A total of 22 law enforcement dispatchers graduated Thursday, March 25, from the Public Safety Dispatch Academy at the Kentucky Department of Criminal Justice Training (DOCJT), including Whitley County E-911 Center dispatcher Rachel A. Durham.
The graduates hail from communications centers across the state, and comprise DOCJT’s 131st telecommunications academy class, which first began in 1999.
The students graduating from the Public Safety Dispatch Academy represent the successful completion of a highly structured and comprehensive curriculum. The four weeks of training consisted of 164 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.
Additionally, Danielle M. Oeffler, of Campbell County Dispatch, and Katherine V. Sofield, of the Bowling Green Police Department, tied for the academic achievement award. 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 accreditation through the International Association for Continuing Education and Training in 2013.
