Yep. From a top floor balcony. Right over the edge.
No, I’m not depressed, or suicidal.
I’ll be joining up to 91 other “jumpers” as we rappel down the (other) side of one of the tallest buildings in Visalia. And it’s all for a good cause.
We’ll be participating in “Visalia Over the Edge“, a fundraising campaign for The Source LGBT+ Center. The Source is Tulare and Kings Counties LGBT+ community and resource center, currently operating out of a small office space in downtown Visalia. (208 W. Main, Suite B, Visalia. Downstairs in the Montgomery Square.) We’ve outgrown our center, and need to raise money for expansion to a larger facility. This event will kick off our fund-raising efforts to acquire a building large enough to serve our communities.
I had to think about this for a while before committing to taking part, as I’m a bit unsettled by heights. (oddly, not while in a helicopter or plane. Mostly when looking down the side of a tall building. That glass observation thing, the Sky Deck, on the Sears Tower? You’d never get me to step into that.) I’ve decided I’m going to do it, regardless. I’ll convince myself by saying it’s a “bucket list” experience, and off we’ll go. Over the side. Nine floors. That’s not all that high, right?
I’ve set a goal of $2,500 to be raised, essentially by begging. 😉 The minimum to “jump” is $1,000 but I wanted to go a bit bigger. So…
This is me begging you for some money! Yep, hat in hand, asking “buddy, can you spare a dime? Or $20? Or $100?” Here’s the link to my fund-raising page, please go there and give The Source LGBT+ Center some money. I’ll be ever so grateful.
On November 10th, 2018, come join us at the Marriott, and watch as they toss this dispatcher Over the Edge!
Just don’t call 9-1-1, even if I’m screaming, please.
JimmieJoe 
Where I chat with Los Angeles Police Department Communications on Twitter
September 2, 2018
Jim Reeves 9-1-1, commentary, Personal 911, dispatch training, LAPD, LAPDCD, Los Angeles Police Department Communications, police dispatch Leave a comment
So today on my Twitter feed, @KC6YRU, this popped up from the Communications Division of the Los Angeles Police Department. In case the font is a bit difficult to read, here’s a recap:
“Poll: On average, how long does it take to fully train a new Police Service Representative (Public Safety Dispatcher) at
#LAPD?”Choices are 12 weeks, 24 weeks, or 46 weeks. Most respondents got the correct response, 46 weeks.
The next Tweet is what caught my eye.
“Great job and thanks for answering our poll. It takes nearly a full year to train a new PSR (46 weeks average). The training is two phases: Dispatcher (RTO) then Call-taker (EBO). The training consists of classroom, simulations and hands-on.
#Iam911”It was interesting to me that LAPD trains on radio first, then on phones. That’s the reverse at what we do at our agency. I Tweeted at LAPDCD:
“You train radio first? That’s interesting. We do phones and CLETS first, radio after.”
They replied moments later (somebody’s working on a weekend):
“We do. The PSR position must be able to perform both functions; radio and phones. Historically, radio has been the more difficult of the two, so we train on that first.”
That’s true for us, as well. The radio will kick your ass. It did mine, and I already knew the area, radio codes, and was an experienced ham radio operator, so I did not experience “mic fright” (a very real thing for new dispatchers). It’s even more difficult for folks who have to learn all of that stuff from scratch.
Our training program has evolved since I was a newbie (24 years ago), from three months of combined radio/phones to a much longer process. Now, we train on phones and paperwork first (there’s a ton of “paperwork” these days, even if most of it is on the computer), then radio. As I was thinking about it, it seemed to me that by doing it this way, we build up the confidence of the trainee that they really can handle whatever gets thrown at them. By the time they get to radio training, they’ve handled a ton of 9-1-1 calls, not to mention the endless routine phone traffic.
LAPD has one of the largest communications divisions in the country, so they know what they’re doing. I wonder what their wash-out rate is, and how long they keep new hires?
My interest in law enforcement dispatching undoubtedly stems from endless reruns of Adam-12 in the late ’60’s and early ’70’s.
“Adam-12, see the man, a 415 in progress. Adam-12, handle code-2”
And of course the opening credits:
“Adam-12, a 211 in progress. Adam-12, handle code-3”
(they never did say where the 211 was located, but the good ole’ Adam-12 car was shown rolling code-3… somewhere.)
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