April 10th-16th is recognized as National Public Safety Telecommunicator Week, to recognize dispatchers who act as unsung heroes in helping law enforcement agencies nationwide run smoothly, behind the scenes.
The Guthrie County Sheriff’s office employs six dispatchers, including Paula Martinson, who has worked there for four years.
Martinson says a large part of her job is communicating, whether it be over the phone or radio. “We do 9-1-1 and police dispatch, ambulance calls, civil calls and we take all of the administrative phone calls for the Sheriff’s office. Plus, we take the radio traffic from the officers.”
Even when she’s busy talking on the phone, Martinson still has to monitor several different computer screens, including one that tracks the locations of law enforcement officers through several area counties. “So if one of our deputies needs assistance, then we can see where somebody else is that’s closest to come and assist them. We have two 9-1-1 screens, one shows the 9-1-1 map and the other shows the phone number that’s calling us. If it’s a landline it will give us the 9-1-1 address, if they’re calling from a cell phone it will not show an address. We have our NCIC (National Crime Information Center) screen where we can run driver’s license information, criminal histories and enter warrants. We have three video screens that show us the jail cells and all of the floors of the courthouse, so that we can monitor the courthouse as well. We also have our radio screen, where we can dispatch fire, police, ambulance and set off tornado sirens if we need to.”
In addition to being a full-time dispatcher, Martinson also serves as a certified jailer, which she says adds to her responsibilities. “In addition to the dispatching responsibilities, we also do jail checks. The jail holds ten inmates, so when we have people in jail, which is pretty much all the time, then we’re also responsible for going back and monitoring the jail.”
Martinson adds that although the job can be stressful, working with great people helps her make it through each shift. “I would say the most enjoyable part of this job is the people that I work with, including the deputies and other dispatchers. They make it fun to be here. The worst part is the 9-1-1 calls and never knowing what’s going to come in and what’s going to happen.”
Sheriff Marty Arganbright says Martinson and the rest of the dispatchers are great at what they do and play an important role in the day-to-day operation of the Sheriff’s office. “We rely on them to get us help and cover everything else. It’s not an easy job. It can be stressful. Not everyone can be a dispatcher, it takes a certain kind of person and it takes a lot of training.”
Martinson will tell us more about her job today on Let’s Talk Guthrie County. It airs during the 9 a.m., noon and 5 p.m. hours on K107.9 and www.raccoonvalleyradio.com.