WILLOUGHBY, Ohio — The Willoughby Police Department said staffing shortages are a real struggle, but the department is hoping to turn things around with its growing dispatch team.
What You Need To Know
- Willoughby Police Department recovering from staffing shortage
- Department looks to add regional dispatch center for quicker response times
- Emergency dispatch is listed as top stressful job in the country
Francis Rivas is a dispatcher with the department and has been working dispatch for six years now. She said she’s been through it all, including the department’s staffing shortage during the pandemic.
“Those stress levels at the time were definitely high. We were considered essential workers, getting to work, asking the right questions over the phone,” she said.
The department said staffing at its dispatch center was at an all-time low, working with only seven dispatchers.
While things are getting better, Willoughby Police Chief Jim Schultz said there is still room for improvement.
“We have 10 full-time dispatchers and four part-time dispatchers. We can take on an additional five part-time dispatchers, but that is hard to find as well a lot of people are looking for full-time work,” he said.
The department is now looking to expand its force even more and hopes to become a regional dispatch center.
“That will entail creating a structure to provide service not only to the city of Willoughby, but anybody else that would be interested in our services,” Schultz said. “That is the most important thing. If another agency wants us to dispatch for them, they are getting the same, if not better, services than what they are accustomed to.”
Schultz said the new dispatch center would be placed in western Lake County to serve the surrounding areas and give residents faster response times.
While a date is still in the works for the center’s launch, Francis said she’ll be ready to grow and tackle her next challenge.
