Saint Joseph Police Chief Chris Connally is paying tribute this week to the city’s public safety dispatchers, saying he couldn’t do what they do.  Connally points to the multitasking requirements of the job and says studies show that only a small percentage of the public has that kind of ability.

Connally says police officers could not do their work without the help of dispatchers.  The 17 dispatchers and 4 supervisors handle more than 200,000 calls a year. That’s an average of 23 calls an hour, every hour of every day.

Connally publicly thanked the dispatchers this week during National Public Safety Telecommunicators week.