MANSFIELD, Ohio – From homework questions to true emergencies, Mansfield’s Public Safety Communications Center (PSCC) processes over 100,000 calls per year to 911 and non-emergency numbers for police, fire, and emergency medical services (EMS). Although the homework questions and other information-seeking calls are discouraged in order to leave lines and dispatchers free for emergency calls, dispatchers strive to answer each call with professionalism as they determine the needs of the caller.
The calls are prioritized, noted PSCC Operations Supervisor Jerry Botdorf, with calls that may result in bodily harm taking priority over nuisance calls like barking dogs.
911 calls are always answered first, he noted. Non-emergency callers are sometimes frustrated because they are put on hold; dispatchers must do this from time to time to answer 911 calls, said Botdorf. “They don’t understand that we don’t have a choice. We have to answer that other call in case it’s an emergency,” he added.
“A lot of people, when they call in, they are hysterical, or very emotional. Dispatchers have to take control of the conversation,” noted Botdorf. He said at times callers may feel the dispatcher is being rude to them, but it is necessary for the dispatcher to gather information in an efficient manner in order for the proper emergency personnel to be dispatched.
The dispatcher begins the process by determining the location of the caller. Then the dispatcher must discover the nature of the problem in order to determine if the caller is in need of fire department, EMS, police, or a combination thereof.
If the call is an “in progress” situation, the dispatcher will stay on the line with the caller. “The person on the other end of the line is our best source of intel for a crime that is occurring,” added Botdorf.
Response time, Botdorf noted, often relies on the availability of personnel. “We don’t have officers just driving around not doing anything. Most of the time, they are going from call to call to call,” he said. “If the officer is available, then obviously we are sending them right away.”
Botdorf added that, in cases when officers are on high-priority calls and cannot be pulled away to answer a call that needs immediate attention, protocols are in place to allow dispatchers to contact county and even state police. “There’s always something in place to get help where it’s needed as soon as possible,” said Botdorf.
911 calls that are made via a landline are automatically routed to the appropriate communications center in the city or county of the call’s origin, said Botdorf. Calls made via cell phone, however, are processed through county dispatch. “Once they determine where help is needed, if it falls within our jurisdiction, then they transfer it to us,” he explained.
Mansfield’s PSCC is located inside the Mansfield Police Department, and has stations for four dispatchers, though budget constraints currently allow only three dispatchers per shift.
One dispatcher is responsible for incoming calls for police, fire, and EMS via 911 calls and calls on the non-emergency lines. The other two positions in the PSCC are police dispatcher and support person.
Normally, once an incoming call is completed, it is entered into the system and routed to the police dispatcher for dispatch.
“The police dispatcher is usually so busy they can’t handle the position all by themselves,” said Botdorf. “They need to focus on the radio as much as possible.”
The support person, noted Botdorf, will aid in obtaining information for officers, as requested, and also back up the 911 dispatch operator.
“No two calls are ever the same,” said Botdorf. “It’s always very dynamic.”
Non-emergency calls in the city of Mansfield should be made to 419-522-1234, while emergency calls should be made to 911. Administration may be reached at 419-755-9724. For those unsure of where to call, the Mansfield Police Department’s website includes a directory as well as informational links.
