Introduction

2017 National Telecommunicators Week

2017 National Telecommunicators Week

Chief Ed Book watches as dispatchers sign the code of ethics during the Santa Fe College Police Department Awards and Promotional Ceremony on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2017 in Gainesville, Fla. (Photo by Matt Stamey/Santa Fe College)
Chief Ed Book watches as dispatchers sign the code of ethics during the Santa Fe College Police Department Awards and Promotional Ceremony on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2017 in Gainesville, Fla. (Photo by Matt Stamey/Santa Fe College)

April 10, 2017

National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week occurs every year during the second week of April.  This year the date is April 9-15. It is well-established now as a time to recognize and thank telecommunications personnel in the public safety communications field.  This year we will take time out to honor our “behind-the-scenes heroes.”  The Santa Fe College Police Department has five full-time Telecommunications Officers that work 24/7, 365 days a year.  We also have 15 police officers, including Chief Book and Captain Woods who dispatch when needed.  Our men and women answer calls for help, gathering essential information and dispatching the appropriate assistance.  They can often make the difference between life and death for persons in need.  They also assist students and staff on all the college campuses with a variety of things including lost and found, issuance of keys, parking decals and accident/incident reports.

Public safety telecommunicators are more than a calm and reassuring voice at the other end of the phone. They are knowledgeable and highly trained individuals who work closely with other police, fire, and medical personnel as well as others in the college community.  If you have time please take a moment out of your day to stop by the Police Department during the week of April 9-15, 2017, and say thank you to Deloris Jernigan, Kate Flippen, Betty Weir, Ben Fox and Loni Spearmon-Griggs.  They are located in the front lobby of the Police Department on main campus, Building T.