Police Dispatcher Trainee

About the role

This position is scheduled to receive a 5% salary adjustment in July 2026.

Essential Functions

• receive service requests by telephone on 911 emergency and business lines;
• obtain information on the nature of the request/emergency, the location, and telephone number of caller, name of caller and other pertain information, remaining on the line with victim in emergency, as appropriate and create a record of the information;
• analyze requests for police service, determine priority ranking of each request and the kind and level of service to be dispatched in initial response;
• determine available units to dispatch;
• dispatch personnel and equipment according to standard operational procedures, instructions from a superior or by individual judgment as required;
• refer difficult or extremely serious calls to supervisor;
• listen to each radio transmission from police personnel in the field, acknowledges and complies with request for action or information;
• keep superiors informed as to emergency situations and general activities;
• place telephone calls to other police jurisdictions, City departments, City emergency crews, vehicle tow companies, ambulance services, coroner, relatives of victims, telephone and utility companies, alarm company, traffic signal maintenance and other services concerning an emergency;
• maintain detailed Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) records of the time and nature of each call;
• operate computer aided dispatch system equipment, TDD and other office equipment;
• operate teletype and computer terminal to check for registered owners of vehicles and other information;
• refer to maps and reference materials to secure information needed by personnel in the field and for the dispatch function;
• take reports and relays messages by radio or telephone or CAD messages;
• type, issue case numbers, log departmental activities and perform routine clerical work;
• assist in monitoring activity in jail cells via a closed circuit TV system;
• maintain law enforcement resource status and activity log in the Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) computer;
• may instruct other personnel in the techniques and use of communications equipment;
• may perform minor or routine upkeep and maintenance of equipment;
• and perform other duties related to this position.

Minimum Qualifications

• Any combination of education and/or experience and training that would likely provide the required knowledge and abilities is qualifying.
• A typical way to obtain the knowledge and abilities would be one year of clerical, administrative, public information or emergency service including radio-telephone communications work and training equivalent to the completion of the twelfth grade.
• Note: Work experience as a public safety dispatcher is highly desirable.
• Candidates who meet minimum qualifications for this position will be invited to participate in a CritiCall performance aptitude test.
• Typing Certificate: A valid typing certificate MUST be attached to your application at the time of submission. Please note that required certificate must reflect the ability to type at a rate of 40 net words per minute or higher and with 5 errors or less. On-line certificates showing the percentage of accuracy or error (example: 85% accuracy or 30% error) are not acceptable. The typing certificate must be issued within one year prior to our receipt of your application. Click HERE to obtain additional information regarding the typing certificate requirements and locations where you can obtain a typing certificate. Note: Self-certification using keyboard software or on-line typing certificates will not be accepted.