PULSE Magazine | August 2018 Issue

By Rachel Bozek, aetv.com/real-crime

How 911 Operators Handle the Emotional Toll of Listening to Violent Crimes in Progress It’s a given that 911 call centers around the country are at the ready for reports about car accidents or medical issues like heart attacks. But what happens when their operators get a call about a violent crime in progress? JC Ferguson, Commander of communications training for Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services —which is featured on “Nightwatch Nation”—manages several extensive training programs every year to ensure new employees are prepared for the stressful work ahead, including calls about violent crimes. A&E Real Crime spoke with Ferguson about the emotional toll such incidents can take on the often-unsung heroes in these cases: the call takers and dispatchers. What happens when you get a call from the victim of a violent crime? First and foremost, we need to know where they are so we can get them resources. Then our focus is safety—we need to make sure our caller—the victim—is safe, and that our responders are going to be safe once they get there. No matter what part of the triage we’re in, we will stop giving medical instructions to give safety instructions. An example of this is, ‘Leave the area immedi- ately, and if you can, call us back from somewhere safe. Take the phone with you, if you need to hide and be quiet, to not let yourself be known or seen or heard, do that.’ Otherwise we’re going to ask, ‘Is the assailant still nearby?’ We need to know if that person is there, which puts the caller in dan- ger, or puts us in danger. We’re also going to ask if weapons were involved or mentioned. [Maybe] they said a tire iron was in- volved, that the assailant is nowhere nearby, [or maybe the assailant] is still there and has a gun. Those are significant differences in deciding whether or not we [EMS] approach that scene or wait for law enforcement to let us know it’s safe. How does it work when you hear from the victim via text? (Text to 911 is only available in certain areas, but Austin is one). Let me create a scenario for you: [A victim texts,] ‘I’m a victim of domestic violence. I’m in fear for my safety. I need help; my partner is abusing me right now.’ [The response is,] ‘Police, fire, EMS?’ [And the texter writes,] ‘I don’t know. I’ve been punched, and he’s coming back for me again.’

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