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Folsom Police Honor Public Safety Dispatchers

The Folsom Police Department Communications Center celebrates National Dispatcher Week April 13-19. Local dispatchers will join their peers from Sacramento, El Dorado, Placer and Yolo County at the Organization of Public Safety Telecommunicators (OPST) Annual Awards Banquet on April 19th at 6 pm at the Radisson Hotel in Sacramento. During the Awards Banquet, the Folsom Police Department Communications Center's Dispatcher of the Year Award and Customer Service Award will be presented.

The Folsom Communications Center has 12 full time Dispatchers, two part time Dispatchers and two full time Communication Supervisors. In 2007, the Communications Center handled over 110,000 emergency 911 and non emergency telephone calls for Folsom residents and visitors.

"We are proud to say that our Dispatchers answered 97.45% of the 911 calls within 10 seconds or less," said Sherri Furniss, Folsom Police Department's Technical Services Manager. In addition to answering incoming phone lines, Dispatchers coordinate the City's Police patrol officers, traffic officers and canine officers based on calls received. In 2007, they dispatched 58,756 incidents.

Dispatchers must be able to multi-task and do so with very little margin for error. They are responsible for getting as much valuable information as they can, as quickly as possible, while condensing it and typing the information into a computer. They input and retrieve information from numerous databases to assist officers in their duties.

"Dispatchers are a rare group of people who are seldom given much thought and yet provide such a huge service to the community," said Furniss. "They are motivated individuals who work in what can be a high stress environment where helping people is their top priority. Dispatchers are often the public's first contact with the Police Department and they need to be knowledgeable in a wide range of topics to be able to provide the level of service citizens expect"

The average length of service for the Dispatchers at the Folsom Police Department is 8 1/2 years. Training time varies depending on the ability of the person to assimilate the knowledge and tasks of dispatching. Someone with experience usually goes through a 3-4 month training period, while an inexperienced person might take 8-10 months. Dispatching is a rewarding career for people who can think quickly on their feet, carry on several conversations at once and thrive in a teamwork environment.