Whitley County E-911 dispatcher Larry Todd Centers Jr. was one of 22 law enforcement dispatchers, who graduated Friday from the Public Safety Dispatch Academy at the Kentucky Department of Criminal Justice Training (DOCJT). Centers was one of nine people in the classes named of trainee of distinction.
The graduates hail from communications centers across the state, and comprise DOCJT’s 115th telecommunications academy class, which first began in 1999.
The five weeks of training consisted of 205 hours of academy instruction to satisfy mandated training requirements. Major training areas included identifying the role and responsibilities of the dispatcher, correct phone and radio procedures, handling emergency and non-emergency calls for service, emergency medical dispatch protocols and use of the state and national criminal databases.
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. DOCJT also provides in-service and leadership training for Kentucky public safety dispatchers and law enforcement officers.
DOCJT is a state agency located on Eastern Kentucky University’s campus. 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 also earned accredited through the International Association for Continuing Education and Training in 2013 – making it the nation’s only law enforcement training academy to achieve dual accreditation by two independent accrediting organizations.
