LAKE COUNTY – On Tuesday the Lake County Board of Supervisors proclaimed the week of April 13 as National Public Safety Telecommunications Week in Lake County in recognition of local public safety dispatchers.

National Public Safety Telecommunications Week commemorates the hundreds of thousands of dedicated men and women who operate public safety dispatch centers throughout the country, Chief Deputy James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office reported this week.

Public safety dispatchers are committed professionals responsible for responding to urgent telephone calls for help from the public for police, fire, and emergency medical services and for dispatching such services to preserve the lives and property of people across the nation.

In Lake County, the Sheriff’s Central Dispatch Center – which Bauman said is typically staffed by two to three operators and any given time – processes a multitude of calls that include not only police, fire and emergency medical service requests, but also those relating to forestry operations, animal control services, marine services on Clear Lake, highway safety and maintenance activities, and all other operations local government agencies must conduct.

“Lake County Sheriff’s Communications Operators serve local citizens in countless ways, every hour of every day, and frequently in the midst of crisis,” Bauman said in a statement.

The sheriff's office has nine communications operators, three supervising communications operators and one communications manager, Bauman said.

In 2007, Bauman said sheriff’s communications operators processed more than 61,000 nonemergency calls and more than 15,000 911 emergency calls for service.

Combined with officer-initiated incidents from the field, those calls resulted in over 46,000 incidents, including nearly 8,000 fire or emergency medical calls for service.

The communications center also assists Lakeport Police in dispatching calls, according to Lakeport Police Lt. Brad Rasmussen.

Lakeport and Clearlake Police also have their own dispatch forces.

“While our dedicated dispatchers deserve notice for their efforts to preserve the public’s safety throughout the entire year, the Sheriff’s Department encourages all citizens of Lake County to join in special recognition of their commitment during the week of April 13,” Bauman said.

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