Emergency Services by Joey Stocking (Dispatch/Jail)

 “911, what is the address of your emergency?”

Today, I'll tell you a little about the Rich County Dispatch Center and Jail, but first a little PSA. 

If you have an iphone and you put it in a cup holder, and the volume up and power button gets squeezed together, your phone will call 911. While I think Apple had good intentions, in reality it made it too easy to call 911 and therefore dispatch ends up with a bunch of "911 pocket dials" that tie up resources from real calls.

In Rich County the 911 dispatch center is located in the basement of the County Courthouse building in Randolph. This is also the location of the sheriff’s office and the Rich County Jail. Currently the county has 7 dispatchers, some are full-time and some part-time (but it is also currently hiring - application available here!) 

The local numbers for non-emergency calls to dispatch include 435-793-1011 and 435-793-2285. If you live in or visit Rich County often, I'd recommend saving those in your phone.

There are two dispatcher consoles. Each console has 3 computer monitors, phones, and a radio. The computer monitors show radio information, paging lists (for paging EMS, Fire, SAR), a CAD System (Computer Aided Dispatch) screen which helps log information and dispatch calls to resources, Medical dispatching scripts/protocols, and the 911 phone system information such as the location of callers.

Not only do these dispatchers handle all fire, medical, search & rescue, and law enforcement emergency and non-emergency calls, but they also are the corrections officers for the county jail. This means serving inmates meals, arranging recreation time, booking and releasing, and monitoring inmate activities. As far as Utah goes this is a fairly unique situation to have employees setup to do both dispatch and jail.

Because these employees handle both roles they undergo extra training. Each individual attends a 3-4 month intensive course at POST (Peace Officer Standards & Training) to become certified as “Special Functions Officers” and “Correctional Officers.” They must pass physical fitness tests, defensive tactics tests, and written exams. Then they must also go on to become “Public Safety Dispatcher” certified and “Emergency Medical Dispatcher” certified as well.

Under the direction of the Sheriff, there is a Jail Commander who also serves as the head dispatcher and coordinates the scheduling of employees and also helps provide training to help each employee maintain his/her certifications.

Obviously the dispatch center and the jail must be staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. That means working graveyard shifts and holidays. 

The job can be intense, but rewarding. The dispatchers never know when a life-threatening emergency is going to come in. They must sit in a constant state of readiness and are unable to truly relax while working. They help people on their worst days, often without knowing the outcome of the situations. They just get the call that someone needs help and dispatch someone to go help, and then get ready for the next call to come in.

In the Rich County Dispatch Center this saying adorns the wall and it is true: