KSP Commissioner Rodney Brewer spoke with the graduates, telling them the role of a telecommunicator is one of the most pivotal roles they have.
"You are the voice of agency when the public calls in and desperately needs help and that voice will set the stage for whether the situation turns out well or not," Brewer continued, "The best telecommunicators that I have ever worked with in my life are multi-taskers that can take tidbits of intelligence, process it quickly and pass it on for a positive resolve in the end."
Brewer made it clear when saying the ability to process information quickly is extremely important to the trooper or officer on the other end of the radio.
"What you do in that dispatch room truly saves lives every day and sometimes it is our life that you save."
The group, which represents five agency posts, began studies on January 6 of 2020 at the KSP Training Academy in Frankfort. The course provides 196 hours of training during a five-week period.
The training includes numerous subjects such as: legal liability, limits of telecommunicator authority, the telecommunicator's role in public safety, interpersonal communications, customer service, interaction with news media, stress, ethics and confidentiality, responder safety, basic fire dispatch, state emergency operations plans, criminal justice information systems, cardio pulmonary resuscitation, first aid training, emergency medical dispatch, and special needs callers.
In order to complete the training, telecommunicators were required to process scripted calls for service, and demonstrate proficiency in gathering pertinent information, dispatching responders, providing emergency medical dispatch if needed and correctly documenting information from the call for service.
The graduates of the telecommunications academy included:
• Chad Spain, Post 1 Mayfield
• Margaret Mollak, Post 5 Campbellsburg
• Kaitlyn Vancleve, Post 6 Dry Ridge
• Dakota Durham, Post 7 Richmond
• Kelli Ann Tackett, Post 7 Richmond
• Joseph Aubley, Post 12 Frankfort
Tackett was the class valedictorian with an overall grade point average of 98.7 percent.
Law Enforcement Training Instructor, Jason Long, gave some advice to those who may be considering the field as a career.
"You need to think hard about whether you are willing to make the sacrifices you have to make. You have to spend time away from your family. You have to work weekends and holidays." Long continued, "With all the continuing training required, there is a big investment of time and you need to be sure you can make the commitment."
"To be honest, it's not a job for everyone," he says. "It is stressful and challenging and some people simply can't deal with the types of calls and deadly incidents that we have to handle."
