1. Employment Profile: What exactly does a Community Service Officer/Police Dispatcher do? |
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 What field is your job in?
law enforcement
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What is your job title?
Community Service Officer/Police Dispatcher
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Please provide a brief description of the firm or organization that you currently work for
(size and general description of what type of organization it is)
The City of Azusa police department. City has a population of approximately 48,000 residence. The department has about 4 community service officers that work in the patrol division and about 8 dispatchers.
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How long have you been employed in this position?
3 1/2 years
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How many hours do you work a week on average?
40
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Please provide a BRIEF description of your duties and responsibilities. (job description)
As a community service officer in patrol I enforce parking violations, impound abandoned vehicles and write police reports that have no suspect information. I give school tours of the department and act as a communtiy liason. When I dispatch I answer all of the phone lines into the police department including 911. I also handle radio traffic between the officers and advise them where to go.
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What was your gross income last year? Please include any bonuses or incentives received.
52,000
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What is your expected gross income for this year? Please include any bonuses or incentives you expect to receive.
54000
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Please
list any benefits you have (Please include number of weeks vacation,
sick leave and type of health insurance, retirement plan 401k)
4-6 week vacation, 8 hrs sick leave a month, 2 floating holidays in addition to 10 paid holidays, full health coverage, city paid retirement
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Do you feel you are under/well/over compensated at your current position?
well compensated with benefit package - salary is below the average
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2. Work environment! |
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Does
your job entail you working with others on a daily basis? Is this
something you like/dislike about your job? Explain
I am required to interact with the entire police department on a daily basis. In the field I am required to assist the police officers as needed on calls for service. In the dispatch center you work closely with another dispatcher as your partner. It is very nice in the dispatch center because the work load is heavy and having good team work makes the job easier.
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Do you work collaboratively with supervisors/managers?
Yes
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Do you work collaboratively with your co-workers?
Yes
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Describe
your work location (e.g., office, home, theatre, in the field) and what
you like/dislike about working in it
We collaborate with supervisors by training new dispatchers and also to help identify any problems the dispatch center is having. It is an absolute must for us to collaborate with co-workers in this position as the job requires you to work closely with your dispatching partner in emergency situations.
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Please rank in order of importance from 1-8 (1- most important 8- least important) Assign each number once.
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2 Income
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5 Work Environment - co-workers
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7 Work Environment - supervisors
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3 Benefits
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4 Hours
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6 Level of responsibility
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1 The actual "work" you do at your job
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8 Job Title
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3. How should someone new to the workforce get a J-O-B like yours? |
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If someone wanted to go about getting a job similar to yours, what would you recommend for him or her to do?
I would reccomend the person do a sit along with a dispatcher at agencies they are interested at working at. They can slo do some research on the internet in forums where 911 dispatchers answer questions.
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What
skills do you think a person should have if they want to pursue a
position like yours? Please be specific and explain why (e.g., social
skills, organization skills, technical skills)
Must have multi-tasking skills like being able to talk and type at the same time, ability to stay strong and calm under extreme stress, ability to work shift work and holidays. Strong organizational skills are also needed as you are responsible for keeping track of multiple phone lines and also multiple officers in the field.
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Do you feel that you need a certain level of education or training to be successful in your job?
At least high school diplomas is needed and having lots of interaction with the public is reccomended.
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What advice would you give to someone who was about to start work in your position/ line of work?
Be prepared to focus entirely on learning the job. There is a lot of information required in this position and you have to be able to handle the stress of learning it all. You must also be determined in training to not give up when it becomes tough.
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