| University of Southern Maine Police Department |
| Emergency: 911 Business Line: (207) 780-5211 Fax: (207) 780-5696 TTY: (207) 780-5034 |
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Communications Dispatchers are trained to respond to the needs of the Police Officers, Firefighters, Emergency Medical professionals, and the public that they serve. Dispatchers are provided with training in each discipline of the Public Safety theatre and although they are generally not certified as Police Officers, Firefighters, or Emergency Medical Professionals, they are provided with adequate training to receive calls for any or all of those disciplines and illicit enough information from the caller in order to efficiently and properly send the appropriate assistance to the public.
USM Dispatchers field multiple phone calls, radio
transmissions, and computer generated alerts daily and must remain
focused on
doing all of those tasks simultaneously in order to meet the
expectations of
the public that they serve.
| Name | Title | Serving Since |
| Timothy Hall | Public Safety Communications Supervisor | 2007 |
| Sherrie De Long | Public Safety Communications Coordinator | 1989 |
| Peter Conley | Public Safety Communications Coordinator | 1994 |
| Alex Pufhal | Public Safety Communications Coordinator | 2005 |
| Keith Kersnowski | Public Safety Communications Coordinator | 2008 |
| Dawne DiFrancesco-Guidi | Public Safety Communications Coordinator | 2008 |
| Karen Kersnowski | Public Safety Communications Coordinator (Reserve) | 2003 |
| James Fraser | Public Safety Communications Coordinator (Reserve) | 2007 |
| Q: Why can’t I just talk to a Police Officer on the phone if I just have a question? |
A: You can if you are in a non-emergency
situation, the Dispatcher will most likely need to ask questions to
ensure you don’t need an emergency response and then will collect your
contact information and have the proper person return your call. The Community is better served by having their Police Officers on Patrol and not sitting in an office, leaving Dispatchers to field calls on the telephone and assign proper responses. |
| Q. I try not to call the Police Department because I don’t want to bother them; what should I do when I’m not sure whether to call or not? | A. Call us anytime you feel you should, we are here twenty four hours a day every day of the year. We do not discourage anyone from calling the Police Department any time they feel they should, if your call does not require Police, Fire, or EMS action then we will advise you of such and attempt to direct you to the proper resource. It is always better to call and allow us to decide what action to take then not call and risk a negative outcome. |
| Q. I have a question regarding Parking? Can the Communications Center help me? | A. Depending on the type of question you have, yes. The Communications Center here at USM also serves the Parking Department and will always attempt to assist you with any parking related questions you may have although during the day when the Parking office is open for business you will be referred to their office for assistance. You may also visit the Parking and Transportation webpage for aditional information |
| Q. When I call the Police Department why do the Dispatchers ask so many questions? Can’t they just send me the assistance I need? | A. Depending on the reason for your
call the Dispatchers are trained to ask certain questions of the caller
in order to respond both efficiently and effectively to your situation.
It is extremely important for the Dispatcher to know exactly what you
are reporting and what type of assistance is required. It is also
extremely important for a Dispatcher to illicit certain information
from a caller to ensure they are sending a sufficient amount of
resources to your call in order to ensure the safety of the involved
parties as well as the responding Police Officers. |
| Q. I called the Police Department and was put on hold, why? |
A. Although we understand it can be
frustrating to call the Police Department only to find yourself placed
on hold it is sometimes necessary given the volume and type of calls
that come into our Department. Dispatchers are trained to screen all
phone calls into our Department to be sure that the call is not of an
emergency nature prior to placing the caller on hold. Placing a caller
on hold is ONLY done for the purposes of handling a higher priority
call that requires the Dispatchers immediate attention or to answer
another telephone that could be reporting an immediate emergency. Example: You call the Police Department to request a door be unlocked for you and at the same time another caller is reporting a Medical Emergency. The Dispatcher will place you on hold so that they can gather the required information to dispatch an Ambulance to the Medical Emergency and will then return to your call and assist you. |
| Q. I called with an issue about an
employee of the Police Department and the Dispatcher didn’t seem
interested or want to hear my concerns, why? |
A. Dispatchers do not advise Police Officers on how to handle a call that they are given and are not Supervisors of the Police Department. If you are not satisfied with an action taken by the Police Department or if you call with a concern regarding a Police Officer you will be referred to a Supervisor if one is available or your contact information will be provided to the next available Supervisor when they arrive for work. |
Calls for Service (July 1, 2007-June 30, 2008)
