Dispatcher

Job Posting

Salary & Hours : $29.5466 (min) to $33.5590 (max) per hour - 40 hours weekly - Must be willing to work any shift, around the clock, and on holidays when necessary

Essential Duties And Responsibilities

Receives all oral communications from the public and law enforcement personnel coming in the Police Station and transmits those requests for services to the appropriate location, on a call priority basis.

The dispatcher has the primary responsibility for the initial deployment of law enforcement personnel and equipment, along with coordination of other emergency response personnel when necessary.

Cooperates with all police officers and other dispatchers assigned to the Communications Center during his / her tour of duty. When designated by a supervisor, assists with the training of inexperienced personnel.

Records all pertinent information such as time, locations and nature of incident, and action taken as required by current departmental procedures.

Responsible for dispatching emergency vehicles and keeping constant two-way communications with them.

Acquires a thorough knowledge of the location and layout of streets, buildings, parks, housing projects and other significant areas of the community so as to maximize the accuracy and speed of dispatchers and responses.

Maintains familiarity with emergency procedures that relate to matters requiring urgent police, fire or medical attention so as to be capable of activating them immediately.

Keeps personnel who have been dispatched on calls fully informed of all facts affecting the safety and efficiency of their response to the call.

Informs the platoon commander when contact with an officer or patrol cannot be made after a reasonable period of time. In any emergency, the platoon commander shall be notified immediately.

Operates computerized equipment to enter and identify stolen motor vehicles, securities, property, firearms, wanted and missing persons, hazardous materials, and critical histories.

Maintains equipment, especially the emergency call lines, in working order and immediately reports malfunctions or defects to supervisor.

Performs related clerical duties as needed.

Under guidelines set forth by the Statewide Emergency Telecommunications Board, 911 Communication personnel must be trained and have the "highest level of experience possible within available resources."

The emergency medical dispatcher (EMD) is the principal link between the public caller requesting emergency medical assistance and the emergency medical service (EMS) resource delivery system. As such, the EMD plays a fundamental role in the ability of the EMS system to respond to a perceived medical emergency. With proper training, program administration, supervision and medical direction, the EMD can accurately query the caller, select an appropriate method of response, provide pertinent information to responders, and give appropriate aid and direction for patients through the caller.

Through careful application and references to a written, medically approved emergency medical dispatch protocol, sound decisions concerning EMS response can be made in a safe, reproducible and non arbitrary manner.

Under national standards set forth by the American Society for Testing and Materials, the Emergency Medical Dispatcher should be a "specially trained Telecommunicator with specific emergency knowledge."

After completion of a 24-hour training course, dispatchers are certified to become EMDs, which clearly defines them as a pre-hospital medical professional.