NEWS RELEASE
Answering the call for service to citizens and law enforcement
MAYFIELD, Ky. (March 4, 2024) — The Kentucky State Police (KSP) announced ten telecommunicators, assigned to seven posts across the commonwealth, have graduated from the KSP Telecommunications Academy and are ready to answer calls for service from Kentuckians and law enforcement.
KSP telecommunicators handle dispatch duties for Kentucky state troopers, commercial vehicle enforcement officers, conservation officers, and other emergency service agencies as needed. In 2023, telecommunicators answered over one million calls, resulting in more than 400,000 requests for assistance.
The graduates of Class 23 received 160 hours of instruction over four weeks. Major training areas include legal liability, limits of telecommunicator authority, telecommunicator’s role in public safety, interpersonal communications, customer service, combating stress and PTSD, ethics and confidentiality, responder safety, basic fire dispatch, state emergency operation plans, criminal justice information systems, first aid training, emergency medical dispatch, and special needs callers.
During the academy, graduates were required to successfully process scripted calls for service and demonstrate proficiency in obtaining pertinent information, dispatching first responders, providing emergency medical dispatch if needed, and correctly documenting information from the call for assistance. The training concluded with a computer simulation system that simulated their work environment in the radio room.
Post 1 Commander, Captain David Archer remarked, “We are excited for the return of Telecommunicators Montgomery and Bates to our ranks with the completion of this training. While already proving themselves invaluable to the agency before the training, our telecommunications academy prepares them to handle all tasks necessary for our personnel in the Post 1 communications center. They are now part of the first voices the public hears when calling for help in Post 1’s eleven counties.”
The Post 1 graduates of the 23rd KSP Telecommunications Academy included:
Hadley Montgomery, of Graves County. Montgomery studied at Bethel High School, Washington State University, and Central Washington University. She is married to Bret Montgomery.
Katie Bates, of Marshall County. Bates is a graduate of Marshall County High School. She is the mother of two children and the daughter of Douglas and Donna Bates.
After each class, the ‘Charlotte Tanner Valedictorian’ Award is presented to the graduate who earned the highest-class GPA and demonstrated extraordinary effort during the KSP Telecommunications Academy. The award is named in honor of the founder of the KSP telecommunications program, Charlotte Tanner, who served the commonwealth for more than 50 years as a telecommunicator, radio room supervisor, and instructor.
This year’s Charlotte Tanner Valedictorian Award has been awarded to Hadley Montgomery with a grade point average of 98.57%.
The agency is continuing to recruit individuals to join Team Kentucky to provide critical assistance and assurance to their neighbors and loved ones. To apply for a telecommunicator position with KSP, click here or contact the KSP post nearest you for more information.
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