Life in the Control Room: Faye Johnson
Faye has been working in the Force Control Room as a Switchboard Operator since 2022. She loves the flexibility the role gives her and enjoys the challenge of every call being different. This is her story.
“As a Switchboard Operator, we essentially triage all calls that come in. We filter out a lot of calls and assess where each and every one needs to go, figure out whether it’s a crime or an incident someone is checking on, and we send them to the proper agencies.
Sometimes that means putting them through to our 101 and 999 system or putting them through to different departments within the force or passing them to other agencies like the council or the Fire Service for example, so people get the help they require.
We’re still a front of house role and we deal with members of the public who are often at their most vulnerable. It’s really important that we have a measured and compassionate approach when dealing with every caller because you don’t know what their circumstances are when they call us. It’s also important to have the right tone of voice with people, to be compassionate and to be focussed because you’ve got someone on the other end of the line who needs your support.
Every call is different. You never know what type of call you’re going to get and not every call is meant for the police. If it isn’t a policing matter, we will advise callers and direct them to the correct agency.
There’s also administrative work to do in this role and whilst you have to be skilled and ensure you’re keeping up with technology, you’ll be given lots of support. You’re also trained well so you build up that knowledge of how to deal with certain types of calls. There are times when you draw on your own life and work experience to help with a call and my colleagues are always so supportive.
I am loving the job because it gives me flexibility and a good work-life balance. I’ve learnt and I’m still learning a lot about myself doing this job.”