“The majority of the time, when someone calls the police, they aren’t having a good day,” Beckham County Sheriff’s Office Communications Supervisor Zach Allen explained. “We do have a great community and a lot of supportive people, so we do get calls that thank us. But, most of our calls are just to make a report, which could be anything.”
The reasons for calls to the Beckham County Sheriff’s Office truly are varied. Allen, a seven- year veteran with the BCSO, has about heard it all during her service.
Sometimes, the call is a missing animal. Other times, it may be a vehicle collision. Occasionally, the voice on the other end of the line might be reporting a violent crime.
Regardless, Allen and her team work diligently to ensure the information they gather is correct.
“These situations can be tense when someone calls in to ask for help or report a crime,” she said. “We always try to remember that the help is ultimately what they are asking for. So, even if they aren’t calm, we have to be. In order to help them best, we have to understand what is going on so we can give that information to our deputies. That isn’t always easy because, again, this caller is normally in the middle of a bad situation. We have a great team who stays focused on our goal.”
Last week, the BSCO team received confirmation from an auditor that their efforts succeeded.
The auditor was from OLETS or Oklahoma Law Enforcement Telecommunications.
The crew hasn’t been audited since the Covid pandemic, so Allen didn’t know what to expect. She was pleased with what he found.
The BCSO was awarded for having less than 5% errors, the best benchmark OLETS sets.
“OLETS is the program we run our information through,” Allen stated. “That goes through things like vehicle registration and warrants. The auditor said we were one of the best he had seen. I am proud of this award for our team, but I am most proud to know that we are doing what we should be. Our dispatchers are staying calm, getting the correct information, and doing our part to get that to our deputies.”
Allen supervises fellow dispatchers Kelcey Coats, Brigette Kirkpatrick, Rachel Rudd, and Micah Woodruff.
The BCSO is currently seeking two more dispatchers.
“This is a job you must have a heart for, but that is really all law enforcement. But, at the end of the day, I know we are helping people. Sometimes, you get the reward of helping see a bad situation come to a positive resolution, which is what we are working toward. We get to know that we did something with our day that made a positive difference.”
