Jurisdictional Issues?

I'm sure this is a common theme for agencies all over the country, that age old argument over whose problem is whose. And as I'm sure is also common, those who actually handle the day to day problems are the ones who work quite well with each other and have no real issues with the other agencies. I'm also aware that this is also not always the case, as training and procedures can also differ and there seem to be few people who keep the big picture in mind and go ahead and help anyways despite the fact that you may be dealing with the idiot from the next county over. I spent 6 minutes on the phone last shift talking the county ambulance service thru directions for a call that didn't even originate from our call center. (We handle 90-100 calls per shift depending on the weather and lunar phase, not counting those we have to transfer). My question is, when is enough enough? I used to work for this agency and I know how their training and procedures are and that's mostly why I don't work there anymore. When do you cut them off and transfer them to the originating agency because you have more than you can juggle yourself, knowing they will be dealing with people who are very close to incompetent? I find myself caring entirely too much, which isn't a bad thing necessarily, just tiresome. (:

Only Request

If I could only ask one thing, I'm pretty sure it would be too much. Especially since I would be asking for something that requires common sense and intelligence. Please people, put more thought into your custody agreements! That is all.

Whaa...?

After a few years there's not much that surprises me anymore, or so I think. Yesterday had a couple of "firsts" for me in the way of Calls For Service. Elderly people are either my most or least favorite callers to talk to, mostly because they either already have all of the answers or know your boss, or they have no clue and are worried they are bothering you and are sweet as pie. Well, when you call me and tell me you've lost your bottom dentures and ask what we can do for you, I'll be honest, I'm at a total loss for words (a rarity). I felt bad for her, but there wasn't much we could do and we were also swamped at that moment with an MVA with injury and a power outage (people do call 911 because they have no electricity). The other was a regular BS caller asking if he could file a Missing Dog report. (I'm assuming these are similar to Missing Persons?) I politely told him that he could report the dog stolen, but not missing...let's local BOLO that one. "All receiving agencies, standby for a Missing Dog BOLO"....um no. :)

I've read that this is one of the most sacred non-christian holidays celebrated in the United States. Not many people understand the sacrifices that are made by men and women in the Armed Forces and their families, but those within the Blue Line family come close. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Happy Memorial Day, everyone! Stay safe and never forget.

New Baby in the House :)

Haha...not that kind of baby :) We are now proud parents of an eight week old kitten named (aptly) Lil Shit. We tried a dog, long-term dog-sitting was a great way to learn that we are really not home enough to handle a dog at the moment and that is exactly the great thing about cats. They are extremely self-sufficient! I know there are cat people and dog people, we happen to be both in this house, and various other types of animals too. As I sit here writing this she's walking across the keyboard opening programs like a pro house cat.

Delimma

This is a post that is definitely different than my usual, however it still may pertain to the general theme. :) This job has its stresses, its ups and its down. Yet, somehow, they seem to be easier to handle within the job than in my personal life. I have a dear friend, who at one point worked in this field. She's what I would tongue-in-cheek call, "emergency services royalty" her father is a career fire fighter who is one of our assistant chiefs, and her mother is an ER lifer. She's also an alcoholic. She left the PD a month and half ago in order to seek help, specifically, AA. Two days ago, she fell off the wagon. I'm so torn right now because I know I need to call her parents, who have threatened her with rehab if she relapsed, but at the same time I want to give her another chance to get it together. My brother is accusing me of ignoring the problem and coddling her, I don't feel that this is the case because being an alcoholic isn't her only issue. I just don't want to betray her, but I want her to get help. Sometimes, what makes me so good at this job, makes me a horrible friend.

There's nothing better than being able to sit down with a few of your closest fellow dispatchers (i.e. the ones you hang out with outside of work) or officers and reminisce about either the most bizarre calls, callers, and instances. I do complain ( a lot ), but I'm pretty blessed to have some of the best officers a department could have. True, sometimes they make me want to choke them and departmental politics gets everyone twisted up from time to time, but overall, they make this job fun. There's also a rare feature among them, several are former dispatchers. This department prefers to pull from dispatchers when hiring from patrol. Yes, you still have to pass the physical (pushups suck, by the way. They are by no means, perfect, but I've been around a lot of agencies and a lot of police officers, troopers and deputies. Let's say I have a unique group of people and I'm glad to call them friends.