Attorney General Knudsen and MHP Colonel Sager recognize MHP dispatchers during National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week

HELENA – Attorney General Austin Knudsen and Montana Highway Patrol (MHP) Colonel Kurt Sager visited the MHP Communications Center today to recognize dispatchers during National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, which is April 13-19.

The dispatchers at MHP’s Communications Center are emergency medical dispatch trained and answer calls 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year to dispatch troopers and other law enforcement officials to emergency and non-emergency situations to keep Montanans and visitors safe across the state.

“Dispatchers are often the first voice Montanans hear when they need help in an emergency and during life’s most difficult moments. I’m proud of their excellent work and ability to stay calm in stressful situations which helps keep Montanans and visitors safe in our state,” Attorney General Knudsen said.

“Our MHP dispatchers play a vital role in our mission to safeguard lives and property on the roads and highways in the state. I’m incredibly grateful to them for their hard work and dedication to serving the citizens of Montana. Our troopers could not do their jobs in the field without dispatch,” Col. Sager said.

So far this year, MHP dispatchers have answered 29,685 incoming calls, an average of 297 per day. They received 110,140 incoming calls last year, an average of 9,178 calls per month. In 2024, the communications center received a total of 162,177 calls for service, which includes calls that troopers initiated and called into dispatch from the field.

The communications center answers calls for MHP, Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP), Department of Transportation Motor Carrier Services, and Department of Corrections Probation and Parole. They also work with all 56 counties in Montana, various police departments across the state, and the Department of Transportation. MHP dispatchers will occasionally provide dispatch services for and/or make notifications for the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation, Bureau of Land Management, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, VA Police, United States Forest Service, and United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations.