Podcast on Crimes Against Women
From Calls to Compassion: Exploring the Critical Work of Emergency Dispatch Professionals
April Hines adds depth to our conversation, sharing her expertise on the protocols that guide dispatchers in crisis situations. Together we uncover how emergency response systems have evolved, from the legacy of Kitty Genovese to today's advanced 911 operations. Our discourse spans the development of policies, the execution of best practices in dire situations, and the essential contribution of bystanders—all pivotal in the orchestration of a prompt, life-saving response. The intricacies of managing calls for domestic and sexual violence are dissected, painting a picture of a network of dispatchers who serve as the first glimmer of hope for many.
Our episode concludes on a note of compassion for the dispatchers themselves, who are often unsung heroes bearing the emotional toll of emergency response. We explore the industry's transformation in acknowledging and supporting the mental health of these vital workers. From wellness programs to the integration of specialist support systems, we offer insight into how 911 centers nurture the well-being of their staff. As we wrap up, you'll leave with a profound appreciation for the complex tapestry of emergency response and the unwavering dedication of the voices on the other end of the line.
April Hines adds depth to our conversation, sharing her expertise on the protocols that guide dispatchers in crisis situations. Together we uncover how emergency response systems have evolved, from the legacy of Kitty Genovese to today's advanced 911 operations. Our discourse spans the development of policies, the execution of best practices in dire situations, and the essential contribution of bystanders—all pivotal in the orchestration of a prompt, life-saving response. The intricacies of managing calls for domestic and sexual violence are dissected, painting a picture of a network of dispatchers who serve as the first glimmer of hope for many.
Our episode concludes on a note of compassion for the dispatchers themselves, who are often unsung heroes bearing the emotional toll of emergency response. We explore the industry's transformation in acknowledging and supporting the mental health of these vital workers. From wellness programs to the integration of specialist support systems, we offer insight into how 911 centers nurture the well-being of their staff. As we wrap up, you'll leave with a profound appreciation for the complex tapestry of emergency response and the unwavering dedication of the voices on the other end of the line.
The subject matter of this podcast will address difficult topics multiple forms of violence, and identity-based discrimination and harassment. We acknowledge that this content may be difficult and have listed specific content warnings in each episode description to help create a positive, safe experience for all listeners.
Speaker 2:In this country, 31 million crimes 31 million crimes are reported every year. That is one every second. Out of that, every 24 minutes there is a murder. Every five minutes there is a rape. Every two to five minutes there is a sexual assault. Every nine seconds in this country, a woman is assaulted by someone who told her that he loved her, by someone who told her it was her fault, by someone who tries to tell the rest of us it's none of our business and I am proud to stand here today with each of you to call that perpetrator a liar.
Speaker 1:Welcome to the podcast on crimes against women. I'm Maria McMullin. In the United States, our society has been conditioned to call 911 in the event of a crisis or emergency. Being in the moment of a crisis offers emergency. Being in the moment of a crisis offers little time to consider what needs to happen in order for that call to be answered, or who is answering our calls for help.
Speaker 1:Today, we reflect on the role of 911 and other first response service providers, their training and expertise and the infrastructure required for emergency services to actually work as intended.
Speaker 1:This episode will take a close look at emergency responses to crimes of gender-based violence, as well as the need for those dispatchers or telecommunicators as they are often referred to, to have a more impactful voice in the design and execution of policy protocol and best practices for the services they provide. My guest is April Hines, an accomplished professional who currently holds the position of Vice President and Chief of 911 Operations for NENA, the National Emergency Number Association. She has extensive experience and expertise in 911 operations and is NENA's subject matter expert in that area. Ms Hines' primary responsibilities include educating, advising and advocating for 911 and emergency communication center operations. On behalf of Nina, she also supports the organization's development group in establishing operational standards and best practices for 911 operations and actively participates in various industry associations and governmental organizations, working groups, committees and task forces to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of 911 systems across the globe. Furthermore, ms Hines seeks innovative solutions to enhance emergency response capabilities and is dedicated to improving the 911 profession.
Speaker 3:April, welcome to the show. Thank you for having me. I'm super excited to be here.
Speaker 1:This is a fascinating topic because we're going to talk about emergency response and the 911 system. At this moment in time, we would be hard-pressed to find anyone in the United States who does not know what 911 is. The emergency response number has been around since the 60s, but maybe not in widespread use until a few decades later. And while there's a lot between here and there, or from concept to execution, as it were, it was actually the murder of a woman, kitty Genovese, in New York City in 1964, actually the murder of a woman, kitty Genovese, in New York City in 1964, that and this is a quote from Wikipedia helped to greatly increase the urgency to create a central emergency number. It goes on to say that, related to this case, the New York Times falsely reported that nobody had called the police in response to her cries for help.
Speaker 1:Some experts theorize that one source of reluctance to call police was due to the complexity of doing so.
Speaker 1:Any calls to the police would go to a local precinct and any response might depend on which individual sergeant or other ranking personnel might handle the call.
Speaker 1:All of this is to say that at that time it became abundantly clear that something needed to be done to coordinate first responders and also eliminate bystanders, and it's ironic that we are here on the podcast on crimes against women emphasis on women here talking about a service that was more or less accelerated into existence as a result of a gender-based crime. You know, it's yet another instance where another woman had to die in order for a change to be made, and I first heard the story of Kitty Genovese's murder and the development of the 911 emergency number on the Crime Junkie podcast, and I believe it was in their Precedence series that aired either earlier this year or late 2023, and you can check that out when you get a chance if you want to know more. So, as pervasive as 911 is, many people, especially those who do not work as service providers, may not know about organizations like NENA 911. And this was certainly news to me. So let's get some information from you, april, about what NENA does and why emergency dispatch agencies are so important.
Speaker 3:So NENA is a association that is dedicated to 911, specifically 911. We have four core pillars the first is setting standards and best practices, second is education, third is advocacy and fourth is training. So it's a holistic picture for the 911 industry.
Speaker 1:Okay, that's so helpful to have that context. Let's talk about the terms or titles given to the people who answer 911 calls, such as telecommunicators, emergency call takers and dispatchers. What do these terms mean, and are there any significant distinctions among them?
Speaker 3:Not necessarily. Each of those mean pretty much the same thing. When we talk about call taker or dispatcher, those are typically specific functions within a telecommunicator public safety telecommunicator's job set. So one of the things you have to understand about 911 is that it is considered a local entity. Just like with all public safety responses, it's always a local service, so local entities may call each of the a title differently. Sometimes it's a public safety telecommunicator. That's what it's typically known as on a national level, but there are also times that it's called a dispatcher. It could be a call taker if it's specifically for a 911 center that only answers calls. Some of them answer calls, triage and then transfer the call to the appropriate dispatch points. It really depends on where you're at. You might even hear terms like emergency communications officers, emergency communications specialists. They're all the same thing. Their job descriptions are relatively the same. They may have varying different types of skills and other job duties as prescribed in various different 911 centers across the country.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's good to make those distinctions. I always think of it as a 911 dispatcher that's kind of the term that comes to mind for me when I would think about calling 911. And there are so many different types of calls that they have to handle, because it's kind of a blanket service. Right, it could cover anything. It could be a fire, it could be a medical emergency, it could be a crime, it could be something you know random that you know I can't even give an example of, but they handle all of them and, to your point, they triage them. Now there's something that did come to my attention that sometimes comes into the 911 center, so I'm going to give you three words. Okay, fake pizza order. Tell us about that.
Speaker 3:You know, I think that really just happened to be a call of somebody who is very smart in a situation that they could not speak freely and they called 911 and specifically started asking for a pizza. Well, 911 telecommunicators are trained in the art of active listening, right? So one of the things that they do is you listen to the tone of the caller, you listen to what they're saying, what they're not saying, background noise, all kinds of different things for a holistic picture of what's going on at that given time. In this situation, the caller asked for a pizza. The call taker said you do realize that you have got 911? Caller said yes, I do. Okay, and that's when the call taker started asking very pointed, easy to answer questions that were typically yes or no questions, and then they were able to get the help that person needed.
Speaker 3:So, just understanding the fact that sometimes the call taker will say are you not able to speak freely? All right. Is there somebody there holding you against your will? Yes or no? Do you know this person? Yes or no? Is this person a family member? Yes or no is a little bit slower because we can't get all of the data immediately, but it is an art of active listening, so it's all of a big picture. There may be times where somebody calls in a situation where they're whispering or you can tell they're not able to speak freely and you say, okay, freely. And you say, okay, pretend like you're placing an order. So there's a lot of different ways that call takers can handle these different types of calls, but it's their job to try and discern what is actually going on with that call, and so the dispatchers, or telecommunicators, are trained on all these different types of calls that they might receive.
Speaker 3:Yes. So when it comes to training, 911 is what we consider a skilled trade. So the initial training that 911 operators whatever you call them, call takers, dispatchers the initial training that they actually start to receive, is on the job. The vast majority of the 911 centers across the United States will do on-the-job training somewhere between four months and 18 months before a call taker or dispatcher is fully left on their own, and there's a probationary period in there as well. So the way these calls are trained initially is on the job, and then the people who are training them are communications training officers and they're training them in various different types of calls. There's additional types of training that are then provided outside of the 911 center, and we do have. I think there's 42 states have minimum training requirements for public safety telecommunicators, and those minimum training requirements oftentimes include a specific amount of training in handling domestic violence situations, in handling various different types of calls, but domestic violence situations are typically one of them, because it is a relatively prevalent type of call that a 911 center handles.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and it seems like a very in the moment job. Right, You're making split decisions and someone's life could depend on the actions of the operator.
Speaker 3:That's correct. Yeah, and one of the 911 centers across the United States use what we call emergency medical dispatching protocols. Some also use emergency police and emergency fire dispatching protocols, where it's a third-party provider that has protocols that are set up and all of the different questions that must be answered throughout that call. The remainder of the 911 centers have their own internal protocols where they're typically there's certain guidelines set up for each different type of call. Now, mind you, every call is going to have its own nuances. So there are certain things that are going to be very normalized with every call asking your name, asking your callback number, asking your location, gathering data as far as who's there, if there's an active situation going on, who's involved, weapons involved, anything like that. But then there's other nuances when it comes to different types of calls that are just going to have to go by really kind of gut instinct what is going on with that person and how do I ensure their life safety as well as responder life safety while we're getting the field responders to the scene?
Speaker 1:Yeah, and that's. I guess that's where that active listening training kicks in and really listening to all of those unique factors related to a person's call or circumstances. Many times the 911 call taker is the first responder that a person in distress comes in contact with. How does a rapport develop in such a restrictive time period that is also extremely urgent in nature and become useful to law enforcement who have to immediately show up on the scene? What are some of the challenges these dispatchers might face?
Speaker 3:So, when it comes to rapport, most people who are calling in the most desperate time of need right, that's 911. You're not typically calling 911 when you're having a good day. You're calling 911 when you're most in need. The rapport isn't as difficult to gain as much as when you have people who are really in a sense of panic, getting the caller to a degree or a point where they can actually answer your questions, hear what you're saying to them, answer your questions and try to keep them as safe as possible until the field responders can arrive. Responders can arrive. Usually that report is handled basically by just giving reasonable requests or actionable items that they can do. So it really depends on the type of call. Most of the time because we're talking more about crimes or domestic type situations here most of the time it's as simple as just saying okay, I'm going to get help on the way. I need you to stay as safe as possible. Where are you at? Let's get you where you can stay safe. Who is the perpetrator? Tell me what was happening and once you start asking the questions, they usually are very good at just giving that information. Sometimes it's not as good and there are going to be times where, no matter what you do, the caller is just not going to be really helpful, is just not going to be really helpful. And in those situations where field responders are concerned, any data that's gained from the call is then delivered to the field responders either by radio or sometimes through the mobile computer terminals that are in their cars. Any life safety or priority information goes over the radio because they're obviously not going to be able to read a computer terminal while they're en route to a call. But other, maybe not as priority pieces of information that are gained then goes into what we have. Typically they use computer-aided dispatch and that computer-aided dispatch information is then also sent on to the field responders. So all of that data that we gain we then put into that call. So it's very beneficial. It's beneficial for the field responders because they need to know those life safety pieces of information, who they're looking for.
Speaker 3:If there is, for instance, if somebody's fleeing from the scene, what do they look like? Which direction of travel did they go? What type of? What kind of? Are they? On foot or in a car? Do they have any idea where they may go?
Speaker 3:On the flip side of that, if the person is in the house. Are they threatening? Are there any weapons, threats of any weapons involved? Have they been drinking or doing any type of drugs? Because that also has an impact on the field responders and how they're going to handle things and what types of things they may need to take with them, for instance, narcan, if they have to have. You know, if somebody's using drugs, do they have to have Narcan and many other pieces of information, so that information is just as much information as possible is gathered and then trying to keep the person who is calling as calm as possible and as safe as possible. We in these situations we also even get children calling and keeping the children safe, you know, keeping the children out of the way, ensuring that the child does not get involved in the situation and having the child tell us as much information as they can.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I guess you know. You could sum it up to say context matters, right, you have to have context to understand why a person might be in the situation they're in and what type of threat you're walking into as a first responder. For instance, domestic violence calls are some of the. A gun, any type of firearm weapon present can make all the difference in what the response is going to be and what the outcome might be not only just require law enforcement.
Speaker 3:There's typically an EMS if there's any type of injuries. That's also ascertained, and then we keep EMS typically staged out of the area until such time as law enforcement has made contact and has ensured that the scene is safe, Because EMS also doesn't know what they're going into and, as you mentioned, it's one of the most dangerous types of calls that you can be involved in.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I'm really glad you brought that up because this is a coordinated response. It's all the teams working together to provide the right services in an instant or as quickly as they possibly can, right? Yes?
Speaker 3:exactly, and that's one of the things you know little known about 911. You know, one of the reasons why you might call somebody who is answering the call, a 911 dispatcher is because oftentimes 911 is not just answering the call, they're also coordinating the entire response. Call, they're also coordinating the entire response and it depends on what's going on at the scene as to who is all being sent in that response.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely, and I would have to wonder if I live in a big city that has all of these first responder services, access to these services, I should probably, you know, get a triage of everything I need if I call 911. If I live in a rural community or a really underserved area or a place that maybe nobody really wants to travel to, what does that response look like?
Speaker 3:Those responses are a lot easier than in an urban area, especially a large metropolitan area, because oftentimes police, fire and EMS are all separated in those urban areas. So the dispatch center is typically going to be answered by either a standalone entity, which is a 911 center, and then they dispatch all of them. That makes it very coordinated. Oftentimes, that's what you see in the more rural areas is that the 911 center handles everything. So the coordination is much easier than it is when it comes to the larger, more urban areas, because the coordination may have to be between separate entities. It all comes together. It's just the difficulty of the response.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that makes sense. And also in urban areas they're more densely populated, right? So there potentially could be more calls, more emergencies at any given time. That then depletes resources and you have to kind of scramble to bring in other neighboring resources to respond to calls.
Speaker 3:Yeah, exactly, and oftentimes in an urban, very densely populated area, many of these types of calls may. The length of time that it takes to get responders on the scene actually goes up sometimes versus in the rural areas, because it depends on their call volume at the time. Do they have people to respond based on their call volumes?
Speaker 1:Right, good point. So were you yourself a 911 dispatcher at one time?
Speaker 3:I was. I actually started off as a 911 dispatcher at one time I was, I actually started off as a 911 dispatcher and in the same entity I spent 24 years in a PSAP where I started off as the telecommunicator and worked my way up to director in that 911 center.
Speaker 1:And the role you're in now at NENA is responsible for developing protocol policy best practices. Is that right?
Speaker 3:Yep Standards and best practices. I do. I wear a lot of different hats. At NENA I am the operational subject matter expert, subject matter expert, which is why I come on these types of podcasts and such. I also work. The advocacy side of us works with a lot of governmental entities, especially at the federal level, to ensure that the various different policies, rules etc. That are being created at the federal level aren't going to clash with all of the local entities in the US Because, as I mentioned, 9-1-1 is a local entity. So we do a lot of different things. But it's a huge job when you think about it, when you think about it, trying to ensure that what's set at the federal level can then translate to the states and down to the local levels.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's an enormous task with just immense responsibility and accountability. So you started kind of boots on the ground as a dispatcher and that gives you the whole view of the job right and what one might encounter as you develop best practices. These days in your role, do you talk with dispatchers and people who are answering these calls to help kind of develop new protocols or practices?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so, Nina, as a standards development organization, we create consensus-based standards. So the standards and best practices that we create are created by our members. So the members are all parts of various different working groups that help to create those standards. And we are an American National Standards Institute organization, so our standards are accredited through ANSI and that ensures that consensus-based, consensus-driven standards process. So the answer to your question is yes, absolutely. The boots on the ground are the ones who are helping to create those standards and best practices.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's excellent. I mean that just establishes a standard of excellence that can be delivered, hopefully, across the country and for everyone who needs it. Let's turn back and talk about some of the more difficult calls that come into 911 and situations that people have to handle. When dealing with an individual who has been violently victimized and they're calling for help or even rescue, the response might be different from, say, a motor vehicle accident or a natural disaster, a natural disaster. So, as a public safety advocate, how do dispatchers handle the unique needs of callers who are seeking help from either domestic violence or sexual violence situation?
Speaker 3:Well, it really depends on the type of call and it's more of, as you mentioned earlier, in the moment. So it really depends on in the moment, what is happening at that very time, right? So do we need to ensure that the parties that are involved are separated so that they can stay as safe as possible until field responders can get on the scene to ensure everything gets worked out? Or is it more along the lines of providing some sort of comfort to somebody as they're getting the help to them because they have just gone through a very traumatic incident? And part of that is just ensuring you or you also mentioned this earlier ensuring that rapport, creating that rapport with the person that is calling so that they can get the most appropriate help to them as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Speaker 3:Oftentimes, what you'll find is that a lot of the folks who call 911 will sometimes want to come back and say thank you to the person who helped them through that horrible situation. Other times they look at it and they think that it's the field responders that were there, that were talking them through until they get there. So you just don't know. Sometimes people think we're the nameless, faceless folks on the other side of the phone. Other times people just assume that we are the responder that came to help them. That came to help them, but all that said it's really in the moment and helping when, as you're gathering the information and finding more information out and trying to I mean using empathy and understanding to get that person the necessary help they need at that given time.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and there's. It's grown so much. The response has grown so much over the years. The more we learn about the realities of domestic violence and what could possibly be happening and instances of rape and sexual violence, our understanding of those crimes is very different today than it might have been a few years ago or many years ago. So our responses are becoming more robust.
Speaker 1:Now let's also talk about the bystander, the person who decides whether or not they're going to make a call, because that was a critical or a pivotal moment in the development of the 911 emergency response system. And I kind of alluded to that in the beginning of this episode, talking about Kitty Genovese and her murder in 1964. And there are people who didn't call because they didn't. They heard her cries for help, but they did not make a call because they didn't know who to call, they didn't know a number to call, they didn't know what to say, they didn't even really know what they might be reporting right. So today we are a little bit more informed about what it means to be a bystander. It's a much more accepted and talked about term and yet there are still many, many instances where people see something and yet they don't say something. How can a witness to a crime or someone who's observing a crime in progress utilize an emergency response system like 911 to report that and be helpful to the victim?
Speaker 3:Just by picking up the phone and dialing 911, we have. I think today we're seeing less not wanting to be involved. Sometimes people do want to call 911 and be anonymous. Right At that point, the 911 call taker if you say you want to be anonymous, the 911 call taker is not going to pursue your name. But one of the things that they have to understand is that at least the call is made and the voice recording is typically used as evidence.
Speaker 3:The vast majority of 911 centers across the country do record every call that comes into their 911 center and most often those recordings become part of the chain of evidence for that crime. So if you call 911 and you say I want to be anonymous, I do not want to be involved in this, but this person is being hurt at minimal, your voice recording is provided and it is part of that chain of evidence. That said, most of the time people, I'll tell you, even in the 911 side of the house, they are also part of the chain of evidence. Right In a situation like this, when the call is made to 911, the call taker becomes a witness of what is going on. The recording typically is what will serve in court as the witness typically is what will serve in court as the witness. In general, 911 does not have to go to court to do any type of testimony because the recording is entered into evidence and it stands on its own. But sometimes there are some reasons why they may have to actually make it into court.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so it's been documented that they they are expert witnesses in some of these cases. Right, you know they can use the recording. I guess they could be called in to to testify as well. But that was one of the questions I was actually going to ask you was how often are these calls admissible in court as evidence?
Speaker 3:The recordings are almost always admissible in court as evidence. It's just it's rather infrequent that the person has to actually go themselves because the recording stands on its own. There may be somebody from the 911 center that has to go in and swear to that there's nothing changed in the recording or that it is truthful and whole per se. But other than that, the recording is almost always admitted as evidence.
Speaker 1:Let's talk a little bit about law enforcement and emergency response. What's that relationship like?
Speaker 3:I mentioned pillars earlier on. I'm going to actually explain that there are typically four pillars when it comes to public safety there's emergency communications, there's law enforcement, there's fire and there's EMS. Those are the four typical pillars within public safety. As we move forward and now we have 988, which is now the mental health telephone line for the United States and Canada that we may end up having to do building out those pillars, because you may end up having some response agencies that are mobile crisis teams and things like that. But for now, if you look at public safety, it's those four pillars emergency communication, police, fire, ems.
Speaker 3:It's crucial that all four of them are partners in this world, in the realm of public safety, because if they weren't, then we would end up having problems in those responses. So typically, where 911 is concerned, we work with all of them and in general, each of the public safety entities have their own protocols as to how they're going to be dispatched, what they're going to be dispatched for, how they want to be dispatched. So 911 will answer the calls, gather the data and provide that information to them as they respond in and the field responders are. We work as a team and that's typically what you will see.
Speaker 1:Yeah, this for sure takes a village I don't mean to be flip about it, but it's going to take all of us in order to handle these types of emergency calls. Types of emergency calls and I'm curious about and I wonder if you've all thought about this too and you have a plan for it I'm curious about what happens if there is a major telecom outage and there's a natural disaster, let's say, and it affects telephone service. How do people reach out for help?
Speaker 3:Typically there are different types of plans that 911 centers have, so in general, most of the outages that happen will be a carrier, a specific carrier that has an outage, or there is a 911 outage, there's something going on with, there's been a fiber cut or something has happened.
Speaker 1:And that really did happen within the past couple of years. I remember that.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's happened a couple of times in the last year. But when it comes to something like that usually if it's a 911 outage, then we have 10-digit lines that we will start sending out public announcements and things like that. Utilize these 10-digit telephone lines to contact emergency services due to this situation. If it's a whole scale, like a natural disaster where it completely wipes out communications, that is going to be very difficult. There's no really quick and easy way for us to be able to redeploy an entire you know telecom infrastructure yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah, but that said, a lot of times what will happen is you'll then have each station, so you'll have various different places where you'll station people so that if you have an emergency contact this person, go here to contact this person.
Speaker 3:Sometimes in those natural disasters, we will institute the ham radio operators, who may be in various different locations, so they will radio emergency information that they have gathered from people who have come to them. And usually what will happen is we'll do the very best we can. Emergency management will then it's not specifically a 911, but the emergency management of that local area will do the very best they can to get the information out into the community. This is what we're doing, this is how you get us, this is where you go for assistance, et cetera. So those large scale events, there's always a plan. There's always disaster plans that the emergency managers maintain. But most of the time if it's a smaller outage, like it's a specific carrier, then you're going to be advised to not use that carrier and use a different form to communicate with emergency services. But most of the time it's much smaller in nature.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and we're talking about, you know, very rare instances where there would be no telecom in a geographic area and you know there's been a terrible disaster. That's maybe a once in a lifetime event, if ever, for many of us, but it's comforting to know that you all have thought about this, because I'm thinking about it. You know, like what, if, what, if, how would I find out what I need to know or where to go or where to get help? I think it's really important that we, that each of us know the disaster plans for the community where we live or where we're traveling to, just in case something does come up Just to add on to that.
Speaker 3:I mentioned the local emergency managers, but you need to also understand that it goes much deeper than just local emergency management. There is local emergency management, there's state emergency management, there's federal emergency management. Federal emergency management is FEMA and usually if it's a large scale event like that, the state and FEMA will also be involved and they will be throwing every piece of resource they have at this. I just wanted to finish that. I only started with that local side.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that makes perfect sense. I mean, you think about, like, broad scale disasters like Katrina, hurricane Katrina that was major and it took everybody to work on that in order to get people to safety and get the city back where it needed to be. And that's just one example. Another example, which is not a natural disaster but is a major disaster, are mass shootings. Yes, tell us about the response to those types of calls.
Speaker 3:So, again, you know there's always, when it comes to public safety in general, there are plans upon plans upon plans upon plans. So when it comes to large unfortunately these mass shootings, what typically happens is they've been training and figuring out how they're going to handle these things long in advance. The calls come in to 911. There may be call surges. They're going to gather as much data as they possibly can and then what happens is they not only do the local law enforcement agencies get sent, but most of the time it's all of the surrounding law enforcement agencies end up sending additional resources in to help mitigate that situation. When it comes to 911, we gather as much information as we possibly can. Sometimes those situations are very tenuous. It could be a student who is hiding under a desk and they're whispering into a phone and you're getting as much information as you can. And oftentimes in those situations we'll start doing things like if you can't speak freely, tap on the phone, I'm going to ask you yes or no questions. Tap once for yes, tap twice for no, and then they start asking questions like that.
Speaker 3:Texting is also becoming a very big, very prominent across the United States. About 60% of the 911 centers in the US do accept text to 911 calls. That is very beneficial in these situations, but it's also beneficial in other types of situations, like our crimes, like other gender-based crimes, right, any of those crimes. The texting is very valuable. It also helps our deaf and hard of hearing community because it is equal accessibility to 911. So texting is typically an option. If you were, if you wonder if texting is available in your area, you should consult your local 911 centers website and you can always contact their business line to find out if texting is available in your area.
Speaker 1:Excellent advice. Thank you for bringing that to our attention, because I did not know that that was even an option for some parts of the country. I think it's very interesting that when situations require it, we go back to some of these more archaic, if you will, forms of communication. So the tapping reminds me of, like Morse code right, I don't even know what Morse code is, but like you know what the taps mean. But I do know you know tap yes, for, or tap once for yes, two for no, and the ham radio operators, and that's a huge movement in this country.
Speaker 1:I mean, there's still a lot of people who are on those ham radio waves and communicating that way, and so those are critical to that way, and so those are critical to times when technology may not be the first response that we can access. In these major disasters, like a mass shooting or a natural disaster, I would imagine that taking crisis calls day in and day out can be maybe a bit draining, maybe a bit traumatic for people who are dispatchers. I mean, you know what you signed on for when you sign up to be a 911 dispatcher, but that doesn't mean that it won't affect you. So how are dispatchers trained to manage the stress and demands of this job and potentially avoid vicarious trauma of the calls that they receive.
Speaker 3:Well, that is definitely. That's something newer rather than something that we've been doing for years. Back when I started 32 years ago in the industry, we really didn't do that right. We really didn't. Mental health and wellness was not something that we talked about, and there's been a movement in the last five to 10 years that has really pushed mental health and wellness 911 centers in general.
Speaker 3:Part of their on-the-job training is resiliency in the 911 center and resiliency in your position said, it's impossible for anybody to not be affected by vicarious trauma when you deal with it on a day in and day out basis.
Speaker 3:So ensuring that they get the proper training to ensure that they are taking steps to help themselves handle that vicarious trauma is very crucial. Nina, in general, we have actually a wellness program that we have created. We have a couple of standards one standard for 911 centers to ensure that they have all of the different mental health and wellness needs covered for their staffing as well, as we've created a portal for people to utilize when there's all kinds of different resources within our wellness portal for people who are taking these types of calls, from TED Talks to different types of resources that they can utilize, to checklists that help the 911 Center administration to help their own staff to check in when something really bad has happened within, whether it's with somebody on staff or within public safety, or it's even just a very serious, very traumatic incident that they had to handle together within the 911 center. So we've created a whole host of different things for the public safety communications to utilize to help them through these situations.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think that's brilliant, and creating a resiliency plan is something that I know we talk about where I work at Genesis Women's Shelter, and it's the time has come, you know, to really be able to be able to. You're going to live through traumatic incidents, no matter who you are and and what profession you're in, but this one in particular requires some, you know, resiliency training and just having your own safety plan for not taking the trauma on as your own.
Speaker 3:Yes, and, like I said, there's also oftentimes they have employee assistance programs that allow for counseling.
Speaker 3:Fact that 988 is now the three-digit code for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and Veterans Crisis Line in the United States and also now in Canada as well. They have their own prevention lifeline that, as we work through various different types of mental health and substance abuse issues, it's imperative that we ensure that this life safety of the people who are calling 911, as well as 988, are taken care of and a lot of our 911 centers are now doing. They're starting to have nurse triages within the 911 centers, have instituted crisis counselors in their centers. What you see is when they're not busy handling those calls, they're helping the 911 professionals as just talking to them, ensuring that they're checking in with them and ensuring that they're doing okay with all of the vicarious trauma that they have or they experience throughout their day. To be honest with you, emergency communications takes on a much larger amount of vicarious trauma than any of the other field responders do, because they handle just by sheer volume. They handle more calls and more situations on a daily basis than the field responders do.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that is an excellent observation and also the coordinated response to that potential vicarious trauma is brilliant, and it really shows how much we've evolved as a society, because we're not only taking care of the people in need in an emergency, we're taking care of the people who are taking care of the people right, and I think that that is just brilliant that we're able to do that in this country. So I know we're out of time, but I do want you to give us the website for NENA so people can learn more about the work you're doing.
Speaker 3:Absolutely. It's very simple. It's NENA N-E-N-A dot org. Perfect.
Speaker 1:April. Thank you for being with us today.
Speaker 3:Thank you so much for having me. It was a pleasure.
Speaker 1:Thanks so much for listening. Until next time, stay safe. Registration for the 2024 Conference on Crimes Against Women is now available. The 2024 conference will be held in Dallas, texas, at the Sheraton Dallas, may 20th through the 23rd. Visit our website at conferencecaworg to learn more and register today, and follow us on social media at national CCAW for updates about the conference, featured events, presenters and more.