Do you ever wonder who is behind the voices on emergency calls to 911? Usually, all we know is their voice. This is part of the reason why National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week is observed every second week of April every year. The week was established in Contra Costa County California by Dispatch Supervisor Patricia Anderson and Sheriff Rainey in 1981 to recognize the 911 Dispatchers and Telecommunicators. In 1991 President Bill Clinton signed into law the nationally recognized second week of April as National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week to celebrate the work the dispatchers do in helping save millions of lives every day. According to an article in "Business Insider" , emergencycall takers scored 98.5 out of 100 in stress tolerance, making their profession one of the most stressful jobs in America.
Our local 911 Dispatchers are a phenomenal group of people with experience ranging from 3 years to more than 25 years on the job. The Madison Parish 911 Center (located at the Madison Parish Jail) is manned by dispatchers who all are also certified sworn sheriff deputies with the Madison Parish Sheriff's Department. Cynthia Arender Machen serves as the 911 Director and has held this position since 1999 which was the first year that Basic 911 was upgraded to Enhanced 911 in Madison Parish.
Going from Basic to Enhanced 911 meant that the 911 caller's name and address appeared on the computer screen when a call was coming from a wireline telephone.
In 2005, Phase I was integrated into the system which meant the Dispatcher could now locate the caller on a map during the call as name and address was visible on the computer screen. Location of the caller was critical to the Dispatcher when emergency responders were needed. So many times, a caller does not know the correct address where they are located or are unable to speak clearly enough for the Dispatcher/Calltaker to understand. This makes the mapping information so valuable especially on wireless calls not associated with a specific address. All wireless calls can be located on the map in the Dispatch Center. The dispatcher often has to inform the caller of their exact location if they are traveling on I-20 or other highways and are not sure of their location. This is a valuable asset to the dispatcher since many callers are unfamiliar with the area when traveling and can't provide an accurate location of their emergency.
In 2021, the Dispatch Center purchased new dispatch equipment from Motorola that included an upgraded mapping system which allows the 911 Dispatchers to dispatch officers to addresses with more accuracy. All calls are recorded that come into the sheriff's department as are all calls to the 911 phone lines so dispatchers can instantly play back calls or radio traffic when needed to verify pertinent information. The 911 Board, along with the Madison Parish Sheriff's Department, is currently doing a major upgrade to the equipment in the 911 center. The upgrade should be completed by July 2026. This upgrade will insure that Madison Parish is in compliance with the Next Generation requirements in all 911 systems in the state of Louisiana and the country.
911 Dispatchers Barbara Whitney (Dispatch Supervisor/Assistant Warden) has been with Madison Parish
911 since the beginning (over 20 years. Tiffany Levi came to 911 from Tallulah Police Department and joined our 911 Dispatch team in 2012. Kierra Oliver joined the 911 team in 2021 and Nikki Williams Beckham came on as a dispatcher in 2022. Nicole Davis joined the 911 team in 2023. Jarrica Brooks is in training as a part time Dispatcher. 911 Director Cynthia Machen also works as a part time Dispatcher as do several of the Sheriff Patrol deputies, when needed, during major events.
The Madison Parish Communications District Board consists of members Edward Yerger, Jr. (President), Earl Pinkney (Vice President), Sam Kennedy (Finance Chairman), Robert Ray Thornton, Chad Ezell, Kenneth Thomas and Robert "Jackie" Thompson. 911 Board members are appointed by the Madison Parish Police Jury every 2 years and members can be reappointed to 3 consecutive terms if they so desire. The Communications District is the governing body of 911 under the umbrella of the Police Jury and they are responsible for the fiscal operations of 911. The Sheriff is paid by the 911 District to provide a portion of the man power (Dispatchers) and he operates the 911 Dispatch Center at the downtown jail.
The month of April is 911 Education Month and this year April 12t*-18th is 911 Dispatchers Week so this is the special time we set aside each year to honor those in the Public Safety field and especially our 911
Dispatchers. They do their jobs with very little recognition but they are the heartbeat of all the First Responders. The emergency personnel would not be able to do their jobs if the 911 Dispatcher does not lead the way. The 911 Dispatcher controls the entire emergency response from the beginning of the emergency, the 911 call. The 911 Dispatchers are often overlooked when the emergency is over and all the thanks and appreciation are handed out to other First Responders such as Law Enforcement, EMS workers and Firefighters. The 911 Dispatchers are the "First" First Responders so remember to pray for them and thank them if you see them this week during National Telecommunicators Week.
We, here in Madison Parish, want to be sure that our 911 Dispatchers know how much we appreciate all that they do behind the scenes during ongoing emergencies. Dispatchers must be very talented at multitasking in order to operate the 911 lines, administrative lines, fire radios and sheriff's department radios all at once. On true 911 emergencies, it usually requires all of the above actions to be performed in a calm, quick manner simultaneously and with complete 100% accuracy. The lives of our Law Enforcement, EMS personnel, Firefighters and all other First Responders depends on the performance of the 911 Dispatcher during every emergency response.
If you happen to see one of our hard working, dedicated Dispatchers this week, offer a compliment on a job well done. They deserve it. Happy Public Safety Telecommunicators Week to our Madison Parish Sheriff's Department Dispatchers- Nicole, Kierra, Tiffani, Nikki, Barbara, Jarrica and Cynthia. We also appreciate and want to recognize the dispatchers at Tallulah Police Department, Northeast Ambulance Service and all the surrounding parish agencies that we work with very closely in 911 emergencies.
