As National Telecommunicators Week continues, today we take a look at how things work in the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office communications center.

Director Terry McClannahan has been with the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office since 2008 and started his current position in June of last year.  He says their department currently has 13 dispatchers that handle between 250 and 300 calls per day, though there are plans to add one part time and one full time position in the next fiscal year, starting in July.

He says dispatching is a unique job that requires a special type of person, stating that the process of hiring someone is one thing, then they have to go through at least six months of training.

McClannahan says no two days are alike and the dispatchers never know who, or what, is on the other end of the line when they pick up the phone.

“We get what you call ‘butt dials’ all the time, and in our business, that could be somebody needing help that just can’t talk.  So we stay on those lines as long as possible and go the extra mile to send responders, and sometimes it can save a life.”

As for when to call 9-1-1, McClannahan says “If it’s an emergency to you, it’s an emergency to us but we don’t know that until we talk to you.”  He says they have a lot of lines and while they are busy, this is what they’re hired to do.

McClannahan says the dispatchers he works with are his “heroes every day.” Adding that they “really do an exemplary job here for Dallas County with the limited resources that they have.”

As we’ve mentioned, voters in Dallas County will have the opportunity to vote on a referendum to build a new facility for the Sheriff’s Office this August.  McClannahan says they really need a new facility and he hopes residents will support the necessary expansion.