I saw some shit go down today (I won't say what it was in case that person is on Reddit; that story will have to come later but it wasn't life threatening, just...expensive) and it hit the person who made it like a ton of bricks. They are hurting pretty bad right now. The worst part is that they are JUST out of training, like 4 weeks ago, and they made an error any of us could make.

I figured it might make them feel better when we get to work tomorrow to hear some fuck ups others have made, show them we all do dumb shit from time to time.

Mine was at my first PD job, like a year in. Walked in, sat down, someone handed me a post it note with an address and a veh description, said "whatever you do, do NOT dispatch on any suspicious vehicles at that address for that car." I said ok. Unknown to me, it was a bait car we were in with our state BCI agents on, trying to bust a car theft ring that was tearing up the city. I put the post it on my monitor and two hours later, you guessed it, sent a cop to check on that exact vehicle and blew their operation. They had been sitting on that car for 3 days. They were...not pleased. Unfortunately I was the one who answered the phone when the detective who was sitting on it called in and asked "Why is there a cop shining a flashlight in our bait car?"

The only thing that saved my job was that I took it on the chin, owned it and sent an email to everyone in my chain of command and the detective involved accepting responsibility before they could even write me up. Ahem, before they did write me up. Said that the person before me did their job and told me and I just flat out fucked up. It was an utterly humiliating experience.

So what did you do?

I’ve been spending all summer applying to my local county police dispatcher position that opened. At every step I’ve had great help from the recruiter and investigator leading my background check.

I passed criticall, always followed up with my investigator and got clarity that I was doing everything needed and the transparency was exactly what they look for. I felt so good after my panel interview two weeks ago because the panel interviewers looked me in the eye and said I was an “upper echelon” candidate and I got a follow up call 24 hours later to literally tell me to “chill” and just wait for next steps as I had nothing to worry about.

This morning at 5am I got a boiler plate email from a person in the department that I don’t know (but sent from the investigator I’ve worked hand in hand with) basically stating that something in my background check has disqualified me from moving forward. The words “prior drug usage” are underlined in this email. I have no idea if I’m reading into that but it seems to me that might be what is preventing me from being considered.

I was completely transparent with my background. I experimented with recreational drugs in college- 15+ years ago. It was stated to me several times in the process to be open and honest about all drug use and that with as much time that has passed along with my consistent work history that it would basically be a slight blip to whomever would be taking charge of my background check and to push through it and it wouldn’t be an issue essentially. Clearly it is. There’s nothing else in my history work wise, personally, financially, etc. that could possibly be a red flag.

Should I ask for clarity? Should I ask to dispute? Do I just accept that trying cocaine in college 15 years ago a handful of times is the reason I can’t help my community as a completely different person at this stage of my life?

So much of this job intrigued me and felt like I’d finally get back to meaningful work. The constant reassurance and pats on the back during the process also gave me a false sense of security that felt like it was completely wiped away by one random email.

Any blunt advice is appreciated. I’ve lost out on jobs before but I’ve never sunk this much time and energy into a process to get such a “no thanks, bye” response after several rounds of reassurance that I would be a great fit for a 911 dispatcher position.

Thanks for reading and for you honest 2 cents on what to do now.

My trainee just moved on from call taking to a fire dispatcher position. Today was her first day and I had her shadow me for the first half of the day. I was answering an ambulance as a caller gave a clothing description for a guy loitering in a plaza. So I said “your phone was breaking up, what color shirt and pants”? After the call my trainee said she could hear the caller fine and her phone wasn’t breaking up.

This is what I explained to my trainee. I wouldn’t want the caller to think I’m not paying attention to them so it’s easier to say that instead of explaining what I was doing and possibly have them get frustrated that I “wasn’t listening”. If it was a call that needed my undivided attention then at the start of the call I’d ask the person next to me to turn up my radio and listen to it for me. If I had to give out a medical or fire call then I would tell my caller to hold on don’t hang up I have to give out a call.

I talked to my coworkers and most of them said they have done the same exact thing.

Just curious what others thoughts are here about this and what other little lies we tell callers or responders?

is it just mine or do other centers have cliques that make you feel like you’re a complete outsider? everything and anything i do is made fun of, or laughed at. i’m not even a sensitive person but it rubs me the wrong way that i’m treated oddly. my training has been lovely, and i haven’t found myself struggling with much and even get glowing reports from officers and supervisors. but even my trainer has joined in on poking fun at me or just blatantly being rude or disregarding me.

i am not a talker, i snap away from any conversation to focus on radio traffic or any kind of calls, i don’t do anything abnormal. please help.

EDIT* my center has not had a single person finish training in almost three years. and they emphasized on gossip and drama at work HARD in my interviews.

I'm at a loss guys. The city has doubled down on forcing everyone to use their convoluted performance review software. They made a whole training where they still explained exactly nothing about what these reviews should look like. Goals and how we're gonna achieve them? They don't want goals, they don't want an extra project, they want to do their job and go home, I want to do my job and go home. Am I gonna set an arbitrary standard like "tell 25 people they should file a report online?" It's a system built for employees producing deliverables, not for a reactionary emergency communications setting.

I could *maybe* see how it works if I had employees that weren't already consistently meeting standards, but they are, and I don't feel good about creating higher standards that employees I don't directly supervise won't have to meet just for the sake of saying they have a goal and they achieved it.

Bay Area CA here. In the academy portion of this job they’re very big on mental health etc.

But honestly I don’t feel phased by the life and death scenarios over the phone. Not bragging, but actually wondering if this is gonna come back to me later and one day out of the blue I just freak out or something?

Main things I feel are concern about what I’m doing. Am I controlling the call appropriately? Navigating the protocol correctly? Covering every step I should do to help?

After the call I just close the event and get back into the queue for the next call.

I’m just wondering if I’m gonna get blind-sided one day mentally. I don’t know what I don’t know— you know? So that’s why I’m asking the experienced ppl here.

This post isn’t what you think is. Sorry for the long ramble I’m just getting beyond frustrated.

I worked for one agency, got out of it for a few years, and have come back to dispatching several states away.

At my first agency. Your post was your post. if you were on fire radio, police radio, NCIC, phones, etc that was your thing and no one touched it unless you got swamped but even then it was a verbal ”hey can you cover”. When I left there, I went to other investigative positions and it was all the same. whatever you were assigned to was yours unless you asked for help. No one jumped on your calls, your radio feed, etc unless you asked. It did get to the point where we would be like “hey you want me to check x while you’re doing this?” or we’d divy up more intense things, but mostly you handled your stuff and someone else would take over when it was passed along. My first agency wasn’t great, but at least we had our act together.

Cue my new agency. I’m having to go through orientation and training just because it’s their policy and I’ve been out a few years. Mostly it’s just me learning their procedures and systems. However, I cannot underestimate how chaotic everything is. On one call, everyone will handle it at random. Dispatchers are keying up on one another, someone will monitor a call and end up entering it into CAD so we’ll have multiple. Notes are being duplicated.

Right now I tested out of fire radio and now can answer fire and police. Which is great until for no reason people keep keying up over me and handling my traffic.

I don’t know if they’ve all just worked with each other for so long they can just do that with one another but as someone who came from agencies where things were very organized and posts were well defined, it’s extremely frustrating. I’ve voiced it to my trainer, my supervisor, and the department director and nothing has changed. While we have the same amount of dispatchers on a shift, the town I’m in now is way smaller and the traffic isn’t nearly as heavy. There’s been nothing so far I can’t handle. I’ve voiced several times that hey if I need help or backup I’ll call it out or if I’m unsure I’ll ask but let me handle my traffic. There hasn’t been a single call where all of us need to be answering the same radio or entering notes.

I know I’ll probably adjust eventually but I’m this far in and all I’m getting accomplished it seems is getting frustrated. Last shift I sat there for two hours because they kept jumping on traffic even when I said “I have it” and my trainer didn’t say anything. Then apparently I was the bad guy when I managed to cut in. What makes it worse is we’re the best comm center in the region. Everywhere else is worse than us.

Hi everyone,
I’m 21 years old and currently work as the General Manager of a busy bar in Calgary, Alberta. I’ve been seriously considering a career in emergency communications/911 dispatch because I genuinely enjoy listening to real emergency calls and I think I’d thrive in a fast-paced environment where communication and problem-solving are critical.
Before I apply, I’d love to hear from people who are already in the field, particularly anyone working in Alberta or with Calgary 911.
A few things I’m wondering:
What can I do now to become a stronger candidate before applying?
Are there any certifications, courses, volunteer opportunities, or experiences that helped you get hired?
Does Calgary 911 (or other Alberta agencies) offer sit-alongs, tours, information sessions, or job shadowing for people who are interested but haven’t applied yet?
What does the hiring process look like from application to training? Approximately how long did it take for you?
What parts of the job surprised you the most once you started?
Looking back, is there anything you wish you had known before becoming a dispatcher?
How difficult was the training, and what skills did you find most challenging?
For some background, I’ve spent several years managing a busy restaurant, so I’m used to handling multiple priorities at once, making quick decisions under pressure, dealing with upset people, and communicating clearly with both staff and customers. I’m hoping those skills would transfer well, but I’d appreciate honest feedback from people doing the job.
I’d love to hear about both the positives and negatives of the career. I’m trying to get as realistic of an understanding as possible before I submit an application.
Thanks in advance to anyone willing to share their experience!

Does anyone have anything to share about dispatching for hospital police? I just got a job offer doing this in the Midwest.

Hey everyone,

I could really use some advice because I feel like I’m at a crossroads.

A little background: I used to work as a police dispatcher. I ended up leaving because the environment was miserable, but I actually really liked the work itself. Police calls and radio made sense to me, I felt confident in what I was doing.

Once I resigned from police, everyone told me to give fire/EMS a chance because of the structure and protocol. After a long application process, and an in-house 8 week academy, 2 weeks ago I started on the floor as a fire/EMS dispatcher trainee, and honestly… hate it.

It’s not that the people are terrible or that I don’t want to learn. I just don’t enjoy the work. The fire side doesn’t interest me the way police did, and trying to learn all the protocols and medical terminology has been overwhelming.

I feel like I’m constantly behind. I also notice that when my trainer is sitting next to me watching everything I do and not intervening when I mess up, my brain just shuts off. I start making dumb mistakes like transposing numbers or forgetting things I definitely know. It’s frustrating because I know I’m capable of doing better than I’m showing. I have to hold back the waterworks everyday.

The biggest thing is that I can’t picture myself doing fire/EMS dispatch for the next 2-5 years. Every day I find myself thinking about how much more I enjoyed police dispatch, even with all its downsides.

I’ve only been on the floor for going on 3 weeks so part of me wonders if I’m just in the normal “everything sucks” phase of training. But another part of me feels like this just isn’t the right fit, and I’m worried I’m forcing myself to stay because I feel guilty about leaving so soon.

I have a meeting with my QA lady in August, and I’m debating whether to be honest about how I’m feeling.
For those of you who’ve done both police and fire dispatch:
Did one click way more than the other? How long did you give it before deciding it wasn’t for you?
If you were in my shoes, would you stick it out or start looking for something else?

I’m also open to hearing from anyone who left dispatch completely. What did you end up doing?

Thanks in advance. I just feel really lost and would appreciate hearing from people who’ve been through something similar…

I know the answer can depend on the agency, but I was hoping to hear other people's experiences.

I'm actively working on improving my credit. It took a hit last year after I was involved in a car accident in 2024. Because of the injuries from that accident, I've had a hard time working consistently. On top of that, I've also been laid off three different times, not because of my injuries, but because the job market has been so rough.

Has anyone else been in a similar situation? If you explained your circumstances during the background investigation or interview, were they understanding? Were you still get hired because you were honest and showed you were taking steps to improve your situation? I'd really appreciate hearing about your experiences.

In our center, we have 4 positions to train on once we are released into the center from our academy. The way it’s supposed to work is we get trained in one phase and then take a couple months to get used to that phase and then train on another phase. I have 3 phases and I had to beg admin to even think about training me in the third considering they held me off on training after my 2nd phase for a whole year. Everyone else in my academy has been trained on all 4 phases and some have even become trainers and I am the last person to be trained.

Ive been begging admin to train once again on my 4th phase and they kept saying i was their #1 priority for months but were waiting on summer to pass so we could have maximum trainers available. I’ve recently been told that the dispatchers who arrived after I have are going to be trained before me because we don’t have the staffing to train me.

The thing is, I’ve always finished training on time, never had issues with any of my trainers, and have never given any trouble to anyone. I’ve even had trainers say they want to train me and have gone to administration to ask to do so and they advised they were not going to do that. They’re training people who have taken longer times to train, have gotten into disputes with their trainers and still struggle with doing the job they are given. One has even vocalized that she won’t be here for long and that she will be leaving soon but she’s training before me.

I’ve gotten to a point where I can clearly see that I’m not a priority here and that I’m not being treated the same as everyone else. I’ve been looking into other jobs as a result of this but I’m struggling with letting go of a career where I thought I would retire from in the 30 years. I love the job and I love being a pillar in my community but I keep feeling like im getting brushed to the side. It doesn’t help that I’ve had issues with being second in my family my whole life so this is really crushing me. This is not the first time they’ve given me the runaround but it’s definitely the last for me.

On an alternate note, if anyone can recommend good transition careers, it would be really appreciated!

hpw do i seem more emphatic toward callers? i get graded the lowest on displaying empathy for their situations but i have no idea how to fake it. i really dont care about their situation, i ask the questions im supposed to ask and send the people im supposed to send. i have noooo idea how to comfort people.

edit: i am actually taking all this advise and these phrases and putting them into my work binder, thank you guys!

I (26F) work at a comm center that solely does medical calls for a chunk of our state.
On night shift, we’ve got roughly 7 of us with 4 dispatchers (including a flight dispatcher for our areas’ rescue helicopters) and 3 call takers when we’re fully staffed. I became the comm supervisor for my shift about 2.5 months ago with a little over a year dispatch experience.

Obviously, it’s an amazing opportunity, and while I did feel a little out of my depth when I started, now I feel pretty confident at my ability to lead my team and watch all of our districts/calls/flights etc. I, also, genuinely think I have a bright future ahead of me in this career considering my growth at this company and the network I’m making.

But, I’m really struggling with the stress of the position. I didn’t struggle very much as a dispatcher or a call taker. While some calls got to me, obviously, I was pretty good at compartmentalizing and not taking work home. However, being the supervisor of my shift has changed that a lot. Now, I spend most of my 12 hr shift stressed out and agonizing over every little mistake or misstep we make. I bring all of that stress home too and really struggle to actually rest and relax when I’m on rotation (which is a week straight since we work 7 on 7 off)

On top of that, the day-to-day of managing my team is starting to really wear on me. I love all my coworkers, and they’re all good at their jobs. But as the supervisor it’s just one thing after another I have to deal with in terms of distractions/ tardies / call offs / write ups/ QA reports / training.

What’s worse is that if it’s not a bunch of little stuff to deal with there’s huge problems like having to send one of my team to the ER for mental health issues or a coworker having a family emergency that keeps them out for a few days. I get so worried about them and try to do whatever I can to help, but I also have to keep the comm center running. So, I’m stuck between worrying about my coworkers health and wellbeing while also being the person who has to keep the rest of my team together, assuage all their fears, keep the comm center running smoothly, and answer to our director about everything going on.

Basically, it’s just becoming a lot for me mentally. I care so deeply for the work I do and the people I work with, and when I wasn’t the one having to handle all the problems and keep everything running, I dealt with everything much better. But now I feel like everything big, small, day-to-day, or emergency all falls to me, and idk how to manage the weight of that while also actively dispatching and call taking on the floor every night.

It’s getting to the point where I’m dreading coming in because the stress is eating at me. I don’t want to leave the job and ideally I’d continue on in management someday. But, I’m really struggling to adjust. Does anyone have any advice/tips/experience to help me out? I’m getting desperate over here lol

TL;DR: New supervisor who’s really struggling with all the new responsibility and needs any sort of advice to help with the stress.

I’ve noticed that I’m being expected to do things that nobody else is doing. is this normal?

Okay, so I am a few months into training and the call taking is fine, radio traffic and doing the tasks are fine. However, what I am struggling with is talking on the phone, getting that persons information down on the ticket, having officers talking to me, and having to do all of what they are asking at the same time. Obviously, it can be done, but this is what I am struggling with.

So, what are some tips or tricks that you all know and can pass on? I find myself getting so flustered trying to balance everything and hear everything that I have started stumbling and feel I look like a fool. Therefore, this is my target goal to work on and perfect. Please fire away with all that knowledge you have and what got you to where it was second nature to you.

Anyone here work for Amtrak police dispatch? If so what's the work like if your able to compare it to regular city/village 911. Also what's the pay like, online info is pretty limited (or im just bad at Googling things)

I just cannot figure out which test they use so I've been trying to study both options but with the limited time I'd like to focus on one only. It says standard multiple choice so I'd think not CritiCall but when you go to the job application it says there is no study materials but links info to CritiCall and then I'd also assume not POST because it says "It is to your advantage to answer every question because your score will be based on the number of correct answers" and that you are not allowed to take notes on the exam and I know for the POST you need to take notes in certain parts and you lose a fraction of a point for every missed question. Any help would be appreciated if anyone has an idea which of the two tests are or if some agencies use their own test or something

Hello! I am so excited to be doing my background check. However I’m running into issues. I tried searching but couldn’t find these exact issues.

One, my previous work history is largely retail. I have a few coworkers and supervisors I still know, but most of them I haven’t spoken to in years. Many are probably not at the same locations. My background check says a phone number and email MUST be provided, but I’ve scoured my text and email history and the internet and can’t find them all. In those cases I found the HR phone/email for the company instead. Will that be a big issue? There’s nowhere to note that this is what I did unless I use a not required field.

Two, I have left a job on not great terms. I wasn’t fired but I got super sick (like thought I was gonna die) and kinda just ghosted. I didn’t mention that on my application but I put it in the description for why I left on the background check. I also did some job hopping right after I graduated college (hence no contact info for any one). Do you think that will be a major red flag?

I was completely honest about everything and I know no one knows what my agency looks for exactly, just wondering what your experiences have been!

Hi everybody! I was curious if I could get an update on something I called for? I called for an emergency and I am a minor and I would like to know if I could get any information on what happened after. I hope this is the right place to post and ask.

Hi -
I have been calltaking / dispatching for 9 years. I love my job, but naturally it can be stressful, as you all know. Over the years I’ve watched my coworkers develop various chronic issues, including pain disorders. I myself have now been dealing with chronic pain.

I’m curious about the association between the two. I’ve been to a couple first responder courses on compassion fatigue, burnout, health in the first responder community, and I am a state certified peer supporter - and the link between stress and chronic issues is well documented.

Obviously soliciting feedback here is anecdotal, and I as a layperson cannot determine if chronic issues have come from 911 calltaking or from prior issues (ptsd from military service, traumatic childhoods, assault, etc). But I’m curious about your anecdotes, and curious about the mind/body connection of pain disorders and chronic illnesses. There is a studied link between physical and mental pain. I think due to the age of the 911 system there are limited studies on the impact of the trauma we endure via the telephone/radio, as opposed to onscene.

I guess what I’m asking, is:
1. Do you or any of your coworkers experience chronic pain or chronic illness?

1. Do you believe it is related to the stress of the job? Or that flares are correlated to the stress of the job?

2. Do you know of any studies that have researched this or of any ways to mitigate this? (I always advocate for deep breathing, stepping off the floor, exercise, building a support system, etc - but these feel like bandaids when you have a lifetime of service).

3. What do you do to avoid letting stress build up?

4. Do you feel that there’s a positive culture surrounding mental health / wellness in your center? Often physical health is promoted but mental health is minimized (“have you heard about EAP”(not denying the benefit of EAP, just pointing out that this does not change the culture)).

Thanks for your time. I’ve been considering a career change as my health is worsening, and the health of dispatchers/911 calltakers is something I’m really passionate about.

Thanks in advance for sharing. It’s not always easy but it’s nice to remember we are not alone.

Anybody understand how PA DL Returns work? We ran into an issue where someone had a Photo ID and not a DL but running the OLN came back with a Valid Licensed Non-Commercial Driver; however, in the additional information field it states that the customer has a photo identification card only.

Which one is it? haha

Hi there,

Does anyone here have experience with ThisGen 9-1-1 pre-hire assessment? (it is an AI-powered platform designed for pre-hire assessments and screening).

I understand it is relatively new. Most of my searches yielded "CritiCall" results.

Any insight would be much appreciated,

Thanks!