Are there different types of dispatchers that work in police stations? or do they all answer the 911 calls?

Question

thanks! :-)

Answer 1

There are different types of dispatchers.  Some answer 911 calls, others answer the non-emergency line, then more take the information typed in by those two and go over the radio and dispatch police (or fire).  Others answer phone or radio calls from the police and run background checks, warrant checks, notify other agencies, etc.

The size of the agency can determine how many dispatchers there are and what their jobs are.  For example a metro area dispatch center may have 10-15 on at one time, but a rural city may have just one doing all the jobs listed above.

Answer 2

Well it depends in how big the city you live in.  As for me a former dispatcher who worked for a small town we would answer the 911 calls that were coming in.  We would advise our officers on radio that we are answering a 911 call and if they had a traffic stop they would transmit to another officer or supervisor such as a Sergeanent or Captain.  After we have cleared with 911 then we would advise over radio.  Any traffic stops would be relied back to us by the supervisors.  But in bigger cities they assign their dispatchers to Zones, Fire, Radio and 911.

Answer 3

The dispatchers that work in receiving take the 911 calls as they come in. They evaluate if and when an officer needs to be sent to the call. They generate the call on the computer, and send it to the appropriate zone or area.

The zone dispatchers assign the calls that they get from receiving based on priority. Their job is to assign calls to the officers, check on them to make sure that they are alright while on calls for an extended period of time, and clear the air traffic for emergency announcments or emergency communications for officers at high risk scenes.

There are also other dispatchers which work in more specialized areas. They may work in ID (identification). Their job is to check the records when an officer needs to  see if an individual has an active warrant, to see if an article has been reported stolen in the past, or to enter items or cars as stolen.

There are still other dispatchers who dispatch specialty units, such as the K-9 (canine) officers, detectives, and crime scene units. They operate similar to the zone dispatchers, except they assign units based on request from officers or supervisors.

Of course there is also rank among dispatchers. You could be a supervisor of a group or area of dispatchers.

All of this depends on how big of a city you live in. Smaller departments are not going to have all of this diversification. Some may only have one or two dispatchers if there are only a few officers in your area.  

Answer 4

This depends on the agency in question.  There are numerous set ups that are possible in a 911 center.  Ranging from divided duties between several people, to one person doing everything imaginable.  Are you curious about a specific agency?