CRESTVIEW — Four new dispatchers joined the Crestview Police Department Thursday morning upon being sworn into office by Mayor David Cadle.
After completing 40 hours of classroom instruction and 200 hours of on-the-job training, Sheena Dunmore, Mackenzie Edwards, Keesha Johnson and Petra Johnson-Luke will be eligible to take the Florida telecommunications certification exam.
When the women pass the exam, they will join a staff of eight full-time dispatchers and one supervisor, who man the agency's Communications Center around the clock in 12-hour, two-person shifts. Another dispatcher applicant is currently undergoing a requisite background investigation.
"It's a very demanding job," Police Chief Tony Taylor said. "Not may people can really do it."
"I wouldn't want to do it," Taylor said with a laugh.
Like their colleagues who patrol Crestview and keep the community safe, the women signed up for the challenge primarily out of a sense of duty.
"I want to help other people," Dunmore said during a Thursday afternoon orientation at the dispatch center. "It's getting to help members of the community that made this job appealing."
"We're the link between the public and the officers," two-year dispatch veteran Shawnee Rawles said.
Dispatchers are also often the face of the police department, dispatcher Morgan Leadmon said.
"We're the ones people first see when they walk in for help," she said.
With the hiring of the four new dispatchers, the department's Communications Center is now fully staffed. Previously, to meet agency and state requirements, communications certified patrol officers helped fill gaps in the center's staffing.
"It's a highly technical job," Taylor said. "There are multiple systems they have to learn and use."
In addition to the agency's comprehensive new SunGard IT system, dispatchers have to be proficient in the county 911 system, as calls for service are transferred from the
Okaloosa County dispatch center, plus state systems such as criminal and motor vehicle databases.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: (revised) New dispatchers provide vital link