25 Year Retirement for Public Safety Dispatchers
Why we need a 25 year retirement
When a Citizen dials 9-1-1, Dispatchers are the “First Responders” in Public Safety.
“Dispatchers truly act as ‘lifelines’ to fellow workers and citizens”1. This fact causes a higher amount of stress than many other jobs.
High turnover rates cost a great deal of time and money to train new people
The higher turnover rate causes additional stress on people tasked with training new employees.
Dispatchers are the only Public Safety professionals in New York State that do NOT have a 20 or 25 year retirement.
Most people starting out in this career are in their late 20’s or early 30’s and cannot retire until they reach 62 years of age.
That means that a person calling 9-1-1 could be speaking to someone that has been working at the same, high stress job, for 30 or 40 years.
“While many occupational settings are stressful, dispatchers experience specific stressors unique to their position.” 1
Next Generation 911
What’s Next?
New and emerging technologies have put a strain on 911 resources. If we do not plan and upgrade our equipment to meet the need, the desire for 911 Centers to accept video, text messaging and countless IP based communications devices will inevitably undermine the effectiveness of the emergency response.
We have made great strides in the expedited deployment of location technology for wireless devices, but the fact remains new and emerging technologies are outpacing our ability to plan and budget for future upgrades.
The New York State 911 Coordinators Association has developed a proposal in conjunction with The National Emergency Number Association (NENA) to collect and distribute a Universal Communications Surcharge (UCS) on any device that has access to 911 services.
TERT Initiative
Telecommunicator Emergency Response Task Force
In the wake of the Hurricane Katrina response it became evident that a coordinated effort to develop a nationally recognized certification program for telecommunicator mutual aid in response to disasters was needed.
The initiative would provide information as to operational deployment of (TERT) programs and take a leadership role in assisting governmental agencies in the development of TERT style programs at the regional, state and local levels.
The New York State 911 Coordinators Association has tasked itself with assessing each Counties capability and is compiling this information in anticipation of State wide acceptance.