911 Week!

Happy Dispatch Week!!!

It's National Dispatch Week.

YEAH!!!

But...

I'm no longer a dispatcher...

BOOOO!!!

I really really really miss it.

Especially all my girls at Provo. Shout Out!

BUT...

I get to spend my days with the cutest baby ever. He totally makes up for it!

What I learned in 6 years as A 911 Dispatcher, is that most criminals are REALLY STUPID.

So since i'm not Dispatching anymore, I thought maybe I should throw them a bone. 

Give them a few tips.

They need all the help they can get.

Here are my suggestions if you're planning a life of crime.

*Next time you decide to commit that burglary, make sure your cell phone doesn't accidentally pocket dial 911 leaving them an open line to the crime, the conversation about said crime, and your gps location...

*If your going to commit a crime, maybe taking pictures of the crime with a film camera, having it developed at a local store, and leaving all your correct information on the film processing envelope isn't a very good idea.... Hello!!! Digital cameras!!!!

*When you drive drunk, hit a building, and flee the scene of the accident. Don’t forget to take your broken off bumper with license plate intact. We will be able to find you..

*Utah Mormon drivers. Just because you hold a valid temple recommend, doesn't mean you're immune to speeding tickets, and officers usually dont like it when you slip that recommend in with your license and registration...

*If your going to run from the cops, it's probably not the best idea to head straight for the bus stop and board the next bus. We can get a hold of that bus driver really fast.

*When an officer tries to pull over your bullet bike for speeding, you probably shouldn’t run from him, cuz he already saw your license plate, and will just catch you later at home, and book you in for felony evasion.

*Everything you say over the phone is recorded. Even when we put you on "hold" you are probably just on mute. Which means we can still hear you, and the lie you are concocting to tell me. BTW mute is also recorded. ooops....

*Next time you commit a burglary, try not to leave your cell phone behind. You will make it waaaaaay to easy to catch you. Where's the fun in that?

*When you call to find out about your warrant, and we say you can only get that information by coming down to the police department. Don't be surprised when we arrest you for that warrant right when you get there.

*If your going to burglarize your neighbor in the dead of winter, make sure to cover those fresh snow foot prints leading back to your house.

*You probably shouldn't post photos of you with the items you stole on Facebook...

Back To School

Back To School

3 Week 

8-5

POST dispatch academy

 (police officer standard training)

I got a new job.

Palo Alto 911 Dispatcher

I know...

I'm having a baby in a month....

BUT,

this one has been in the works since July.

GOOD NEWS

*I get to be a dispatcher again!

*I don't have to start work til i'm good and ready

*It's reserve, so I can make my own schedule, 

and work as much/ as little as I want.

BAD NEWS

*California doesn't recognize my Utah POST certification

*I have to re-take this real real long boring class for beginner dispatchers

*I have lots of dispatch experience....

6 years...

3 weeks of having to sit through this class is going to be the 

longest

most boring

most pregnant

3 weeks EVER

Hopefully I will survive.

You Know It's A Long Day When...

I'm sorry,

but we will not come and throw away

the used condom you came across at the park.

And we are definitely not going to do A

DNA test to issue the condom using litterer a ticket...

I'm Really Going To Miss My Job

if your "asian" neighbors get a new dog,
and you heard that koreans eat dogs,

but arn't even sure if your neighbors are even korean,

you probably shouldn't bother to call the police 2x worrying about the fate of the dog...

oh elderly busy body neighbors... i hope i never never live by you....

Things You Probably Didn't Know About 911

Things You Probably Didn't Know About 911

Sooo I have A really awesome job.

I work for 911.

I take 911 calls, non emergency calls,

dispatch Police, Fire, and Ambulance.

It's really fun, and interesting,

and never boring, and I have real good stories.

We can do really cool things here.

Not as cool as CSI,

but almost.

This is our center.

We have LOTS of computers...

Here are some thigs that you probably didn't know about 911...

♥City Watch/Reverse 911

If there is an emergency in the city,

or just a specific neighborhood,

we can call/text/page

residents to alert them of the prob.

i.e. An elderly disabled female goes missing in SE Provo.

We can notify the residents within a mile of that location to keep an eye out for her.

***note***

Most of these systems are automatically linked to all land lines.

(I know, who has a land line anymore)

In order to get notifications on your cell, you need to register with the system your city has.

♥Text Messaging 911

Any day now 911 text messaging will be available.

Some cities already have it.

We are working on it.

Am I excited for it?

NO

Can you imagine how many prank texts we will get in the begining?

Plus, more often then not, we will need to get A LOT more

info for a Police Report then a measley little text....

Sooo we will have to call you anyway.

but...

I guess it will be good for that random break-in, victim can't talk scenario.

♥Phase 2

All cell phone phones are now phase 2 capable.

What does that mean?

It means when you call 911,

we can track your GPS location to within 50 meters.

Cool! Not as cool as the movies...

but this is real life.

♥Disconencted Cell Phones

You know those old phones you give to your kids to play with?

They can still call 911.

In fact, thats the ONLY number they can call.

It's a safety feature. (a really annoying one)

When the battery is in, and ANY number is dialed, you get us.

We get loads and loads of these 911 calls every day,

and for safety reasons, we need to research everyone of them.

This is soooooo time consuming.

Please Please take the batteries out of your old phones!!!

♥The Button 9

Most cell phones have a 911 safety feature where

if you hold down the button 9, it automatically calls 911.

Even if the phone is locked!

Blackberrys are the WORST.

They call more then any other phone.

I think it's a combo of the dreaded button 9,

and Blackberrys scrolly button.

Plus, when an "emergency call" is made,

It usually doesn't show up in your phones call log.

So you won't know until we call you back.

Why? Who knows?

♥Medical calls

Do we memorize medical instructions?

We are all CPR/First Aid/EMD certified,

but NO we don't have all the instructions memorized.

Good thing, cuz when someone calls screaming that there's

blood everywhere, you can get flustered for a sec.

We have all these real cool Medical Cards.

It's like a Choose Your Own Adventure book.

We find out the problem... "my co-worker fell off the roof"

We go to the card for that problem... FALL

The cards tell us specific questions to ask for that injury.

We also have cards for CPR Heimlich, and Child Birth....

i.e. Child Birth...

"can you see the childs head?"

yes- go to page 7

no-go to page 28

It's a really cool system.

That's about it.

I really like my job.

If your interested,

here are some other 911 related posts...

Reasons NOT to call 911

(read in a joking way. my husband said if you didn't know me you might think I was mad..)

911 week

Holiday Week

Guess what this week is?
It' national public safety telecommunications week
(translation)
911 week

Did you know they had such a thing?

It's pretty great though,
all week people tell us how wonderful we are,
give us treats, and cook us food.
I really love my job,
& not just on 911 week.

My job is pretty great,
and sad, and frustrating, and annoying,
(and i only complain about it sometimes)
but mostly great,
and I feel real real blessed to have such a great job.
I really love it.
here's why......

♥♥My job is really exciting,
like...
"some one just robbed my store with a gun,"
"the kitchen is on fire,"
"my baby can't breath,"
"there's blood everywhere"
exciting...
Not all the time, but it's DEFINITELY not boring,
and it's NEVER the same.

♥♥Our center is so so cool,
like 5 computers per consul
CSI looking cool.
Plus we have some really great equipment,
and resources (even if our internet is slow as snails).
We can do crazy things, and WILL
track you down if you prank call us.
We're real good.

♥♥Frequent flyers
aka: people who have us on speed dial
aka: mental health patients
aka: people who call so much you
have their name/address memorized
aka: strange funny callers that just make you smile
examples:

*a caller with multiple personalities,
one of whom is a vampire

* caller: hi, i need an officer to come throw away my "R" rated movies
dispatch: well, you can just throw them away
caller: i can? well can i keep them?
dispatch: sure you can
caller: ok bye

*a caller that's convinced that the gov.
has planted a bug in his phone,
and calls demanding to talk to the President
cuz we have a direct line (we don't),
then proceeds to rant and rave about conspiracies
until you just disconnect

*a caller who needed an ambulance cuz "their head got eaten"
"by something that didn't exist"
she told us she was dead,
when we revealed she was in fact alive,
she cried with joy.

♥♥ Heart breaking and inspiring stories,
like this one (story/blog is real good, and you will get sucked in..) .
or this (that's my voice, and it was a real cool story)

♥♥Telling people when it's not appropriate to call 911
(if you don't know, please review this post)
there is something strangely satisfying
about reprimanding someone
for abusing the system.

♥♥We help people all day, every day,
24 hours a day, on weekends,
and holidays (which sometimes really sucks)
BUT it's really great and real rewarding
to be the person someone calls for help,
and to be able to give them the help they need.

SOOOO.... basically
my job is wonderful,
and I'm real thankful for it,
and Happy Dispatch week!

A request

Dear people who call 911,


* We are not a phone directory. That's what you have internet, phone books, and 411 for.

* It's ok for your neighbor to mow their lawn on Sunday.

* That "suspicious" looking "black guy" walking down the street, was actually a high school kid on his way home from school.

* No, we won't give you a ride any where.

* I'm sorry you locked your keys in your car. If you were smart you would have a spare.

* Remember when you called to report those two unkempt guys that "looked like they didnt belong at church"? What did you say your name was? the "soon to be elders quorum president"? seriously?

* Not every car driving by your house is a drug dealer. Even if they are "mexican."

* Sometimes ducks cross the street.

* If some wierd guy walks into your house in the middle of the night, and goes through your roomates underwear drawer. Don't wait until your bishop tells you 2 days later to call the police.

* We don't enforce the BYU honor code.

I'm happy to give CPR instructions, help deliver your baby, or catch the suspect that just robbed your store. Just make sure its a real emergency before you call.

Thanks,

Julie