The Stafford County Sheriff’s Office gave me a tour of its facilities and a view of how each division creates one functioning department.
Captain Ray Davis gave this tour. He was very kind in explaining the job from the ground up to the higher levels of admin.
When you hear law enforcement, you might first think about the deputy in the police car working the street. However, dispatchers, which serve as law enforcement’s front line, can become so stressed that they are given access to a quiet room during their shifts. A lot of coordination between dispatchers and law enforcement officers goes into making sure people can get the help they need.
Some of the rooms were not accessible for this tour. However, each office within the building held teams of people separated by division. Each floor corresponded with different levels.
Deputies were stationed on the bottom floor, where they could quickly go out and respond, while the administration offices sat on the top floor. The Stafford County Sheriff’s Office has existed since at least 1634. However, one thing that is always changing around them is the community and the different types of personalities that they all have to interact with.
First responders have to stay flexible, but there are many easy ways to make their job easier, said Davis.
In order to be helpful to your 911 dispatcher or anyone who is coming to help you in case of an emergency, make sure to gather information such as location, type of emergency, and the total number of people involved, said Davis. Helping dispatchers and deputies in times of emergency or crisis speeds up the process.
Toward the end of the facility tour, Davis mentioned a website where important information for first responders could be stored. Visit smart911.com and see if adding information will help in a crisis.
The Stafford County Sheriff’s Office is hiring 911 dispatchers called communications officers. The office produced a video to show the job, which has a $46,755 annual starting pay.
