Is Tulare County Transparent? The Magic 8 Ball Might Say “Reply Hazy, try again”
August 18, 2026
commentary, News Board of Supervisors, fleet purchase, government transparency, sheriff patrol vehicles, TCSO, transparency, Tulare County, tulare county sheriff Leave a comment
Sheriff Boudreaux with the TCSO 9-1-1 Dispatch crew
November 14, 2016
9-1-1, commentary, Personal, Pictures 9-1-1, dispatch, TCSO, tulare county sheriff, tulare sheriff dispatch Leave a comment
Hey, that’s us! That’s me, up there in the back row on the left, in glasses. On Monday, Nov. 7, 2016, we had an “all hands on deck” staff meeting. Dispatch, along with Records, IT, and the Business office staff were on hand for a yearly confab with Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux. We spent an informative hour with the Sheriff, as he brought us up to speed on the many projects in the works at the department. He also took some questions, and we didn’t hold back. It was a good meeting, with everyone looking forward to the future and the plans for the next few years.
These are the folks that handle 9-1-1 and non-emergency calls into our dispatch center. We handle calls for the Sheriff’s Office, Farmersville, Exeter, Woodlake, and Lindsay Police Departments. From missing children to shootings, this is the group that takes it all in stride, and gets help going.
It’s a great group of people, and I’ve enjoyed the 22 years I’ve been there. I’m going to be there for a while yet, and I don’t know of any other place I’d rather work. Well, like I’ve said before, NASA, but they don’t seem the least bit interested. Alas.
Image: Tulare County Sheriff’s Office, Facebook
July 5, 1994 – I start telling cops where to go, and sometimes how to get there
July 5, 2015
9-1-1, commentary, Personal 9-1-1, 9-1-1 stories, anniversary, Jim Reeves, kc6yru, tcsd, TCSO, tulare county sheriff's office Leave a comment
A few years into my career with the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office.
July 5, 1994 That was the first day I walked into the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office building as an employee. Twenty one years ago today, I thought “this will be a breeze!”. Little did I know…
July 5, 1994 – Communications Operator I
July 5, 2014
9-1-1, commentary, Personal 9-1-1, 911, dispatch, Jim Reeves, TCSO, tulare county sheriff, twenty years a dispatcher 1 Comment
I walked into the building at 7am, July 5, 1994, for the first time as an employee. Communications Operator I. Three months of training lay ahead, and a year’s worth of probation. The place was the Tulare County Sheriff’s Department, the room was in the basement, in a space originally designed to be a gymnasium / weight lifting room. As of today, I’ve put in 20 years in that cramped space.
Want to piss off a dispatcher? Act like you’re the only unit on the radio!
July 5, 2013
9-1-1, commentary 9-1-1, dispatch, dispatcher stories, law enforcement, police radio traffic, radio procedures, TCSO, tulare county sheriff 3 Comments
We have procedures officers in the field are supposed to follow on the radio. They are designed to allow the quickest, most efficient transfer of information possible. It really gums up the works, and creates needless stress, when radio traffic is not conducted according to those procedures.
Last night, the 4th of July, was one of those nights that will have me cursing the name of a particular unit for a long time. Those in the know will probably figure out who I mean just from their own knowledge of the departments and personel involved, but I’m not going to name names (or unit numbers!) (even though my “about” blurb says the guilty will be hung out to dry! It is my job, so I have to be minimally diplomatic in this rant. I may still hear about it from upper echelons). I’m going to hope it’s simply a training issue, and not a case of “I’m the most important thing on this radio channel, and you better be able to handle what ever I do regardless of how many other things are going on!”.
How can any unit in the field not realize that there are 20-25 units on the same radio channel, it’s a national holiday, it’s hot as hell, and their dispatch center is a small room in the basement of the jail building? Are you not listening? You just key up and start talking? Really?
A Quiet Moment
May 16, 2013
9-1-1, Personal, Pictures 911 dispatcher, Jim Reeves, jimmiejoe, kc6yru, TCSO, visalia Leave a comment
2 am, 5/16/2013
At work 2/17/12
February 17, 2012
9-1-1, Personal 911, TCSO, tulare county sheriff 2 Comments
Working channel two tonight. You can listen on smart phone apps like 5-0 Radio, online at radioreference.com (California, Tulare County Sheriff, ch 2), or locally on your scanner at 453.650 MHz.
I can hear you now!
June 29, 2011
9-1-1, commentary, Personal dispatcher stories, TCSO, vacation 1 Comment
I’m back at work after an almost European vacation of 5 weeks. It’s all coming back to me.
Tulare Co. Sheriff’s Office gets new drones
September 12, 2026
Jim Reeves 9-1-1, commentary, News, Personal Brinc, drone, Lemur 2, Motorola, Responder drone, TCSO, tulare county sheriff's office, UAS, visalia Leave a comment
At the June 23, 2026, Tulare County Board of Supervisor’s meeting, the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office was authorized to implement plans to operate a “Drone As First Responder” program. Purchased through Motorola, the system will, in the Sheriff’s Office words, “enhance operational efficiency, officer safety, emergency response capabilities, and public safety operations through implementation of a Drone as First Responder (DFR) program utilizing the Motorola Solutions BRINC drone platform.”
The Supervisors, in a consent calendar item not pulled (no public presentation or discussion), approved the proposal. There is no cost for the first year of the program. If, after a year-long “test program”, the County wishes to continue, the cost is just under $560,000 a year, for four more years. The Sheriff’s Office plans to use AB 109 Public Safety Realignment grant funding to pay for the cost of this program.
The Sheriff’s Office has used drones for several years, but these models are a technological leap in capabilities. Previously, a Deputy would have to respond to a scene and deploy a drone from their patrol vehicle. With this system, the drones can be deployed from fixed as well as mobile locations.
MoreShare this:
Like this: