FRANKFORT, Ky. (May 12, 2017 )— Twelve Kentucky State Police telecommunicators from throughout the Commonwealth were recognized today at graduation ceremonies for the 10th class of the agency’s in-house Telecommunications Academy.
The Kentucky State Police Telecommunication Academy Class No. 10 graduated on May 12th, 2017. Shown left to right are: Bruce Keenon, Post 12 Frankfort; Melody Brown, Post 1 Mayfield; Kelsey Wood, Post 12 Frankfort; Katelyn Morvel, Post 3 Bowling Green; Bryan Mack, Post 1 Mayfield; Brandi Chase, Post 6 Dry Ridge; Eric Bruck, Post 8 Morehead; Mahala Lewis, Post 12 Frankfort; Rebekah Carey, Post 6 Dry Ridge;
Alisha Reed, Post 1 Mayfield; Johnathan Pendley, Post 3 Bowling Green and Whitney Engle, Post 3 Bowling Green.
“For the majority of the people across the Commonwealth of Kentucky, you are going to be their first contact with the Kentucky State Police,” Deputy Commissioner Alex Payne told the graduates. “You will provide that critical link with the caller and our people in the field that may be able to help them.”
“You will get callers in every facet of emotion and you will have to recognize what state they are in and pry useful information from them without ever having been face to face with them,” he continued. “You’ve got to do it with your voice, your tone and your content. That’s the challenging part because time is everything. The information you get from them and pass on can often mean life or death. This is when your professionalism will get a chance to shine through. We could not be what we are as an agency without you.”
Representing nine agency posts, the group began its studies on April 3, 2017 at the KSP Training Academy in Frankfort. The course provided 236 hours of instruction during a six-week period. The curriculum included subjects such as: legal liability, the telecommunicator’s role in public safety, interpersonal communications, customer service, interaction with the news media, stress, ethics and confidentiality, responder safety, basic fire dispatch, state emergency operations plans, criminal justice information systems, cardio pulmonary resuscitation, first aid training, emergency medical dispatch and special needs callers.
The final week of the academy included training on computer-aided dispatch and other databases. To complete the course, the telecommunicators were required to successfully process scripted calls for service and demonstrate proficiency in obtaining pertinent information, dispatching responders, providing emergency medical dispatch if needed and correctly documenting information from the call for service. This training is completed using a computer simulation system to mimic their working environment in the radio room.
The graduates of the 10th KSP Telecommunications Academy included:
Alisha Reed, Post 1 Mayfield
Bryan Mack, Post 1 Mayfield
Melody Brown, Post 1 Mayfield
Johnathan Pendley, Post 3 Bowling Green
Katelyn Morvel, Post 3 Bowling Green
Whitney Engle, Post 3 Bowling Green
Brandi Chase, Post 6 Dry Ridge
Rebekah Carey, Post 6 Dry Ridge
Eric Bruck, Post 8 Morehead
Kelsey Wood, Post 12 Frankfort
Bruce Keenon, Post 12 Frankfort
Mahala Lewis, Post 12 Frankfort
Eric Bruck of KSP Post 8 in Morehead was the class valedictorian with an overall grade point average of 99.3 percent.
According to Jason Long, law enforcement training instructor at the Kentucky State Police Academy, working in today’s emergency services communications center requires a number of qualities and characteristics that are absolutely imperative including:
His advice to those who may be considering the field as a career? “You need to think hard about whether you are willing to make the sacrifices you have to make. You have to spend time away from your family. You have to work weekends and holidays. With all the continuing training required, there is a big investment of time and you need to be sure you can make the commitment.”
“To be honest, it’s not a job for everyone,” he says. “It is stressful and challenging and some people simply can’t deal with the types of calls and deadly incidents that we have to handle.”
To watch a short video about KSP Telecommunicators, click on the following link:
