Position Summary
The Campus Police Dispatcher is a critical first point of contact for emergency and non-emergency requests. The position assesses, prioritizes, documents, and communicates information; dispatches resources; maintains situational awareness; and supports the safety of the campus community and responders. The employee exercises sound judgment, follows policy and protocols, protects confidential information, and performs effectively in a continuously operating public safety communications environment.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
- Receive and process emergency and non-emergency calls, alarms, radio traffic, text contacts, and other authorized communications; quickly verify location, nature, priority, hazards, involved persons, and response needs.
- Dispatch campus police and coordinate fire, emergency medical, municipal police, emergency-management, University, facilities, residential, event, and other partner resources.
- Maintain officer status, location, welfare, assignments, and required safety checks; immediately elevate emergency traffic and responder-safety concerns.
- Operate department radio, telephone, records, alarm-monitoring, emergency-notification, access-control, camera, and related systems; monitor elevator, intrusion, fire, access, camera, and Rave Guardian or successor alerts.
- Create accurate, complete, timely, and legally defensible incident and activity records using approved classifications, timestamps, dispositions, and narratives.
- Initiate authorized mass notifications through Rave Guardian as directed and maintain situational awareness during routine operations, special events, critical incidents, severe weather, evacuations, shelter-in-place actions, and continuity events.
- Provide calm, clear, courteous service to students, employees, visitors, vendors, and callers with differing needs; use approved de-escalation and crisis-communication techniques until responders arrive or the call is transferred.
- Protect criminal justice, personal, student, medical, security-sensitive, password, and system-access information in accordance with law and policy.
- Promptly report suspicious system activity, outages, cybersecurity concerns, equipment failures, and other conditions affecting operations.
- Follow the chain of command, directives, post orders, mutual-aid procedures, emergency plans, and supervisory instructions.
- Support shift briefings, quality assurance, drills, training, accreditation, records retention, and after-action improvement; maintain a secure, ready workspace, equipment, references, and shift documentation.
- Perform assigned front-desk, temporary parking authorization, facilities-notification, and other duties consistent with departmental needs.
Minimum Qualifications
- High school diploma or equivalent; relevant postsecondary education or public safety, security, communications, customer service, or emergency-management experience preferred.
- Minimum of one year of experience in public safety dispatching, emergency communications, security communications, call-center operations, or a closely related field. Prior police, fire, EMS, or 9-1-1 dispatch experience is preferred.
- Clear, professional oral and written English communication; additional language capability desirable.
- Ability to type and enter data accurately, read maps and building information, operate multiple applications, and manage simultaneous tasks.
- Ability to obtain and maintain required certifications, authorizations, background clearances, and system-access credentials, including applicable criminal justice information-system requirements.
- Ability to work rotating shifts, nights, weekends, holidays, overtime, emergency call-ins, and extended assignments as required.
- Reliability, discretion, integrity, sound judgment, and composure in urgent or emotionally demanding situations.
Core Competencies
- Emergency call processing, radio dispatch, and responder-safety awareness
- Accurate documentation, attention to detail, prioritization, decision-making, and multitasking
- Calm, respectful, trauma-informed, culturally responsive communication; de-escalation, active listening, and customer service
- Technology proficiency, cybersecurity awareness, confidentiality, teamwork, accountability, adaptability, and continuous learning
Training and Performance Expectations
Employees must complete initial and ongoing training, demonstrate agency-specific competencies, maintain required proficiency, and participate in continuing education. Training includes legal concepts, interpersonal and accessible communication, communications technology, call processing, records, radio operations, incident coordination, critical-incident response, responder safety, stress management, and wellness. Performance may be assessed through observation, records review, quality assurance, testing, drills, and coaching.
Working Conditions and Essential Functions
This essential, safety-sensitive position operates continuously and c