The Saint John Police Force headquarters. (Staff photo)
Sunday marked the beginning of National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, and the city is taking the opportunity to recognize its communications centre staff.
Deputy Police Chief Tony Hayes says the centre’s 19 full-time employees do incredible work and answer an average of 192,000 calls per year, including 42,000 calls to the 911 centre.
The city’s Public Safety Communications Centre has 19 full-time employees who staff the space 24 hours a day.
Hayes says over the years, the way they receive reports has changed quite a bit.
“If you walked in there it looks like something out of Star Trek the way it’s all set up with all the different boards and the information coming in, all the different screens,” he said. “There’s a whole lot of information coming in there, and they’re very good at what they do and very knowledgeable.”
The deputy chief said it’s important to recognize their staff during National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week as they have a challenging job and don’t get enough credit.
“They are the first pleasant and calm voice that’s heard by somebody perhaps going through a difficult situation, that holds a lot of responsibility,” said Hayes.
