Efforts are under way nationally to get communications officers, aka dispatchers, proper recognition for what they do.
Rep. Norma J. Torres' House Resolution 1629, called the 911 Supporting Accurate Views of Emergency Services (SAVES) Act, seeks to reclassify communications officers nationally from a non-protective service occupation to a protective one in the Standard Occupational Classification system, giving dispatchers recognition as first responders.
The California Democrat's inspiration for the bill came from her past serving as a dispatcher for 17 years at the Los Angeles Police Department.
"As a former dispatcher, I know first-hand the challenges our public safety dispatchers face, the stress they are under, and the importance of their work," Torres said in a statement. "You'd be hard-pressed to find administrative staff who are required to undergo the amount of training and evaluation that's required of public safety telecommunicators."