Sally Taylor
Sally is a Control Room Dispatcher.
How long have you been working for Cambridgeshire Constabulary, and how did you progress to your current role?
I started working for Cambridgeshire Police 34 years ago when I was 16 years old. Prior to that, I was a Police Cadet for 2 years. My first ever job was part of the back record conversion team, dealing with the first ever computers in the force, that were used to convert paper records onto those lovely green screen machines!
After that task was completed, I got a job in the old control room as a message switch operator - using fax machines and ticker tape machines to deal with day-to-day messages from other forces. I was also responsible for charging and issuing the forces first mobile phones (they were the size of a breeze block and very heavy!)
I later moved to Bridge Street Police station in Peterborough and became a CID clerk, recording crimes, helping to identify owners of stolen property and supporting the crime teams.
When this role moved to Thorpe Wood police station, I moved too and became part of the crime recording team. This involved liaising with officers, members of the public and (for the first time in the force's history!) directly inputting crimes onto a computer, cutting down the paperwork.
When a vacancy came up in the new control room, I applied and was lucky enough to be chosen to fill the spot. I have now been here for about 22 years!
Can you describe a typical day in the life of a Dispatcher?
No 2 days are ever the same in the Control Room. We work a shift pattern, so we cover different times of the day and night. Sometimes the weather can dictate what a shift can be like, or it can be something like an event- be it a national one or a local football derby.
We deal with all the radio " traffic" which involves booking officers on and off, risk assessing every incident, safeguarding the public, dispatching officers to incidents an also making sure they are safe too.
We also take some of the many 999 calls that come through to the Force Control Room, supporting our colleagues in the demand hub. We are one small cog in a big wheel- team work is essential!
What would you say is the most rewarding part of your job? And what are the challenges?
Every day there are challenges, deadlines, and commitments that we must adhere to. Knowing that you have been part of a team that has helped to find a missing person, helping to get justice for those that have had to contact us (in sometimes the most distressing of incidents) and making sure people are safe and well- it's a very rewarding and humbling experience. It makes you value your own life and those of family, colleagues and friends around you.
Being there and making that difference, being that person on the end of the phone when the caller is in need of help, care and support - knowing that you can help change their life and circumstances for the better.....it's like paying it forward!
Can you tell us about a particular instance where you felt as though you really made a difference to someone’s life?
Recently, (October 9th), I was the dispatcher that co-ordinated officers to stop a lorry on the A14 where the driver was arrested for drink driving, taken to court and given a custodial sentence. Several distressed car passengers called in to report this, so I feel that could have ended very differently.