By Pat Culverhouse

Their faces are rarely seen, but their voices are the connection between the public and those who respond in time of need. In cases of emergency, those voices can be a calming factor that makes a real difference.

Dispatchers are a vital part of law enforcement teams across the country and  they’re receiving well-deserved recognition during National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week which officially began Sunday.

Webster Parish Sheriff Jason Parker said the special group of deputies that make up his telecommunications office earn respect daily, unseen and without fanfare.

“Our dispatchers are often forgotten. They work behind the scenes 24/7 out of public view, but when citizens call the sheriff’s office, a dispatcher may be the only contact with a deputy a person has,” he said.

Parker said dispatchers are trained to handle situations and know that each call can be different, even tragic.

“A lot of times those calls are unpleasant, dealing with a tragic accident or a death in a family,” he said. “They’re the backbone of our department. We consider them a lifeline not only to our deputies but to our citizens.”

While deputies are answering calls for assistance, they depend on information from dispatchers to let them know what they could be facing.

“We cannot go out and perform our duties without our dispatchers,” he said. “They communicate the situation to us clearly, and they do it calmly and professionally. We depend on them for information that’s critical on each call, and they deliver.”

During their special week, Parker said the WPSO dispatchers will be treated like the special group they are.

“We have special treats for them, we plan to feed them and give them recognition in many ways,” he said. “We want to give them the special treatment they’ve earned and deserve to show our appreciation.”

Photo: Members of the Webster Parish Sheriff’s Office dispatch team include (from left) Lacy Hay, Katelyn Langford, Karri Vaughan and Lt. Terrie Clark. Additional members of the team are Kendall Rico, James Rodriguez and Karah Taylor.