On October 15, 2021 Gov. Andy Beshear and the Kentucky State Police announced that 16 telecommunicators representing 11 posts located throughout the commonwealth have graduated KSP’s in-house telecommunications academy.
Present-day emergency services communication centers require several qualities and characteristics that are imperative, including the ability to handle high stress, challenging conditions; flexible work schedules; empathy toward others and the ability to learn and adapt, especially in areas of technology.
The graduates of Class 18 received 196 hours of instruction over five weeks. Major training areas include legal liability, limits of telecommunicator authority, telecommunicator's role in public safety, interpersonal communications, customer service, combating stress, ethics and confidentiality, responder safety, essential fire dispatch, state emergency operations plans, criminal justice information systems, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, first aid training, emergency medical dispatch and special needs callers.
During the academy, graduates were required to successfully process scripted calls for service and demonstrate proficiency in obtaining pertinent information, dispatching responders, providing emergency medical dispatch if needed and correctly documenting information from the call for assistance. The training concluded with a computer simulation system that simulates a real-life work environment in the radio room.
"Across the state, KSP telecommunicators provide a lifeline to both citizens in need and responders in the field," says Jason Long, KSP Telecommunications Training Instructor. "They serve as an unseen but vital link in keeping law enforcement officers, responder, and the public safe at all times, day or night.”
The Post 15 graduates of the 18th KSP Telecommunications Academy included:
- Abigale Morgan, of Pulaski County. Morgan is a graduate of Pulaski County High School. She is the daughter of Donna Condon and Mike Morgan.
- Sydney Perkins, of Russell County. Perkins is a graduate of Southwestern High School. She is married to her husband Markus Perkins.
- Shawna Hannie, of Adair County. Hannie is a graduate of North Laurel High School and Lidsey Wilson College. She is married to Quinton Hannie and is the daughter of Judy and James Ulrich.
At the conclusion of each class, the 'Charlotte Tanner Valedictorian' Award is presented to the graduate who earned the highest class GPA and demonstrated extraordinary effort during the KSP Telecommunications Academy. The award is named in honor of the founder of the KSP telecommunications program, Charlotte Tanner who served the commonwealth for more than 50 years as a telecommunicator, radio room supervisor and instructor.
This year’s Charlotte Tanner Valedictorian Award has been awarded to Shawna Hannie and Abigale Morgan, who will share the honor of valedictorian with grade point averages of 98.25%.
To apply for a telecommunicator position with KSP, contact the KSP post nearest you for more information.
The mission of KSP is to promote public safety through service, integrity and professionalism using partnerships to prevent, reduce and deter crime and the fear of crime, enhance highway safety through education and enforcement, and safeguard property and protect individual rights.
KSP’s focus this year is to maintain and strengthen its essential workforce in order to better provide public safety, maintain critical services and better reflect the diverse communities that KSP serves.
