It's President's Day and dispatch is on duty. We love holidays because of the automatic overtime. This particular remembrance is usually quiet for us. Other than essential personnel, no one works. Our department the field personnel adjust their time so they don't work OT.
What does that mean for us?
It's early afternoon and the dispatchers outnumber the law enforcement officers on duty. None of us will leave early because we only get PAID overtime on holidays. Any other extra work is compensated in time accrued.
We've turned to clock-watchers.
One of us is a trainee so we've spent time reviewing CAD and inquiries. Still, one can only do so much without the phones and/or radio traffic.
It will change tomorrow. We'll have flights, patrols, and Admin staff around to keep us busy. At least I'll go home on time tonight.
Sometimes I miss the 9-1-1 activity that kept me busy - like today. I enjoy the position here. Usually it's just enough to make the shift go by. On occasion, the activity is non-stop from sun-up to sun-down.
In a month, I'll be wishing for shifts like this one.
Happy President's Day to all of those folks on duty.
Someone has to man the comm center!