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A shift calendar for dispatchers

Comms centres run the same round-the-clock rotations as the officers on the other end of the radio, and usually with fewer people to cover them. The pattern is worth saving once; what you pick up on top of it is worth recording.

The rotation

Dispatch runs the whole range — eight-hour watches on a 5-2 5-3, twelve-hour Panama and Pitman rotations, four on four off. Whatever yours is, it repeats, which means it can be saved once and drawn out for the year.

The shifts on top

Short staffing in a comms centre means extra shifts, and they land at short notice. Recorded as events on top of the saved rotation, they leave the underlying pattern intact while still showing what the month actually was.

The second job

If you work a second job by the hour, it is tracked the same way an officer's paid duty work is: the employer, the hours, the rate, and whether the money has arrived.

What to switch off

The directory is built around court, jail and hospital addresses, which may be exactly what a dispatcher wants to keep. Anything else can be renamed or hidden.

The rotations this usually means

Whichever of these your employer runs, the cycle is drawn out day by day so you can check it against your own roster before you save it.

5-2 5-3

A fifteen-day cycle with every other weekend off.

See it drawn day by day

Pitman

Twelve-hour shifts, fixed to days or nights.

See it drawn day by day

Panama (2-2-3)

Two on, two off, three on, on a fourteen-day cycle.

See it drawn day by day

Built for police. Works for any rotation.

The law-enforcement side switches off. The rotation engine and the record of what you earned do not care what you do for a living.

Scan to install — or hold it up for the officer next to you.

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