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Iowa State University Department of Public Safety
Police Division
Application for Police Dispatcher
Instructions:
The following is an application for the position of Iowa State University Police Dispatcher. Please read the following descriptions of the Police Dispatcher duties. You may keep this sheet for your own reference. You may fill this application out by hand. Pages 4 through 7 should be filled out completely. Please contact all references before naming them on your application and follow the guidelines in completing the essay. Please return your completed application to the address below. Thank you for your application!
Attn: Marie Carlson
Iowa State University Police
Room 55 Armory Building
Ames, IA 50011
Application for Police Dispatcher
The position of Police Dispatcher is one that entails great responsibility and reliability by the applicant due to the nature of the duties a dispatcher must perform. Police dispatchers provide communications of a public safety nature for university police and other departments as well as surrounding law enforcement agencies and emergency response agencies utilizing multi-frequency radio, teletype, telephone, TDD, and personal contact. This includes answering 911 and administration phone lines, determining the nature and location of the call or emergency; determining priorities, and dispatching police, fire, EMS, or Parking as necessary in accordance with established procedures, all the while documenting everything in CAD (computer aided dispatch) system.
Maintains contact with all units on assignment, maintains status and locations of police units. Other responsibilities include monitoring university emergency phones and multiple fire, security and maintenance alarm systems. Enters, updates and retrieves information from a variety of computer systems. Receives requests for information regarding vehicle registration, driving records and warrants, and provides pertinent data.
The following are descriptions of some, but not all, of the duties that a dispatcher may perform.
Duties
· Phone Calls
· Radio Communications
· CAD/State System/NCIC
· Alarms
· Customer Service
Descriptions
Phone Calls Dispatchers are required to answer both administrative and emergency phone calls for the Iowa State University Campus. This may consist of taking a message for an employee to answering a 911 call for an individual needing an ambulance. Dispatchers are the first line of response to anyone calling for Police, Fire, EMS and it is a dispatcher’s job to determine what response needs to be taken. Some examples of calls that are taken by dispatchers are theft reports, lost/found property reports, burglary, building fire, persons needing medical assistance, hit and run, motor vehicle collisions, and welfare checks.
Radio Communications Dispatchers are required to communicate with police, community service officers, parking officers, ambulance and Ames Fire via radio. Dispatchers take reports via the phone and relay that information to the appropriate responding unit via the radio. Dispatchers are required to maintain contact with all units on assignment and maintain statuses and locations of police units via the radio.
CAD/State System/NCIC Dispatchers are required to document everything that they do and what information an officer tells them via the radio in a timely manner via the computer aided dispatch system (CAD). Dispatchers make inquiries of the Iowa On-line Warrants and Articles Criminal Justice Information System (IOWA). The IOWA System allows criminal justice agencies to:
1) Access nationwide computerized banks of information such as wanted, missing and unidentified persons; sex offenders; violent gang and terrorist organization members, protective orders; and stolen property.
2) Request driver license and motor vehicle information in-state as well as out-of-state.
3) Exchange criminal history information on a national basis.
4) Communicate by use of administrative messages with other criminal justice agencies state and nationwide.
Dispatchers make inquiries of the National Crime Information Center (NCIC). NCIC is a nationwide computerized information system established as a service to all criminal justice agencies - local, state and federal. NCIC's goal is to help the criminal justice community perform its duties by providing and maintaining a computerized filing system of accurate and timely documented criminal justice information readily available to as many criminal justice agencies as possible.
Alarms Dispatchers monitor fire, environmental, maintenance, chemical spill, and intrusion alarms for the university. Once an alarm is received, it is the dispatcher’s responsibility to respond to the alarm by dispatching the appropriate unit to the alarm. The appropriate unit may include a fire truck to a fire alarm, on-call maintenance personnel to a freezer alarm, or a police officer to an intrusion alarm. All of this is then documented by the dispatcher in CAD.
Customer Service Dispatchers are the first interaction with the public via both phone and walk-in traffic. Dispatchers are required to be professional and courteous when interacting with the public to determine what type of a response is required by our department, whether it be directions to a building, a theft report, or a person needing fingerprinting done.
Application for Police Dispatcher
Name: ISUID #:____ DOB:
Present Year in School: Major/Minor:
Date of Graduation: Estimated GPA:
Personal Information:
In Session Address:
Phone number:
Cell number:
Email address:
Home Address: City State
Previous Employment:
1) Employer: Address: Dates: To:
Phone:
Duties:
Reason for leaving:
2) Employer: Address: Dates: To:
Phone:
Duties:
Reason for leaving:
3) Employer: Address: Dates: To:
Phone:
Duties:
Reason for leaving:
References:
1) Name:
Address:
Occupation:
Daytime Phone #:
2) Name:
Address:
Occupation:
Daytime Phone #:
3) Name:
Address:
Occupation:
Daytime Phone #:
Availability:
Shifts Available:
3:30 p.m. TO 7:30 p.m.: SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
7:30 p.m. TO 11:30 p.m.: SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT
11:30 p.m. TO 3:30 a.m.: SUN MON FRI SAT
3:30 a. m. TO 7:30 a. m.: SUN MON
7:30 a.m. TO 11:30 a.m.: SAT SUN
11:30 a.m. TO 3:30 p.m.: SAT SUN
How many hours per week could you work? Would you be available to work weekends (most shifts that are available are on the weekends)?
Supplemental Questions:
How did you find out about this job?
Do you know anyone currently employed at ISU DPS?
[ ] YES [ ] NO
If yes, what is/are the name(s) of the person(s)?
Why are you interested in the Police Dispatcher position?
Have you had any experience in the law enforcement environment?
[ ] YES [ ] NO
If yes, please explain:
Have you ever been fired or asked to resign from a previous employer?
(Dismissal from another job is not an automatic rejection for employment consideration at DPS)
[ ] YES [ ] NO
If yes, please explain:
Have you ever been convicted of anything other than a routine traffic violation?
[ ] YES [ ] NO
If yes, please explain:
Application for Police Dispatcher
The Police dispatcher position is one that entails responsibility, reliability and the ability to make good decisions. Please submit an essay, no more than two pages in length that would address why you are interested in law enforcement and if law enforcement is a possible career choice for you, how this position would help you to attain your career goals. Also, include personality traits that you possess that would make you a good candidate to be trusted with this much responsibility.
Essay guidelines:
· One page in length (minimum)
· Double spaced
· One inch margins
· 12 point font
· Arial or Times New Roman Font
AUTHORIZATION
I, the undersigned, hereby authorize the Iowa State University Department of Public Safety, and any of its agents or employees, to conduct a driver’s license check and a criminal history check on me. I understand that this screening is a condition for employment as a Police Dispatcher for the above stated agency.
I also understand that this application is not a contract for employment, and signing below is not a guarantee or formal offer of employment. Furthermore, I understand that any false or misleading statements given by me in this application may disqualify me from further consideration for employment.
_______
Name (Please Print) Date of Birth
Signature Date
Driver’s License Number State