Police Dispatcher Trainee

City of Chula Vista, CA•Chula Vista, CA

54d•Onsite

About The Position

To receive, evaluate, and transmit emergency and routine voice radio messages via, telephone, teletype and automatic alarm; to dispatch required equipment and personnel in accordance with standard policies and procedures; to maintain records; and to do related work as required. This is the entry-level class in the Police Dispatcher series. This class is distinguished from the journey by the performance of the more routine tasks and duties assigned to positions within this series. Employees at this level are not expected to perform with the same independence of direction and judgment on matters allocated to the journey level. Since this class is typically used as a training class, employees may have only limited or no directly related work experience. Employees work under immediate supervision while learning job tasks. Newly-hired employees in this position may receive up to $5,000 relocation allowance for expenses incurred for the relocation of the employee and their immediate family to San Diego County. Additionally, this position is eligible for the Employee Referral Program. Eligible employees that make a successful referral will receive either 16 hours of leave or a referral payment of up to $3,000.

Requirements

Any combination of education and/or experience and training that would likely provide the required knowledge and abilities is qualifying
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
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.
Knowledge of: some knowledge of basic terminology used in radio and telephone communications; some knowledge of the basic concept and operation of communication equipment, including telephone, radio, paging, computer and related systems; some knowledge of the geographic features and boundaries of the Chula Vista area; English usage, spelling, grammar, and punctuation; computerized data entry and retrieval systems used in dispatch communication and operations.
Ability to: learn city dispatch codes, policies and procedures; memorize codes, names, locations and other detailed information; attend to multiple activities and sources of input simultaneously during stressful situations; obtain complete and accurate information from individuals who during emergency situations may be emotionally distraught, angry or difficult to understand; remain calm and make rapid and sound independent judgments in stressful emergency situations; learn to effectively operate the computer-aided dispatch system, display terminals, radio dispatching consoles, and associated equipment; learn to read and interpret street maps; analyze and evaluate emergency situations as required to prioritize calls and to anticipate/determine the needs of responding personnel; make sound decisions using available information; learn to read and interpret rules, regulations, policies, and procedures; while handling critical incident calls, accomplish tasks in a controlled, effective manner; work days, evenings, and nights, rotating shifts, weekends, and holidays as needed; type at a speed of at least 40 NWPM; communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing; establish and maintain effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of work; and work with various cultural and ethnic groups in a tactful and effective manner.

Nice To Haves

Work experience as a public safety dispatcher is highly desirable.

Responsibilities

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
Refers difficult or extremely serious calls to supervisor
Listen to each radio transmission from police personnel in the filed, 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
Perform other duties related to this position

Benefits

Newly-hired employees in this position may receive up to $5,000 relocation allowance for expenses incurred for the relocation of the employee and their immediate family to San Diego County.
This position is eligible for the Employee Referral Program. Eligible employees that make a successful referral will receive either 16 hours of leave or a referral payment of up to $3,000.

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