Wrong Department

Wrong Department

They say that 89% or so of what you do is from habit and I have many stories that prove that it is a whole lot higher percent.  When you get really busy doing something, it is done by habit.  When you are under stress, it is done by habit.  Practice does not make perfect, only perfect practice makes perfect.  If you practice a lot you will be much better under pressure. 

Police officers used to go out the firing range and shoot and unload their weapons and put the empty brass in their pocket where they could reload it. They understand the more practice they get the better shots they become and reloading their own ammo is cheaper so it allows more practice.  The problem is the habit.  They started finding officers dead on the street with their gun empty and their hand full empty brass casing in their pocket. Now on the range you have to dump your brass on the ground quickly and reload immediately. It has saved many lives I am sure.  So what does this have to do with wrong department??

When we came home to Oregon after working for the Alaska State Troopers I went to work for the tribal police department. I enjoyed working there as we were busy like we were in Alaska. 

I do not like someone else taking a call I have to dispatch as they don’t get the same information that I do, especially if an officer answers it.  Example. We had a call come in of a robbery in progress at the Safeway store in the town I was working. An officer going to help me because I was busy grabbed the phone. He hung up the phone and yelled, robbery going down at Safeway. I asked “how many, are they armed?” He said, “I don’t know they didn’t say, they just said they were being robbed right now” I asked for a description of the suspects. He said “I don’t know, they didn’t say”.  This means he did not ask!  If I would have dispatched a call to him like that with no info my name would have been worse then you know what.

So everyone knows if I don’t ask you to, please don’t’ answer my phone.

I was super busy doing things and the phone rang and I reached over and grabbed it and said “Alaska State Troopers, may I help you?” The caller said “Oh my God, how did I get you” and hung up before I could correct myself.  The phone immediately rang and I yelled to the officer in the next room to come answer the phone. He ran into dispatch and looking at me strangely as I just sat there doing nothing and answered the phone.. All of a sudden this big grin comes on his face.

He gets off the phone and said “now I understand, that guy that called was telling me he tried to call her and got the Alaska State Troopers and he can’t understand how in the world that happened”

I did not want to answer the phone with the voice that had just answered at the Alaska State Troopers… Those stinking habits anyway…..Good laugh for us all