April 10th-16th is National Public Safety Telecommunications Week

Sunday, April 10th through Saturday, April 16th are the dates for National Public Safety Telecommunications Week.  This is when the people who work behind the scenes and answer our community’s 911 calls for service are recognized.  At the Platteville Police Department six Dispatchers or Telecommunicators are employed to answer emergency and non-emergency calls for service.  They are responsible for collecting all of the pertinent information and relaying it to the appropriate emergency service.  Frequently they must gather this information from callers who are in the midst of a crisis so they have to remain calm while multitasking and getting the emergency responders to the scene as quickly as possible.

At the Platteville Police Department our Telecommunicators are responsible for dispatching for the Platteville Police Officers, the Platteville Fire Department, the Southwest Health EMS and the University of Wisconsin-Platteville Police Department.  Our Telecommunicators also serve as the main point of contact for the City of Platteville from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. and on weekends.  They set off the storm sirens when needed and send out text alerts to the public and emergency responders via the Nixle system.

The Telecommunicators at the Platteville Police Department are Janet Sanders, Traci Winkler, Amy Dillman, Laura Brown, Melissa Kress, and Kayla Braley.  Collectively they have many years of experience working here and they all take great pride in helping deliver prompt and courteous service to the Platteville community.