In its 911 dispatcher service, the West Palm Beach Police Service is trying to fill several open positions.
Those who work there as dispatchers say it’s already a stressful job, and the lack of drivers is making it even more so.
The West Palm Beach Police Department is your link to help when you need it.
It should have a team of 47 people, but there are only 37 right now. That is hard on the staff, who are already working hard.
“It’s very important. “It’s huge because there aren’t enough,” said Suzette Dodd, who oversees dispatchers. “They do more work. We need more people to answer the incoming calls.”
She said that even though they have 10 open positions, they are still faster than the national rate when people call with emergencies.
WPTV also talked with Cathy Widdoes, who has been on this team for 27 years and has seen and heard everything.
“It’s stressful when it’s back-to-back-to-back,” Widdoes said. “This center gets a lot of calls. We do everything we need to do, but it would be nice to have enough people working for us.
The West Palm Beach Police Department got more than 350,000 emergency calls to 911 last year.
“It’s important to get officers to accidents, rollovers, people stuck in cars, serious injuries, people being attacked, and domestic calls,” Widdoes said. “That can make a difference. For some people, seconds can make a difference, depending on the situation they’re in.”
“What would it mean to you if those 10 spots were taken?” Victor Jorges from WPTV asked.
Dodd said, “It would be a lot less stressful.” “When we don’t have enough staff, the ones who are here have to work overtime to fill empty seats. It would be great for us and our business if every seat was filled all the time.”
People who want to apply should know that they need a high school diploma or GED and at least one year of customer service experience.
Employees also get paid training on how to do this job well.
“What is the secret to doing this for 27 years?” Jorges asked.
Widdoes said, “You have to have a lot of patience, persistence, determination, and care for people and what you do.”
