August 20, 2026

I've Been a 911 Operator for 10+ Years - Here's What They Don't Tell You About the Job | Chris Barret

Chris Barrett has spent ten years as a 911 dispatcher in New Jersey — answering the calls that come in at the worst moments of people's lives, deciding what help to send and how fast, talking callers through situations most people never have to face, and carrying the weight of everything those calls produce long after the shift ends. In this episode of Locked In with Ian Bick, he shares what the training for that job actually involves, what the calls that still haunt him really looked like from the dispatcher who took them, how to de-escalate a caller in crisis, how dispatchers decide what kind of help to send, what the strangest calls he has ever received actually involved, and what ten years of sitting on the other end of the most desperate phone calls available does to a person's mental health. _____________________________________________ #911dispatcher #emergencyservices #truecrimecommunity #911 _____________________________________________ Thank you to CASH APP for sponsoring this episode:  Download Cash App Today: https://capl.onelink.me/vFut/ksjh06pb #CashAppPod _____________________________________________ Cash App is a financial services platform, not a bank. Banking services provided by Cash App's bank partner(s). Prepaid debit cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC. Cash App Visa® Debit Flex Cards issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC, and The Bancorp Bank, N.A., pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. See terms and conditions for the Sutton prepaid card, Sutton debit flex card, and Bancorp debit flex card. Discounts and promotions provided by Cash App, a Block, Inc. brand. Visit cash.app/legal/podcast for full disclosures. _____________________________________________ Hosted, Executive Produced & Edited By Ian Bick: https://www.instagram.com/ian_bick/?hl=en https://ianbick.com/ _____________________________________________ Timestamps: 00:00 Meet Chris Barrett 00:23 Early Life and Family 01:38 Adventurous Childhood 03:16 Career Aspirations 04:29 Why Firefighting? 05:23 Getting into Dispatch 07:08 The Dispatcher Test 08:03 Training and Trial by Fire 10:49 Common Newbie Mistakes 12:58 Warrant Checks Explained 14:20 Dispatch Center Setup 15:27 Anatomy of a 911 Call 17:44 Handling Silent Callers 19:43 Treating Everything as an Emergency 21:05 Prioritizing Calls 22:44 De-escalating Callers 27:03 Sponsor: Cash App 28:39 Calls About Suicide 33:56 Staying on the Line 34:50 When All Lines Are Busy 35:45 Busy Times and Call Volume 37:22 Most Common Calls 39:42 Regular and Mental Health Callers 41:03 911 vs Non-Emergency Lines 43:46 Focusing in a Noisy Room 45:19 Starting a Bad Day 47:56 Emotional Calls and Moving On 52:04 Calls Per Shift 53:12 Quiet Moments 55:27 Handling Car Accidents 01:02:04 Hypervigilance After Work 01:03:34 Sirens Off-Duty 01:05:03 Bonds with Officers 01:09:59 Mental Health Resources 01:11:43 Changes in Dispatching 01:19:01 Civilian vs Officer Dispatchers 01:20:43 Media Portrayals 01:24:42 Spotting Inconsistencies 01:27:26 Hardest Calls 01:32:42 Strangest Calls 01:37:28 Alarms and Tech 01:40:41 AI in Dispatch 01:42:01 Career Longevity 01:43:43 Career Lessons _____________________________________________ To advertise on the show, contact sales@advertisecast.com or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/LockedInWithIanBicka

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