By Mark Bond
American Military University
Today’s 911 call centers are staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year with police and fire dispatchers and 911 call takers. These dedicated professionals are the lifeline for police and fire personnel dispatched to emergencies.
In 1967, President Lyndon Johnson’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice recommended that police departments have a single number for the public to call when they need police services. In 1968, Haleyville, Ala., became the first city in the United States to start using the 911 system. During the next several years, the 911 emergency phone system rolled out across the United States with a campaign to educate the public to dial “9-1-1″ to report an emergency.
Nonstop Stress for Dispatchers
Working in a 911 call center is stressful. Hundreds of emergency calls are received during each shift, and it all starts with the 911 call taker answering the phone with the standard “911 emergency, do you need police or fire?”
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