SACRAMENTO – It is not often that people get to see the work that a California Highway Patrol (CHP) dispatcher does, day in and day out.  Anyone who has ever called a CHP dispatch center has heard it, but most never see it.

“CHP dispatchers are unique individuals who can essentially bottle and cap their nerves, adrenaline and excitement and calmly address emergencies at hand,” said Tina Brazil, president of the CHP-Public Safety Dispatchers Association (CHP-PSDA).  “They are first responders to emergency calls for help, they are able to get a full picture of something they can’t even see, and dispatch the necessary response.”

CHP dispatchers work up to 12-hour shifts, nights, weekends, and holidays.  There are hundreds of amazing men and women who walk into a CHP Communications Center and don a headset each day (or night) and the California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA) would like to introduce you to some of them in this video – “CHP Public Safety Dispatchers and Operators – You hear their voices, now see their faces.”

“We are extremely proud of our public safety professionals at CHP.  We know their jobs are stressful ones,” said CSLEA President Alan Barcelona.   “To watch them work, to hear their stories, you have to imagine they are absolutely exhausted at the end of their shifts.  These first responders may not see the actual emergency, but they hear it, feel it, and are still able to keep a cool head, get help on the way, and advise the caller on what steps may need to be taken."