Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Poorly Trained Dispatchers

I must vent.  Everybody knows where Target at the Hub is located.  Zone 1 officers must go there daily for one reason or another, yet almost all the dispatchers, especially the new ones, give the full address...wasting their time and the officers' time "415 at Target at the Hub.  39201 Fremont Blvd.  39201 Fremont Blvd.  Cross is Walnut."  So far nothing important to the officer in the field has been transmitted.  Then, finally "two males in a heated 415 in the parking lot on the Walnut side".  But...what I heard last night at Mission and Palm was very telling.  The dispatcher repeated what an officer said even if it didn't make any sense!  Chasing a suspect on foot towards Mission High, the officer incorrectly stated "going into Washington High".  The dispatcher, who should have been following along on her screen, or at least have a mental picture of the area, said "going into Washington Hospital" which made no sense.  She should have questioned the officer right there, asking him to repeat.  The officer then said again, incorrectly "Washington High", which she repeated "Washington High".  Finally another officer blurted "Mission High".  I'm sure there was no doubt in this scenario which high school it was to the officers on the call, but it was disappointing that the dispatcher had no clue of the area and just repeated what she heard.  I think this is the result of computer aided dispatching, where the dispatcher reads a screen and is not totally involved in the call.

1 comment:

  1. I agree with your vent. I had noticed that as well but thought I heard it incorrectly. Yes waste of valuable time for sure. Fortunately no weapon which couple have had a different outcome.

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