Vantage Point

It takes each person in a communications center to make the job work. Each perspective helps, every second matters, and all calls are important. This is just another day in the lives of our dispatchers.

The scene is set.

Here, in Cincinnati, Ohio, there has been an abduction. It is chaos. There are pieces of information coming in from all parts of the county; interstate signs are up, phones across Ohio are buzzing with an “Amber Alert.” Police officers are scrambling, neighborhood watch is on alert, family is frantic, search parties begin forming; all to find this child. As the clock winds down, the movie takes shape focusing on the vantage point of each dispatcher, all filling their role to complete the puzzle and save a life.

It all starts with the call.

Frantically, the parents call 9-1-1; their child is missing. The neighborhood kids were playing hide and go seek. The parents, on this busy summer day, were inside taking care of the baby and fixing lunch for the older kids. The children are called in to eat; minutes go by, worry increasing – 5, 10, 15, 30 minutes. Their oldest child, only 5, hasn’t come home.

The call taker.

In Hamilton County, there is always someone to answer the call; today, was no exception. Her voice is calm, steady, as if she’s heard this a million times, but we all know she hasn’t. She gathers information, comforting the mother the entire time. Name, age, race, height, weight, clothing, direction of travel, means, suspicious activity in the area, time frame- seconds count, and she meets the requirement. The mother is scared, but something about the dispatcher’s tone convinced her it would all be okay.

The radio dispatcher.

Traffic stops, trouble runs, fires, disabled vehicles, escorts, a normal Tuesday. Then he sees it on his board, MISSING CHILD. The run hits home, he has children of his own. He dispatches it quickly to officers, relaying all the information. Though he is panicking on the inside, the officers will never know. Two units are responding, and he updates them along the way. New information comes in, the worst has happened, a witness has come forward and his signal changes, ABDUCTION.

The call taker.

A neighbor was enjoying watching the birds in front of her house as she does most afternoons. Though today, she would observe something else. She became a witness. She calls 9-1-1 and describes what she saw. The call taker is interested, compassionate, and understanding. She asks all the right questions and determines this is related to the missing child call. She quickly appends and updates the call.

The supervisor.

Overseeing the calls and dispatches, the supervisor is always there to help. He notices in the original call that the father had given his son his phone to help track the time while playing hide and seek. He asked for permission to begin a phone ping. Permission granted. Calls were made and the ping locations started arriving. The details are updated quickly, and more officers join the effort to check ping locations.

The call taker.

The Amber Alert has reached citizens near and far. More witnesses have come forward. The dispatchers begin solving the puzzle. They take bits and pieces from each call, they check CAD history, they run phone numbers, they relay information to all mutual aid, so nothing is missed. The last call comes in, the suspect vehicle is spotted on the highway. The caller knows exactly what to do. She notifies the radio operator and keeps the caller on the line, updating the detail expediently because a life depends on it.

The radio dispatcher.

An all-county broadcast goes over the radios. Units from across the county make their way to the highway to save this child. The vehicle is stopped. The channel is held while commands are given. The suspect is taken into custody and the child IS SAFE. The sergeant returns the child to his home, and his parents could not be more grateful.