Public Safety Telecommunicator I

Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community • Scottsdale, AZ

8d • Onsite

About The Position

Under general supervision of the Public Safety Communications Shift Supervisor, receives and dispatches calls and messages for police, fire and/or emergency medical services, maintains radio contact with mobile units, and researches and verifies information requested by public safety staff. Positions in this job class are subject to working evenings, weekends and holidays. This job class is treated as FLSA Non-exempt.

Requirements

• Graduation from high school or GED and experience equivalent to one year of office support work including public contact, computer literacy, and data entry.
• Successful completion of Police Department background investigation, polygraph and psychological examinations, and must satisfactorily pass a CritiCall assessment.
• Must successfully pass an oral board assessment.
• Must pass a one (1) year probationary period.
• Must Obtain and maintain Level A terminal operator certification (T.O.C.) within six (6) months of hire.
• Must obtain and maintain Emergency Medical Dispatcher (EMD) certification within twelve (12) months of hire.
• Will be required to complete advanced training courses within the NENA Excellence in Dispatch certificate program, etc., including Communications Training Officer.
• Ability to work in a Public Safety (police and fire/ems) Communication Center environment.
• Ability to work overtime when required to include evenings, nights, weekends and holidays to maintain 24-hour coverage of the emergency dispatch system.
• Prior to hire as an employee, applicants will be subject to drug and alcohol testing.
• Will be required to pass a pre-employment background/fingerprint check.

Nice To Haves

• To be considered a Lateral applicant, you must have a minimum of twenty-four (24) months experience in a public safety communications (Police, Fire, Medical) dispatch position within the last forty-eight (48) months.
• Basic Telecommunicator Certification(s) at time of hire.
• Lateral applicants are not required to take the CritiCall Test.

Responsibilities

• Receives emergency and non-emergency calls, including enhanced 9-1-1, and non-emergency calls from the community, dispatchers, and public safety agencies via telephone, radio systems and CAD systems.
• Answers and evaluates incoming calls (by phone or radio) for police or fire/emergency medical services.
• Determines the priority of the call, sometimes within the first few seconds of conversation, and decides whether units should be dispatched to the scene.
• Hears and comprehends radio communication, even in adverse conditions including but not limited to the outside noise at the scene where the unit is, background noise at the dispatch location, radio interference from outside sources, and field personnel not speaking clearly or loudly enough.
• Monitors emergency and general support radio frequencies with police, fire, and corrections personnel.
• Accurately recalls details and procedures and applies them instantly in emergency situations.
• Makes sound decisions and quickly reacts positively under stressful conditions which may entail the life or wellbeing of a Community member, general public, or first responder who is in danger.
• Using a computer or written log, documents the time and nature of each call received, which unit(s) responded, the action taken, and the disposition of the call.
• Responds to non-emergency inquiries from the public by providing such information as the phone numbers and local department information appropriate to their need, general information regarding traffic tickets, incidents, and accident reports and the responsible officer.
• Operates the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) computer terminal to enter/request law enforcement information.
• Contacts, or assists in contacting on-call personnel/other agencies such as housing, SRP water and electrical services, medical air evacuation provider, and child protective services. Notifies a hospital when the medics/ambulance are transporting a patient and ascertain whether the hospital would be able to handle/receive more patients.
• May testify in court as required regarding decisions made and actions taken.
• Processes incoming computer messages from other criminal justice agencies and responds with requested information or re-directs callers to the appropriate agency.
• Keeps current on job specific procedures through training and observing departmental communications memos, directives and general orders.
• Verifies, enters, updates, and/or deletes the following kinds of information into the Arizona Criminal Justice Information System (ACJIS): missing persons or runaways; stolen, recovered, and/or abandoned vehicles; assists Police Officers in retrieving information from the computer aided dispatch (CAD) system/ACJIS; e.g., a subject’s personal information, description, present/last known address, vehicle, and any prior incidents or contacts with police officers.
• Ask vital questions and direct callers with pre-arrival instructions to patients and involved parties of fire, medical and police emergencies.
• Assess callers to interpret, analyze and anticipate situations to resolve problems, provide information, dispatch emergency services or refer callers to other agencies.
• Operates Enhanced 9-1-1 telephone system including TDD (telephone for hearing impaired) and Emergency Notification System.
• Participate in training less experienced dispatchers in proper operation of technical systems and performing other job tasks.
• Performs other job related tasks that facilitate departmental functions, as assigned by the supervisor.

Benefits

• Preference will be given to a qualified : Community Member Veteran, Community Member, Spouse of Community Member, qualified Native American, and then other qualified candidate.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: High school or GED