Eugene Police Department has joined Oregon Governor Kate Brown and the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials in recognizing and congratulating all of our dedicated professionals who serve our agency and community through their efforts at our Central Lane 911 Center. These initial first responders are the ones who take first-line action to preserve the peace of mind safety and lives of officers and community members.
Last year, Central Lane Communications Center received 301,379 incoming telephone calls. Of those, 121,321 or 40 percent were 9-1-1 emergency calls.
They are:
- The calm voice in the middle of the night when someone is scared and whispering that they hear footsteps in their house
- Able to understand the broken snippets of radio traffic to initially determine how field units should respond
- Discerning, so that that even though a caller says everything is okay, it indeed might just be the opposite, then send officers to check
- An encouraging voice when the caller’s baby is not breathing
- A confident, firm voice that helps a panicked family member effectively perform CPR on a loved one.
These are the first, first responders on any call from the public and they ensure that all of our police officers, community service officers, animal welfare officers, firefighters, and medics get home safely each day.
Not only do our staff work long, hard hours fielding calls, their work has given them skills that have come in handy off duty. One example: On her way home from work after a 15-hour shift, a Central Lane Communications Center Telecommunicator stopped at the scene of a traffic accident that had just occurred. She was able to use training she received during her years of service to render aid to the patient, provide directions to others on scene, and relay information to dispatch until other emergency responders arrived at the scene.
They fulfill many roles: telecommunicators, dispatcher, call taker, 911 operator, tactical dispatcher, emergency medical dispatchers, and more.