| User | Post |
|
6:09 am
September 4, 2010
|
Dispatcher X
| | |
| Newbie | posts 1 |
|
|
Greetings,
I randomly stumbled across this website and felt it was my duty to post here. I am Dispatcher X. For obivious reasons I cannot reveal anything further about my identity. I currently work as a dispatcher with the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, going on my fifth year there. I felt it was important to regisiter and post here as I see a lot of things that are misunderstood and/or incorrect about some things that people have posted on this board. It's my intention to both help clear up some misconceptions, and answer concerns/questions that the general public may have.
Here are some helpful tips in case you do need to call us:
The non-emergency number to call us is (936) 760-5800. Please save it somewhere in your phone.
If you're calling for outer agency such as Willis PD, Oak Ridge PD, etc., we dispatch for them after hours and on weekends. If you ask for their office phone number we will give it to you but it will just ring back to us. Let the call taker take your information.
If you're calling on 911, be ready with the address or intersection where you need help. We can get the proper help to you faster if you have that ready and give it to us first. Asking people around you where you are or telling us a long story that leads up to what is going on will delay response time to your call.
If you call us, please don't ask us to "hold on" when we answer. This should be self-explanatory.
Calls are dispatched in order of priority. We will get a unit to you, just remember that our policy states that a unit has to take a higher priority call first. Understand that it may take a while to get a unit to take a report of a smashed window, or credit card abuse, when we had a shooting/robbery/disturbance in progress in the same area.
One thing that several of my fellow dispatchers all agree on is that
more information needs to be readily available to the public. Simple
things, like placing the SO phone number somewhere easy to find in the
phone book.
I'm willing to answer any and all questions that you the public may have. Hopefully you'll learn something and other people will too and we can all work together just a little better.
|
|
|
2:58 pm
September 6, 2010
|
TonyBoy
| | |
| Guest
| |
|
|
Thanks to Dispatcher-X.
Foz. Can you create a banner and let it rotate (maybe) that show the number he/she referenced and perhaps a link to this post? IT would certainly help newbys and I will surely benefit from it as well.
|
|
|
2:17 pm
September 8, 2010
|
flyinman
| | |
| Still Here | posts 21 |
|
|
Post edited 2:17 pm – September 8, 2010 by flyinman
I have always been unclear as to what law enforcement considers a non emergency call. Some issues are very cut and dry like having a generic question but I have attempted to report suspicious activity, wreckless drivers and other items which I personally feel warrant a little more priority than non emergency but are far from a 911 call. However, when I call the non emergency number, more times than not, I have been placed on hold by the automated recording. It is not unusual to be on hold for more than 5 minutes. I would appreciate any information.
Thanks,
Flyinman in The Woodlands
|
|
|
2:04 am
September 10, 2010
|
Dispatcher X
| | |
| Guest
| |
|
|
Flyinman,
Thanks for the question. Its actually a complex issue that dispatchers themselves face everyday.
We actually have to judge on the fly what counts as non-emergency and emergency calls. Most of us can agree that emergency calls are issues such as fights in progress, a drunk driver on the roadway, or other in-progress issues. Non-emergency issues are usually issues like report calls (credit card abuse, theft, criminal mischief, etc) are fairly straightfoward. Calls such as suspicious people/vehicles can be a bit more difficult to define as an emergency. It just depends on what you (the public) tell us what is going on. Based on your info we can determine if it's an emergency or not.
The best way to tell if your call is an emergency is ask yourself this: Is my call an issue of life or death? If you answer yes, deffinately call 911. If you answer no but still believe it to be a grave situation, go ahead and call 911. It's better to be safe then sorry.
As far as calling the non-emergency line, are you pressing the right prompt? At the main menu, you have to press 1 to get to dispatch.
Here is another issue regarding the non-emergency line:
Our policy dictates that we have to answer 911 first. This can (and does) cause the non-emergency line to become very busy. So much so, that even if you do press 1 at the menu, and all call takers are on 911, you will get a recording saying all operators are busy and will get to you as soon as possible.
Please understand that on busier days (Thursday-Sunday) it may take a while. Every calltaker is actually tracked and graded based on how fast they answer 911. We can and will get penalized for not answering fast enough or not answering a certain amount of 911 calls. Our supervisors are constantly putting out warnings and suspensions based on these numbers. We will even get penalized if 911 is ringing and everyone is already on 911. Unfortunately the tracking system does not take that situation into account and therefore we get in trouble.
|
|
|
9:01 am
September 13, 2010
|
flyinman
| | |
| Still Here | posts 21 |
|
|
Thanks for the information. I prefer to call the non emergency number unless it is a major accident, etc. or as you mention a life or death situation. Yes I do press the correct prompt but seems most calls are on the weekends therefore there seems to be a wait time more often than not. I just cannot stand people that call 911 for everything as that can tie up a line in case of a real emergency. Thanks again for the information.
|
|
|
10:59 am
October 13, 2010
|
Alan
| | |
| Guest
| |
|
|
Yeah, thanks for the information. I think you folks do a fine job.
What does it mean when you guys say "not eligible" when running someone's ID?
Thanks,
-Alan
|
|
|
5:11 pm
October 16, 2010
|
Dispatcher X
| | |
| Guest
| |
|
|
Alan,
Thanks for the kind words. In reference to your question –
When we are giving returns on a driver's license, the DL is either "Eligible" (in which we say is clear), or the DL is "Not Elgible", which means that their is currently a problem with that person's license and its not currently valid. It could either mean its suspended, expired, or due to some other issue not eligible for renewal, but long story short it is not a valid DL.
|
|
|
1:05 pm
October 18, 2010
|
Slippedhalo
| | Montgomery, Texas | |
| Newbie | posts 3 |
|
|
Thank you for the information Dispatcher X. I did not know that there was non-emergency phone number available. I have had to make a few calls to report people that are driving in an erratic and unsafe manner, and I always feel a little guilty for calling 911 for that. However, I do think that it could become a life/death situation if that person causes a fatality or even a serious accident. I guess it takes common sense on which number to call. With that said, I programmed the non-emergency number on my cell for the future use.
I would also like to take a moment to thank you and all of Montgomery County Emergency personnel for their outstanding work and quick response times. We truly live in a great county.
SH
|
|
|
1:26 pm
October 18, 2010
|
Alan
| | |
| Guest
| |
|
|
I too plugged in the non-emergency phone number into my cell phone. 911 is pretty easy to remember, so needless to say I didn't program that one.
Thanks for answering my question about the 'not eligible' subject.
Keep up the good work.
Regards,
-Alan
|
|
Login 
Register 
Search 
Forum
Add a New Topic
Reply to Post
Quote and Reply 
Print this Post 
Topic RSS 
