Posted on Monday April 15, 2024
York Regional Police is celebrating National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week from April 14 to 19, 2024.
Created in 1981, it’s an opportunity to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of our telecommunicators and to thank them for their service. Each year, York Regional Police receives more than 300,000 emergency calls to 9-1-1 and more than 360,000 non-emergency calls.
Telecommunicators are the invisible first responders. They are the critical link between citizens and emergency responders and provide the community with access to the help they need as they answer emergency calls, dispatch first responders and equipment and render life-saving assistance.
They are the lifeline between someone who needs help and those who provide it. Telecommunicators must remain calm while interpreting the callers’ needs, make split-second decisions as they dispatch assistance and communicate effectively with responding officers and other emergency services personnel, sometimes under extremely difficult and stressful circumstances.
“Our call takers and dispatchers deal with people in some of their darkest hours and the job requires emotional and mental strength,” said Chief Jim MacSween. “We’re proud of our telecommunicators and applaud their professionalism and commitment to our community.”
Please take a moment this week to post a thank you to our call-takers and dispatchers on our social media channels and we’ll be happy to pass it along.
Prepared by: Constable Lisa Moskaluk
April 15, 2024
