVEPORT, La. (KSLA) - The week of April 11-17 is National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week. It’s a week to recognize our men and women who answer dispatch and 9-1-1 emergency calls.
Even though they are truly the first responders, they are often overlooked.
“We’re the people that no one sees,” Caddo Sheriff’s Office Telecommunications Officer Audria Jones said. “They see the deputies, but they never see us.”
The Caddo 911 Call Center is the first line of defense in crime-fighting and saving lives. They answer calls ranging from shootings, domestic disputes and administrative matters.
“Sometimes, you have slow days and then sometimes you have super fast days,” Caddo Sheriff’s Office Telecommunications Officer Matthew Johnson said.
These dispatchers never know who they could talk to next or what the emergency may be.
“When we answer a call, we may answer one that’s been in a wreck and then the next call may be someone has been shot, or it may be somebody with a family member having a heart attack. It’s just one right after the other,” said Diane Walton, a Shreveport Police communications office supervisor.
As we see crime rising in our areas, they are the first ones to hear of these incidents over the phones and the ones who get officers out there to help.
“It’s depressing at times to hear that there are shootings everyday or every shift...it’s not fun, but it’s just part of what we do,” said another Shreveport Police Communications Office Supervisor Rebecca Williams.
However, the dispatchers emphasized the familial atmosphere in the call center. They say that is what motivates them to continue their jobs everyday.
“I believe it is a calling from within, from God,” Williams said.
Throughout the week, dispatchers have received cakes, decorated their call centers and even participated in themed dress-up days.
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