A Corbin Police Department dispatcher and a Whitley County 911 dispatcher were among the 26 dispatchers from across the state, who recently graduated from the Public Safety Dispatch Academy and are now ready to begin answering the call to aid both citizens and law enforcement officers of the commonwealth.
“You have answered a noble call, one that is of vital importance to keeping Kentuckians safe,” Gov. Andy Beshear said. “You are a lifeline to Kentuckians in some of their darkest, scariest, toughest times, and for that, you are heroes.”
Corbin Police Department’s Emily M. Strozyk and Whitley County 911’s Matthew A. Tye were among the graduates.
Dispatch basic training is mandatory for any sworn or civilian employee who will dispatch law enforcement officers by radio at a Criminal Justice Information Systems agency. Graduates of the academy have successfully completed a highly structured and comprehensive curriculum to satisfy mandated training requirements.
Over four weeks, the graduates of Class 162 received 164 hours of academy instruction to satisfy these requirements. Major training areas included identifying the role and responsibilities of the dispatcher, correct phone and radio procedures, handling emergency and nonemergency calls for service, using emergency medical dispatch protocols and using the state and national criminal databases.
“You have put yourself through intense training these past weeks in the name of keeping your communities safe, and for that, you have the admiration of myself and all of Team Kentucky,” Kentucky Department of Criminal Justice Training (DOCJT) Commissioner Mike Bosse said. “These four weeks have laid a solid foundation for a rewarding career, and I wish you the best of luck in the years to come.”
DOCJT is a state agency located on the campus of Eastern Kentucky University. The agency is the first in the nation to be accredited under the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies’ public safety training program designation.
DOCJT provides basic training for city and county police officers, sheriffs’ deputies, university police and airport police throughout the state, only excluding Louisville Metro Police Department, Lexington Police Department, Bowling Green Police Department, Owensboro Police Department and the Kentucky State Police, which each have independent academies.
