(July, 1998)
by Gary Allen
The outlook for dispatchers of all types is good, but there's a down side-it will come from the need to replace employees who transfer to other occupations or leave the labor force.
A U.S. Department of Labor Web page says overall employment of dispatchers is expected to grow about as fast as the average for all occupations through the year 2006. The prediction includes those who dispatch for public safety agencies as well as private companies such as taxi services, trucking and tow truck companies.
The outlook also quantifies-or attempts to quantify-the number of dispatcher jobs in the United States. According to the agency, there are about 234,000 dispatcher jobs as of 1996, and "almost two-fifths were police, fire, and ambulance dispatchers, almost all of whom worked for State and local governments-primarily for local police and fire departments." That would put the number of public safety dispatchers at about 93,600.
The Web site has listings for hundreds of job titles, and analyzes how they will be affected by political, economic and other issues during the next five years. The site is at:
http://stats.bls.gov/oco/ocos138.htm
"Employment of police, fire, and ambulance dispatchers is expected to grow more slowly than the average for all occupations," the agency said. "Intense competition for available resources among governmental units should limit the ability of many growing communities to keep pace with rapidly growing emergency services needs."
To balance the increased demand for emergency services, "many districts are seeking to consolidate their communications centers into a shared, areawide facility, thus further restricting opportunities in this industry," the Department of Labor said.
On the commercial side, "Population growth and economic expansion are expected to lead to overall employment growth of dispatchers not involved in public safety," the agency said. The overall increase will be about average, but not all specialties will be affected in the same way.
For example, the agency said employment of taxicab, train, and truck dispatchers is sensitive to economic conditions. "When economic activity falls, demand for transportation services declines," the report said. "They may experience layoffs or a shortened workweek, and jobseekers may have some difficulty finding entry-level jobs. Employment of tow truck dispatchers, on the other hand, is seldom affected by general economic conditions because of the emergency nature of their business."
Do What?
The Web site also offered a description of dispatchers, including the view that, "Although dispatching jobs are found throughout the country, most dispatchers work in urban areas where large communications centers and businesses are located."
The site said related occupations include airline dispatchers, air traffic controllers, radio and television transmitter operators, telephone operators, customer service representatives, and transportation agents.
The agency said the work of dispatchers varies greatly depending on the industry in which they work but, "Regardless of where they work, however, all dispatchers are assigned a specific territory and have responsibility for all communications within this area."
Dispatchers keep records, logs, and schedules of the calls they receive, the transportation vehicles they monitor and control, and the actions they take, the agency said. "Many dispatchers employ computer-aided, or computer-assisted, dispatch systems to accomplish these tasks. The cost of these systems, however, still limits their widespread use," the Department of Labor said.
"Many police, ambulance, taxicab, and tow truck dispatchers work as part of teams, especially in large communications centers or companies." the analysis said. "One person usually handles all dispatching calls to the response units or company's drivers, while the other members of the team generally receive the incoming calls and deal with the public."
Safety Side
More specifically, police, fire, and ambulance dispatchers, "also called public safety dispatchers," monitor the location of emergency services personnel from any one or all of the jurisdiction's emergency services departments. "They dispatch the appropriate type and number of units in response to calls for assistance. Dispatchers, or call takers, often are the first people the public talks to when they call for emergency assistance."
The Web review said that, "If certified for emergency medical services, then the dispatcher may provide medical instruction to those on the scene until the medical staff arrives.
The Web site explained that, "A dispatcher is a person in an assignment position, while the call takers are people receiving calls and transferring information to the dispatchers. During the course of the shift, personnel will rotate such that the assignment responsibility of the dispatcher will be shared with those in the call taker role."
Dispatchers work in a variety of settings, the agency said-in a police station, a fire station, a hospital, or a centralized city communications center. "In many cities, the police department serves as the communications center. In these situations, all 911 emergency calls go to the police department, where a dispatcher handles the police calls and screens the others before transferring them to the appropriate service."
As for taking calls, "dispatchers carefully question each caller to determine the type, seriousness, and location of the emergency. This information is posted either electronically by computer, or, with decreasing frequency, by hand, and communicated immediately to uniformed or supervisory personnel."
The dispatcher then, "quickly decides on the priority of the incident, the kind and number of units needed, and the location of the closest and most suitable ones available." According to the Web site, there is typically a team of calltakers who answer calls and relay the information to the dispatchers. Responsibility then shifts to the dispatchers who send response units to the scene and monitor the activity of the public safety personnel answering the dispatch.
"When appropriate, dispatchers stay in close contact with other service providers-for example, a police dispatcher would monitor the response of the fire department when there is a major fire." In a medical emergency, dispatchers not only keep in close touch with the dispatched units, the Department of Labor analysis said, but also with the caller.
"They may give extensive pre-arrival first aid instructions while the caller is waiting for the ambulance. They continuously give updates on the patient's condition to the ambulance personnel, and often serve as a link between the medical staff in a hospital and the emergency medical technicians in the ambulance."
The report listed several sources of information, including the National Academy of Emergency Medical Dispatch, Association of Public Safety Communications Officials, the International Municipal Signal Association, American Society for Testing and Materials, and the American Train Dispatchers Association.
copyright 1998, 911 Dispatch Services Inc.