UAPD Celebrates National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas is celebrating the annual National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, April 14-20. The week is sponsored by the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials International and honors the thousands of men and women who respond to emergency calls, dispatch emergency professionals and equipment and render lifesaving assistance to the citizens of the United States.

This is an opportunity to recognize the nine men and women working in the UAPD Communications Center for the work that they do every day to protect our U of A community.

Public Safety Telecommunicators are generally the first point of contact and often the unseen heroes in emergency situations, the people whose diligence and professionalism help keep communities safe. UAPD’s Communications Center is the first and single point of contact for anyone on campus seeking immediate relief during an emergency. They are the link between the public and emergency first responders, the thin gold line, which is a symbol for Public Safety Telecommunicators who are the golden glue that holds it all together. 

In times of intense personal crisis or community-wide disaster, 9-1-1 the first access point for anyone seeking emergency services. The people in the emergency communications centers that receive these calls have emerged as the first and single point of contact for persons seeking immediate relief during an emergency.

About the University of Arkansas Police Department: UAPD’s Communications Center, which is a 24/7, 365 days a year operation, is responsible for processing and dispatching emergency and non-emergency calls for all of the University of Arkansas owned properties (both on the main campus and off campus locations). It is currently staffed with nine full time Pubic Safety Telecommunicators.  UAPD is accredited through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA). For more information, visit https://uapd.uark.edu/.

About APCO International® (www.apcointl.org): APCO International is the world’s oldest and largest organization of public safety communications professionals and supports the largest U.S. membership base of any public safety association. It serves the needs of public safety communications practitioners worldwide - and the welfare of the general public as a whole – by providing complete expertise, professional development, technical assistance, advocacy and outreach.

For more information, visit www.npstw.org.