Stafford, VA. The Stafford County Sheriff’s Office is pleased to announce that the department will be celebrating National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, which takes place April 14-20, 2019, by recognizing the dedicated professionals who staff our Emergency Communications Center (ECC).

National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week is celebrated each year during the second week of April. It was created to honor the thousands of men and women across the nation who dedicate their lives to serving the public as emergency communications personnel.

These men and women—often called the “heroes behind the headsets”— provide a lifeline to both citizens in need and officers in the field. They are available 24/7 to aid and dispatch emergency professionals and resources during a crisis. Each day, the ECC takes hundreds of calls and, last year, handled approximately 161,075 calls.

“Appreciation may seem like a simple thing, but its impact can be immeasurable,” said Sheriff David P. Decatur. “Our telecommunications staff takes great pride in their jobs and often receives very little recognition. Yet, they are the calm and steady voices on the phone that send help and save lives. Their impact on the department and community cannot be underestimated, and we are very thankful for them.”

Please join the Sheriff’s Office this week in recognizing the men and women who work behind the scenes to ensure the community’s calls for emergency assistance are answered and first responders are dispatched.

Throughout the week, the Sheriff’s Office will share information about the unique role of dispatchers through social media. Follow along on Twitter at @staffcosheriff and the hashtag #SCSOdispatchers and on Facebook at Office of the Stafford County Sheriff.