Public Safety Communications

The Public Safety Telecommunicators who answer the 911 calls (911, do you have a police, fire or medical emergency?) in our communities are like the smoke detectors in our homes: we don’t think about them, but when they’re needed…they’re needed. The PST is the critical communications link between those who need help (the person who calls 911) and those who can render help (law enforcement, fire, or EMS).

Most 911 centers in the U.S. are chronically underfunded and understaffed. The former means that centers often don't have enough authorized positions for the workload and/or they can't afford to pay employees a salary that commensurate with the job and its responsibilities; while the latter forces employees to work involuntary overtime.

As a PSAP [Public Safety Answering Point] manager one of the BIGGEST responsibilities is hiring and on-boarding new employees. Let's face it, this profession is one where the doors are constantly swinging open with turnover. It's easy to blame the management team, but the issues with retention in PSAPs are much more rooted than what's on the surface of workplace relationships. 

Social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pintrest and others have become THE way that people share information and expect to get information before, during, and after a natural or man-made disaster. I truly believe that and I also believe this: any public safety agency that doesn’t understand and fully embrace my previous statement is going to have a “rough row to how” during and after their next “big one.”