Communications
The Communications Center answers all emergency and non emergency calls for Police, Fire and Emergency Medical Services within the City of Martin. We are the vital link between emergency services and the community, maintaining accurate and professional communications with a constant regard for public safety.
The Dispatcher is frequently the first point of contact that a member of the public will have when requesting assistance. The information gathered by the dispatcher during this contact is critical to a positive outcome. Therefore, dispatchers are trained to handle a variety of call types. They must remain calm in the face of disaster, instill calm in the reporting person, get as much information as possible from the caller to assist responding units, and multi-task the operation of telephone, radio and computer while receiving and delivering critical response information.
When contacting the center, either in-person, via 9-1-1 telephone lines, or through business telephone lines, please be prepared to provide as much information about the assistance requested as possible. Expect to be asked your location, the location of the incident, the nature of the incident, a description of involved vehicles, buildings, or people, and the direction of travel of any fleeing suspects. Taking a few moments to provide this critical information to the dispatcher at the onset of a call will allow for a more efficient and effective response by emergency service providers.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Any medical emergency
- Any crime involving weapons (guns, knives, bats, etc.)
- Any fires
- Any in progress or just occurred crimes
- Any time a suspect is still in or near the area
- Motor vehicle accidents
- Loud party or music
- Parking violations
- Barking dog
- Road information
- The traffic light is broken
- I scraped my knee
- Time delayed reports with no suspect information
- The location where help is needed.
- The type of problem and if it is in progress.
- Number of suspects.
- Suspect description (race, sex, height, weight, clothing) and last known direction of travel.
- What type of weapon was involved if applicable.
- Any additional information that relates to the incident.
- Vehicle description (color, year, make, model and license plate number), if any; and last known direction of travel.
When reporting emergency situations, it is important that callers quickly answer the questions that are being asked. The dispatcher will know what information is needed and will often direct the questions at a fast pace; this can sometimes be perceived as being short or curt. In situations of extreme emergency, specific responses to questions will ultimately benefit the citizen calling, as well as the emergency personnel responding to the scene or incident.
The non-emergency phone number, (731) 587-5355, should be used to report calls that are not life threatening or serious in progress type calls.
When requesting services for non-emergency/non-life threatening situations, it is important to remember that emergency calls have priority over non-emergency calls. It may be necessary for a dispatcher to place non-emergency calls on hold in order to answer incoming 9-1-1 calls.
- The location where help is needed.
- The type of problem, and time element if it is not in progress
- Any suspect information
- Suspect description (race, sex, height, weight, clothing) and last known direction of travel.
- What type of weapon was involved if applicable.
- Any additional information you may have that relates to the incident.
- Vehicle description (color, year, make, model, license plate number), if any; and last know direction of travel.
Communications Supervisor – Katie Perry
Katie has worked for the Police Department since February 1997. She is the Communications Supervisor and the Terminal Agency Coordinator. She previously worked as a communications officer at the University of Tennessee at Martin from January 1995 – February 1997. She has received training in several areas including: Volunteers in Police Service, NCIC Basic Certification, Basic Telecommunicator Training, Basic Telephone Communications, Fire Service Dispatch, Disaster Preparedness, Amber Alert Training, Sex Offender Registry Training, Active Shooter, Communications Training Officer and Critical Risk Issues. Katie is a 1994 graduate of Mayfield High School, and received her B.S. in Accounting in December 2000.
Bonnie Curry (Communications)
Michelle Fischer (Communications)
Jantzen Sparks (Communications)
Tami Seat (Communications)
Katelyn Pope (Communications)
