After more than two decades of dedicated service to the community, a familiar voice on the other end of the line for Plano's police officers is signing off for the last time. The city's Police Communication Support Center (PSC) Kathy Roberts, is retiring after a 22-year tenure of handling emergency dispatches with calm and competence. The Plano Texas Police Department acknowledged Roberts' retirement in a social media post that reminisced about her start on April Fool's Day in 2002, a detail indicative of the serendipity that her career would reflect.
Coming from a background in corporate communications, Kathy was well-prepared for the pressures that come with emergency dispatch, a sentiment she echoed in a follow-up letter after her initial interview with the city department. "Working under time constraints and dealing with the public can certainly be stressful, but I have no doubt that my time in these endeavors at ...will assist me in making a contribution to your department", the Plano Texas Police Department quoted her saying. Her contributions have been significant and appreciated, as revealed by the department's published figures that included her impressive dispatch record.
During her career, Kathy not only handled all of the radio positions but also showed a preference for the police channels, where her steady hand was most critical. She served as a CTO/Trainer and a Shift lead, taking on roles that shaped the future of police dispatch in Plano. Her contributions have not gone unnoticed, earning her various accolades such as Specialist of the Year in 2009, Police Dispatcher of the Year in 2016, and the PRIDE award in 2019. Having worked across the spectrum of emergency communications, Roberts carved out a legacy that is as much about the lives she's affected as the list of accomplishments to her name.
Kathy's numbers tell their own story—77,697 traffic stops logged, 9,303 burglar alarms dispatched, and 5,231 9-1-1 welfare concerns managed, among others for a total of 102,284 dispatches. "Thousands of other calls were dispatched," acknowledged the Plano Texas Police Department, attesting to the sheer volume of interactions where Kathy provided essential assistance to both officers and citizens alike. These were more than numbers; they were moments when the calm voice of Kathy on the radio meant safety, order, and response for those in need.
