April 9-15 was National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week. There are nine full-time and three part-time dispatchers working for the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.

Michelle Kingrey, is the communications coordinator at the Sheriff’s Office. She tells KNIA/KRLS News the skills a good dispatcher needs. “A good dispatcher needs to be someone who is confident in their abilities. A lot of times a dispatcher is a type A personality where they are able to be in control of a phone call while getting the pertinent information that they need to dispatch out to their responders.”

Kingrey felt one of the most important parts of the job is to keep the officers and deputies safe as well as the community.

The dispatchers go through thorough training. They spend up to 40 hours at the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy, two days training at the Department of Public Safety and up to six to 12 weeks training with another dispatcher.