I have come soooooo far in training. I have become the kind of dispatcher, I never knew I could. I loved/love WPD, but it's not the busiest place. Don't get me wrong, some weird Twilight Zone stuff happens there, and it can get insane, but often times it is calm and there is usually a moderate workload. A normal shift would average 3 officers and a Sgt. at night and 3 plus detectives, 3 CSOs, 2 traffic units and a Sgt. during the day. The other night, at Close to Home PD, I had 2 Sgts, 1 DUI, unit, 2 K9s, 1 Booking Officer and 7 Patrol units. I had to do all of the radio traffic, all of the registration and drivers licence checks, and all of the subjects being run out, alone, plus the required records work. I got written up for missing 3 readable transmissions. THREE!!!!! In the whole shift! Not to mention, sometimes I have been catching radio traffic that my trainer has missed. It is soooo frustrating because, the officers will complain when they have to repeat their plate or location. OK, #1 If I say 10-9, it's not because I love the sound of your voice, or because I am stupid, it is because I WANT TO KNOW WHERE YOU ARE SO I CAN HELP KEEP YOU SAFE!!!! Say it with me, "Officer Safety.!"#2 The officer I have repeat herself, night after night, has braces, and is absolutely unable to enunciate. So don't you get an attitude with me, Madam Mushmouth, when your version of "I'm at the 7-11" Sounds to me like, "I had sullen unleavened" (???) #3 Thank you Officer Brown for your suggestion that I should talk in a monotone; I wandered around the house for hours talking like a robot, and it gave me and my husband a much needed laugh. #4 When I slipped and said, "What's your 20" instead of "What's your 926", don't jump down my throat; A) Your agency is one of the only CA ones not using the 10-codes, so you're outside the norm not me, and B) I've got almost 6 years of ingrained habits to break, you can cut me a little slack. #5 When I say, "1900 Hours" instead of "1900", don't say "10-9" with a bad attitude and act like you couldn't comprehend what I meant. I may say it a little different than you are used to but, you get it. Now get over it. #6 when I read back the plate numbers/letters to you before giving you the registration information, ("Plate 1 Adam Boy Charles, 2-3-4 is clear and current to John Doe out of Burbank" ) don't complain to my trainer, that it takes too long for me to get to whether the car is stolen or not. A) You need to know that I got the plate right and B) I timed it, the extra 3 seconds it takes for me to read the plate, is not going to kill you, and you're not going to lose the vehicle in that amount of time. Oh, and here is a little secret Officer Too Much Cologne, I may have changed the way I read back plates, to please you, but you better believe, if that car comes back 10-8-51 I am going to read the plate back first, so you don't get jacked up over nothing. And finally (for now) #7 If I kick butt, calling out, writing out and documenting near-perfectly, my first big pursuit, don't nit-pick on what amounts to tiny minuscule ways of how I say things, for example, an officer marginally involved complained: "You said, 'Adam 2 with a unit to fill.' Here we are used to the dispatcher saying, 'Adam 2 AND a unit to fill.' Um, yeah thanks, like that really matters, when the poop hits the fan. AAAAAARRRRGGGHHHH. Back when I was in training, the Wonderful PD officers used to nit-pick me for doing things the "Huge PD" way? I felt they hated me? One time they had just finished complaining about me, and their former Full Time dispatcher, "T", came in to work Per Diem. They were soooo excited to see her, and so nice to her, I felt like crap. And my surpervisor told me, that they used to pick on her too. Now, when I work Per Diem at WPD, they are happy to see me, it's funny. I love it, too. At least I am appreciated at one of my two agencies! :) OK, thank you all, I am done venting for now. Wow, I feel much better!
I had I should finally start having some more to write, on my days off. (Fri-Sunday). Sometimes I get writer's block but I actually have the opposite problem right now; I have sooooo many stories to share with you, they're starting to mentally pile up on me. Man, I got some funny ones, and a bizarre one or two. I have a robbery, in progress, a pursuit, some goofy animal complaints and the most insane situation involving my husband as the RP. I can't wait to share them with you. Oh! And the "dye-pack" story.... Check back with me on Saturday. Til then, be safe out there!
