Public Safety Dispatcher

SUMMARY OF POSITION:

Under the direct supervision of the Lead Public Safety Administrator or designee, the Public Safety Administrator is responsible for monitoring and controlling of security systems, including equipment, processing and dispatch of requests for service, as well as associated reports, paperwork and all operational procedures. Responding according to the established procedures for emergency conditions and situations.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

Acts as primary liaison for intra-agency and inter-agency dispatching needs of medical school, hospital and city-based emergency response agencies.
• Functions as the recipient of first responder/emergency situations via phone and alarm systems.
• Primary point of contact for 911 emergency phone calls made to the department. Triages calls and dispatches department personnel to emergency situations involving criminal activity, medical emergencies and alarm activity as needed.
• Primary point of contact for routine phone calls made to department. Triages calls for service, door openings for authorized medical school and hospital personnel, inquiries about lost property in the lost and found, parking inquiries, directions, and other general informational requests.
• Operates the Public Safety paging and radio communication system, coordinating information during routine and emergency situations.
• Trained and certified to access and operate the department's criminal justice information software (CJIS) to respond to police requests for information on victims and suspects of crimes, registry of motor vehicle information, and other criminal justice queries while they are in the field on calls.
• Monitor CJIS terminal for surrounding community alerts including emergency notifications and Amber alerts.
• Monitors alarm systems for departmental panic alarms, fire alarms, irradiator alarms, biosafety level 3 alarms, infant abduction alarms and campus-wide intercom systems and dispatches police personnel to the alarm location.
• Coordinates fire emergency response triggered by alarm or 911 line. Assist police, engineers, and fire department in locating source.
• Responsible for participating in scheduled testing and troubleshooting of all alarms systems, with outstanding issues forwarded to appropriate vendors for agency support.
• Responsible for sending out emergency alert notifications through voice/text/email through the emergency alert software (RAVE) to the medical school and hospital communities in the event of an emergency.
• Creates and maintains a shift log, reviewing and ensuring all collected data during various shifts are accurate and entered appropriately into computerized record keeping database (CAD). Summarizes calls, including police security checks, public interactions, traffic stops, emergency calls, and general information occurring during shift.
• Present pass-along briefing to the oncoming shift dispatcher including ongoing issues, pending calls, and pertinent information to provide continuity of service for outstanding issues.
• Collate, organize, and print support paperwork for police personnel as needed for their duties.
• Maintain equipment in the dispatch center and place calls for service for equipment that needs troubleshooting by outside vendors or school information technology department. Assist with updates and report unresolvable issues to the Lead Dispatcher, IT, or outside vendors.
• Assists police department personnel with investigations, to include, but not limited to: finding and obtaining relevant video footage of incidents, correlating access control logs, determining and interpreting criminal history within the court system both in and out of state, as well as internet-based online searches for both criminal investigations and background investigations for prospective police and dispatch personnel employment candidates.
• Maintains last minute scheduling changes for police personnel, including notifications for filling open shifts and alerting supervisors to staffing shortages and filling these shortages through notifications by phone or scheduling software.
• Essential personnel expected to work at any time during a 24-hour, 7 day a week, 365 days a year basis, regardless of scheduled shift, covering open shifts as required by staffing and emergent circumstances such as; inclement weather or state of emergency. Required to work forced overtime to fulfill department staffing requirements as needed.
• Receive deliveries of urgent goods and ensure their security to proper destination.
• Manage off hour dock access for deliveries, funeral home pickups, service, and facilities.
• Accept lost and found items turned in by the public making effort in identifying/contacting owner, and logging the item into the computer aided dispatch software.
• Ability to remain calm and collected under stressful situations.
• Ability to multitask and handle multiple concurrent alarms / phone calls / radio transmissions.
• Ability to extract information from people in distress
• Ability to evaluate emergencies, asking vital questions while providing appropriate pre-arrival instructions
• Expertise with state and federal criminal information systems such as CJIS, NLETS, NCIC.
• Perform other duties as required.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Associates degree in Computer Science or related field, or equivalent experience.
• 2 years computer system operation and clerical related experience, including ability to maintain records, input data.
• Must be able to be certified in CPR/First Responder.
• Familiarity with police codes and NATO phonetic alphabet
• Must have strong interpersonal skills, with the ability to make spontaneous decisions for triaging route, as well as emergency situations.
• Normal visual and manual dexterity.