As a 911 Dispatcher in the Commenwealth of Virginia for 14 years and counting, I endorse the in-service training requirements recommended by the Dispatcher Curriculum Review Committee (CRC) and the Committee on Training (COT). 

I have worked in several centers throughout the Commenwealth and can speak to the observed need for continuous required training. We are the first first responders, yet we are not required to prove any maintained standard of knowledge or skill. Some individual agencies have made their own requirements, but until it is a state required standard, then you, or your loved ones could call 911 and find themselves talking to someone who hasn’t picked up a new piece of new knowledge or revisited basic information since their first training years, or decades ago. Complacency is one of the biggest threats to our industry. This won’t fix it, but it’s a step in the right direction.