Police dispatch open 24 hours

Siloam Springs police dispatch is now operating 24 hours a day again, according to Phillip Patterson.

Patterson announced during the city board meeting on April 7 the dispatch center has been running all three shifts since April 1.

“We are not quite at full staff yet,” Patterson said. “But we are very close to that.”

The dispatch unit had been operating two shifts out of the Siloam Springs Police Department since October and had to roll calls over to Benton County Central Communications (Cencom) from 10 p.m. through 6 a.m., Patterson said at the Nov. 5 board meeting.

He said working as a dispatcher is a very demanding and stressful job that is not always a good fit for every individual.

“In addition, we had some employees that decided to resign in order to stay home and one took another job,” Patterson said.

Patterson said the city is doing some final training that will have the dispatch unit fully staffed, but there are presently enough dispatchers to begin operating out of the police department again, without having to use Cencom. Siloam Springs police dispatch operates 24/7 and has two openings, according to Allan Gilbert, police chief.

“Dispatchers work two per shift, with four 12-hour shifts,” Gilbert said.

Dispatchers work the same hours as the police patrol units, Gilbert said. Ten dispatchers are needed to operate 24/7/365 and to dispatch for the police and

fire departments, he said.

Presently the goal is to have four more weeks of training until the new staff can work a panel independently, Gilbert said. There are two dispatchers who are currently in training, however he said a delay may be likely because training provided by the Arkansas Crime Information Center has been postponed due to covid-19.

He added there is not a date set to resume training.

“I am very proud of our dispatch team as they are all professional, dedicated and hardworking,” Gilbert said. “They want to make a difference in the community they serve and I feel they do that daily.”