Denton County proclaims National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week; sheriff and commissioners praise 911 staff

Denton County Commissioners Court on April 15 adopted a proclamation recognizing April 13–19, 2025 as National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week and heard remarks from Sheriff Tracy Murphy praising the county’s 911 telecommunicators.

Sheriff Tracy Murphy told the court that telecommunicators are “the calm in the storm,” work 24/7 and provide critical instructions to callers and dispatch help to officers, firefighters and emergency medical personnel. Murphy stood with two telecommunications supervisors, Robin Thomas and Britney Sparks, who were introduced but did not speak at length by request.

The proclamation asserted the county’s telecommunications staff handled a large volume of work in 2024; as read in court, the proclamation listed 776,059 911 emergency calls and 252,518 nonemergency calls, plus 58,619 outbound calls and 279 texts to 911 for 2024. The text also cited thousands of entries describing officer‑initiated activity and public requests and emphasized the telecommunicators’ ongoing specialized training.

Commissioners Williams, Edmondson, Falconer and others praised the center’s work. Commissioner Williams described telecommunicators as the first step in a chain of first responders and said their guidance can be lifesaving; Commissioner Edmondson recounted calling 911 after witnessing a car wreck and noted how busy the center was during that incident. Commissioner Williams and others described efforts to recruit and retain trained telecommunicators and thanked staff for their service.

The court voted unanimously to adopt the proclamation. No funding change or new county policy was enacted during the proclamation item; the item recognized staff and asked citizens to thank telecommunicators for their 24/7 service.