Cop or Dispatcher?

[Smalto1014]

How many civilian dispatchers out there have the same responsibilities that a police officer has? Where I work the dispatcher has a lot of power and responsibility but we are not backed up by a Union. I work in a fairly busy town in New Jersey right across from NYC. We run with about 5 guys on the road. Only one dispatcher is sceduled per shift. The officer in charge is out on patrol leaving the dispatcher the only one in hq, unless theres a detective. We type our own reports and enter everything into NCIC. There are only two things we don't do is Domestics and Arrests. There are many times another pd will call and ask to speak to a desk sgt., that doesn't exist in the station I work at. Are there any other dispatchers that take on this Role?

[MrJim911]

You are civilian dispatchers taking reports for thefts, missing persons and other miscellaneous calls??? At my center the public doesn't even have access to us. All calls are given to officers to handle. Of course we enter things/people/stuff into LEADS and NCIC because our officers can't from their MDC's nor are they authorized to do so. Interesting question you've brought up.

[Lupey]

My dept we have no powers to take reports, we are all non-sworn. Everyone gets an officer if they want an "official" report done. After awhile though you learn what an officer would say & what they law is and you give them the advice. Saves from tying up an officer on a non-important call. As long as it is simple advice, ie talking to their landlords about a neighbor dispute, barking dog, or other "trivial" matters my dept doesn't say much.

[Smalto1014]

We handle the complaints that we receive through the walk up window. I wouldn't send a police officer to a home to take a lost property report. If someone complained that they lost their cell phone we have them come to hq and then we take the report. (where and when the phone was lost, ser#, cost of the phone) if someone came in and said they wanted to report a missing person we get all the information, photo, and then enter it into NCIC. I then would notify patrol and the supervisor of the description and circumstances of the incident, assign a case number and complete a report. Same goes for a stolen mv, bike, fraud. Etc. The dispatcher is responsible for making an initial report and if needed a follow-up report would be done through the detective bureau.

[MrJim911]

Smalto-What type of protection do you have from the public at your walk up window? Bullet proof glass? How many doors seperate you from them and what type of security features do they have on them?

[Smalto1014]

MrJim,


We have Bulletproof glass with an intercom. Bulletproof doors. Concrete from bottom to top. Push button code to enter. Desk officer has a button on the console to release the lock. After 12am we are able to close the main door to the building with a magnetic locking system that also can be released at the desk. Cameras watching both front and side doors of the building. That raps it up.

[MrJim911]

Excellent. I wish it were that way for all dispatchers that have to deal with the public face to face.

[KYEMT325]

Our communications officers don't do any kind of reports whatsoever. We do have a walk-up window for complaints though where they can report a crime and an officer will be called in to take the report for them. It is plexiglass and can be broken with your fist. The doors are wooden with manual locks, so it wouldn't be too hard to get in here if someone wanted to. The main doors on the building are locked on a timer at dusk and reopen at dawn, and during nighttime hours are controlled by the dispatcher who hits the button which opens the door (on camera with voice so that we know who it is before we open it).

As far as property goes, when someone finds something on the street (like keys, wallet, etc)...our dispatchers aren't even allowed to take it through the window, period. We've gotten threatened with lawsuits over taking property and it not ending up in the property room because no one ever booked it in. So now our official policy is that dispatchers NEVER take anything through the window, for any reason. If you do, you're written up for doing so. This causes us to have an officer to come in to book it in, and then the responsibility for the property doesn't lie upon the dispatcher (who isn't trained in the procedures of property and evidence anyways).

NOW, the new place I'm working for, the dispatch center is isolated from the public (yay), and the only time you deal with the public is on the phone. You actually get to do your job, which is to dispatch calls. Considering the call volume at this department is HUGE (this is only the 7th and they are already at 4,000 cases for 2002), I understand why they have to be dispatchers and call-takers and nothing else.

[KYEMT325]

One more thing. This is not to say that a report couldn't be done by a dispatcher, because under Ky law anyone can complete a report, no sworn authority is needed. But, we just feel that it isn't good business to pay the dispatchers what they get paid and let them do the cops jobs for them too.

[MrJim911]

Absolutely! It's not and shouldn't be your job to do those types of things. We all have enough going on with calls and our own internal paperwork to deal with. I'm happy to hear your new building will be isolated from the public!! :bounce:

[Noodle]

In my department we deal with the public a lot through a little glass window in the radio room that is only surrounded by drywall.:confused: We do not do reports, and I would not want to especially since the officers get more than twice the salary that we do. Other than dealing with a first time on their own public and large sporting events (I work at a University) our job does not have any unique aspects. I do know that there is a department near Cininnatti Oh that requires their dispatchers to be jailors as well. They have cells that hold up to 25 people attached to their dispatch room. Because of this they have to answer calls, dispatch police and fire, and work all of the inmate problems. So far I find there office one of the most unique dispatching situations so far.

[MrJim911]

I recently spoke with a dispatcher in Texas where they had just moved into a new facility which they liked alot. The one bad thing is that they monitor the people in their jail and EVERY cell has a phone with access to the dispatch center. I about fell out of my chair. That's one of the stupidest things I've ever heard. As if we have time to deal with those people. It's amazing what we get stuck with once in a while. They are civilian dispatchers.

[Smalto1014]

Where I work we have two cells. Each have a camera in them and an intercom so we can listen in. The dispatchers aren't trained in Cell Block Management so we aren't responsible for what might happen in there. Whenever there is someone that is brought in a police officer has to sit behind the desk with me and monitor their actions every 10 mins or so. And record that into the cell log.

[Mtcat]

Smalto1014,

Your job sounds alot like mine. Although I was one of the few sworn didpatchers all were responsible for reports and sometimes on the smaller stuff we would do the follow up also.
The S.O. I was at was new (6yrs ago) and dispatch sits right in the middle of the detention center. You are surrounded by cells from max to trustee. guys in orange are all around you and can see you through thick glass, or use the intercom to talk to you.
I just got on with Highway Patrol and there is none of that. But I will miss the 911 domestic, trauma, fight, and medical.

I won't miss the "poop guy", or dog calls.

[Graybird6]

No reports. It is clearly in our P+P that we are not allowed to give legal advise, nor do we pretend to be Deputies. Our center is located inside our Justice Center between the Jail and Patrol areas, behind two electric lock doors. We have no access to the public and nobody even knows we are there (sometimes I think the deputies forget also). We obviously do all the data entry for persons, items, vehicles ect... When it comes to lost property, we take the info and will all but enter it waiting for the paper from the deputies. One of my best dispatchers put it very well on time by saying "If I wanted to be a uniform wearing records clerk, I would go down the street and make more money." Cant argue with that line of thinking.