Public Safety Telecommunication's Most Difficult Questions

As 911 Dispatchers, one of the main things we do is ask people questions. Essentially, a person calls, we answer and then we play a sometimes amusing, often frustrating game of Word Twister until we can figure out what the heck is going on, how to help the caller and how to keep our field responders safe. I’m a pretty black and white thinker. In fact on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator I’m about as far to the T side as you can get. So when someone asks me a question, I quickly assess and then give a concise answer. This personal propensity gives me the expectation that others will do the same. What I quickly learned as a 911 Dispatcher is this is often not the case. Here is a list of the seemingly simple questions that I found most often stumped my callers.

What’s the address of the emergency?

Pretty straight forward, right? Most times this question was synonymous with, “Where are you?” Right after asking the question I'm met with the awkward pause. I would sit under my headset and just image the caller suddenly opening their eyes wide and looking around at their surroundings like they just woke from a dream. Everything is fresh and new. Please come back down to earth and look at a street sign, a piece of your mail or better yet, just pay attention to where you are on this planet at any given moment. It’s super helpful for getting the help you need.

What’s the phone number you’re calling from?

Another seemingly complicated question. Again, only able to speak from my experience, I generally have a pretty good awareness of the phone I just picked up, dialed and put to my ear. If I’m calling for emergency services, I’m even more aware of my actions. I know if it is my cell phone, land line or business phone. I suppose there could be a time when I have to use someone else’s phone in the community but I wouldn’t just grab and run. They would be right there to answer the historically difficult question about the number for me.

When did this happen?

Like place and number, this question is often met with that awkward, coming back down to earth phase. Either that or the immediate response, “Just right now.” I could write an entire article about the potential meaning of that response as we’ve learned it can mean anything from mere seconds before the person dialed or two months ago. It’s even better when the actual response is prefaced with a historical run-down of how we got to this point today sprinkled with plenty of, “Then he said. Then she...”

Do you have something to write with?

The response to this question is particularly troubling to me when a caller dials the non-emergency public safety line to ask for a piece of information, such as the phone number to animal control or the address of the jail. Let me get this straight. You called me to get something, you don’t have a photographic memory and when I get ready to tell you the information you knew you were going to request your response is, “Hold on. Let me find something to write with,” followed by much ruffling. To me, this does not compute.

Do you want to speak with the officer?

Someone is calling in an issue, whether it’s a loud noise complaint, a car accident or a neighbor dispute. They are a witness and only shared a portion of what they saw with the 911 Dispatcher, so you ask if they want the officer to make contact with them. Again, the pause followed often by, “Well…” I’m not asking if you want to go to the movies with him or if you want her to come interrogate you to discover any crime you might have committed. I just want to know if you would like to actually be a helpful participant in the emergency that you felt strong enough about to call on. I truly don’t understand “I just don’t want to get involved.”

I won’t even get started on the responses we get to more specific questions such as, “When was your car stolen?” because the answers begin like, “Well, I was out drinking with some buddies. I only had one or two beers, but then there was this bicycle and a monkey…” There’s just not enough space in this article to get into all that, but those of you who have sat under the headset know what I mean. And before, anyone wants to point out to me the negative sarcasm of these responses and remind me that callers are under extreme and unusual pressure, often having the worst day or night of their life, I understand that. I’m in no way saying 911 Dispatchers should be anything less than compassionate, kind, helpful and professional. We are. We are also human and this dark humor helps keep us sane.