Don’t blame the 911 operators for a crumbling system

The headline on Andrew Blankstein’s article on July 3, ” LAPD’s 911 operators stage a sickout,” has a glaring omission: The sickout was not the idea of dispatchers who work for the Communications Division. I know because I am one.

While some of those employees participated, this sickout was staged and directed by the Coalition of LA City Unions. It focused on a wide range of city workers in danger of being furloughed or laid off, not just dispatchers. It is unfair for Blankstein to lay the blame on our shoulders alone. Is it because it was reported that three dozen employees weren’t at work? In fact, it was closer to two dozen, on one watch only. Our other watches were fully staffed, or as fully staffed as they can be given our numbers for deployment.

Who filled the seats left vacant by absent dispatchers? Was it administrators, as claimed by LAPD Assistant Chief Sandy Jo MacArthur? No. It was other dispatchers from the previous watch, held over to work another eight hours on top of what they had just finished. Does that say we are not concerned about public safety, as MacArthur implied? Our job here is public safety, and we take it very seriously.

Let’s discuss the numbers regarding our staffing. Blankstein reported that we have 40 to 45 operators per shift between our two centers. That number is exaggerated. Take the center in the San Fernando Valley: On a good day, we have close to 32 people on what is considered the busiest shift (PM watch, 2 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.). On our AM watch (10 p.m. to 6:30 a.m.), those numbers can drop considerably. Now, out of those 32 people, at least 15 staff our radio positions, including three to four people to relieve them for breaks. We now have about 13 people left for the phones. Take six to answer the non-emergency line and that leaves seven people to answer 911 calls. Factor in their breaks and you’re left with about five people answering 911 calls on an average night. (The numbers for the Metro center do not differ greatly.) This, remember, is without furloughs. Now, with furloughs, we could be looking at at least eight people less to staff our shifts. This could (and has!) left about three people to answer the public’s 911 calls. And we, the dispatchers, are accused of not being concerned about public safety?

The article failed to mention that the civilians who answer 911 calls are not classified as emergency personnel or even public safety as the police officers and Fire Department employees are. The public would be outraged if our city’s defenders and rescuers were furloughed twice a month, which would result in less cops on the street and longer waits for paramedics and fire engines. Yet where is the outrage at the fact that we who first answer those calls for help will be sent home two days a month, forcing those who dial 911 to wait longer for someone to pick up the phone? This is the big picture.

One day — one day on one watch — drew Blankstein’s attention because people purposely calling in sick were blamed for an alleged shortage of dispatchers. MacArthur stated that the effect of the sickout was minimal, and that’s only because we had other dispatchers to fill the gaps — a backup plan that will no longer be available once we are furloughed.

Paul Weber, the president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League, mentioned that officers would be pulled off the streets to fill civilian positions. This cannot apply to dispatchers. Just as officers go through an extensive and intensive training period, so do the dispatchers. It’s a six-month hiring process followed by a two-year qualification/probation period during which the prospective employee could wash out at any time. Not to sound elitist, but there is simply no one to pull in from anywhere, at any time, to fill the seats that will be emptied once these furloughs take effect. So what do we, as dispatchers and public servants, do?

In the end, while perhaps controversial, this sickout has finally brought to light the challenges the city’s dispatchers face and how they will effect the public. We have been quiet for a long time. We are always heard but never seen. I write this in the hope that the public will ignore the negative light this article has thrust us into, and instead see that we are grateful employees and dedicated to the city of Los Angeles, her officers and her citizens.

Luisa Goodwin has been an LAPD dispatcher for 8 1/2 years.