Prerequisites: Due to the nature of this topic, it is highly recommended that students have successfully completed a 40-hour formal basic instructor-led telecommunicator training program.

The telecommunicator is the first voice in any crisis, the first point of contact the caller has with public safety, and sometimes the first contact a person in crisis has had with anybody in a long time. Crisis negotiation calls are truly life or death incidents for the caller and, perhaps, for others involved in the incident. These calls are unlike emergencies that telecommunicators handle every day. A crisis does not have a clearcut response plan, its nature and outcome are hard to discern. There is no way to know how long it will take to resolve or by what means. Outcomes depend on the way responders interact with the person on the other end of the phone. Clearly not an on-the-job training situation, the best preparation for telecommunicators is training as much as possible before they have to handle a crisis call.

This course builds on all the skills of basic telecommunicator training but has the specific goal of diving deeper into the nature of crises, their progression, and the most effective way to receive and process calls. Within its scope, the course provides an overview of crisis negotiations looking at the special concerns related to hostage situations, barricaded subjects, and persons with suicidal intent. By the end of the course, the student will have both conceptual tools to help understand crisis situations, they will also have tools to use when working to resolve these incidents.

Wednesday, October 23, 2024 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. 

Topics include:

Perfect for a one-day pre-conference or post-conference course.

CDEs Earned: 8

Recertification Requirements: None

Stress is one of the most common words used in society today and something that each one of us will experience at some point in our life. Stress affects people of all ages, professions, and life situations. However, emergency communications as a profession are inherently stressful with the various demands placed upon them by nature of the profession. Understanding these causes of stress in the profession will allow the public safety telecommunicator to recognize and mitigate some of the stressful situations that they may encounter. This course addresses how to detect stress within yourself and co-workers and provides measures to reduce its impact.

Tuesday, December 3, 2024 - 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Topics Include:

Perfect for a one-day pre-conference or post-conference course.

CDEs Earned: 8

Recertification Requirements: None

Prerequisites: Although there is no pre-requisite for the course, it is recommended that registrants for this class have successfully completed a 40-hour formal basic instructor-led telecommunicator training program.

The world’s first comprehensive disaster operations course designed specifically for the public safety communications professional!

This course serves to educate the public safety telecommunicator on a wide range of man-made and natural disasters, their effects on the community and its infrastructure, and the response and recovery needs of each. In addition, this course will provide telecommunicators with information on overall emergency management and homeland security and provide guidance on continuity of operations for the emergency communications center (ECC) in the face of a multitude of disaster situations.

The importance of educating today’s public safety communications professional on their role and the role of the ECC in disaster operations is greater than ever before. There is a defined role for public safety communications in every element of disaster response and recovery. As public safety’s ability and need to address disaster situations evolves, the telecommunicator needs to be familiar with all types of disasters – man-made and natural – and how those events can impact the communications function.

Wednesday, December 4, 2024 - 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. 

Topics include:

Perfect for a one-day pre-conference or post-conference course

CDEs Earned: 8

Recertification Requirements: None