Police Dispatch Research Papers

In the world of policing, it seems, here are certainly more glamorous jobs than dispatch. Most, if not all, Justice students are intending on a career in patrol, or drug enforcement, maybe they want to work for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. On a lower level, when one thinks of policing, their mind may drift to fast paced, high energy, law enforcement dramas dispatch would on the surface seem to be the antithesis of this. A bunch of people, sitting in a room answering calls all day. That person would, however, be incredibly wrong. Without dispatch, law enforcement as we know it today would not exist.

Before the advent of communication technology, citizens victimized by criminalized were forced to either scream loudly, or ride their horses frantically to a Marshall’s office to report what had transpired. This was an obviously ineffective system, so constables began to carry a bell called a ratchet. They used this to single that they need backup, this was equally as ineffective as screaming. The first country to implement a system that bore a semblance to police dispatch as we know it today was America. In the 1800’s, large cities such as Denver, Phoenix, and Los Angeles, telegraph boxes were installed

Dispatchers make anywhere from $30,000 to $60,000 yearly with the median at about $40,000. A Police dispatcher has a good chance to advance if they possess special skills such as emergency or general management certification or if they have been with the department long enough to be considered for a promotion. Dispatchers can move to office managers, registered nurses, or they can even move from the dispatch room to the field as police officers. Many people do choose to use Dispatch as stepping stone in their careers, as it gets their foot in the door with police agencies, or at the very least the public service