Standards Group Approves Training Document

A nationally-recognized standards group has given final approval to a set of minimum training requirements for public safety telecommunicators, as researched and written by the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO). The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) was founded in 1918 to bring order to a wide range of technical and procedural guidelines, intended to publicize and distribute best practices in an industry. In this case, APCO began working on minimum training standards in 1995 as Project 33. Various versions of the committee’s standard have been posted previously, but ANSI approval gives it more authority and wider distribution. Of the document’s 28 pages, nine are taken up with acknowledgements introduction. The remainder of the standard covers agency responsibilities, organizational integrity, professional competence, a dispatcher’s general knowledge and skills, along with tools, equipment and technology. There are then separate sections for calltaker and each type of dispatcher—law enforcement, fire and EMS. The document does not set exact policies and procedures, or even a minimum number or hours of training. Instead, the standard sets more general requirements. For example, it states that, “The Agency shall establish no less than these minimum training requirements while complying with all local, state, and federal laws.” In fact, some states have no minimum training standards for dispatchers. In a press release, APCO said the standard is based on research compiled from occupational analysis workshops. “Over 100 high-performing telecommunicators contributed to these workshops representing various agencies,” APCO said. Download (pdf) the new standard here.