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Careers / Sheriffs and Deputy Sheriffs |
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Reviews |
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There is 1 review of this career. |
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Write an online review and share your thoughts about this career with others! |
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Author: |
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Anonymous |
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Date: |
December 14, 2006 |
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There are many different positions one can hold within a Sheriff's Department and still be a Deputy. My current position is Dispatcher, technically known as a Telecommunications Operator. In general the skills necessary to be successful in this field is to have a general knowledge of state and federal laws, be familiar with the geographical boundries in your agency's jurisdiction, be fluent in the english language, a citizen of the US, and have no prior or pending criminal convictions as an extensive background investigation will be conducted on you. Many agencies require you to take an aptitude test after submitting your initial application. The aptitude test may take several hours to complete, testing your english comprehension skills, ability to follow directions, critical judgement, mathematical skills, character and personality. You may also be required to pass a physical agility test. Test will vary from agency to agency as there is no standard test required by law for recruits. If you are one of the successful candidates and hired as a dispatcher you will start on the job training with a FTO (Field Training Officer.) During your first few weeks you will be required to set and listen to radio traffic, learn how to answer administrative phones and emergency (911) phones and where to route those calls or who to dispatch on those calls. You will also be learning how to operate the computers, radio equipment, and assist citizens who walk into the department for help. You will later be sent to state certified training to learn to operate the state criminal computer system and the federal computer system; National Crime Information Center or NCIC. Once you've acquired certification in these areas and successfully completed your training period you will be released from by your FTO and assigned a shift. Once on your own you will encounter many different situations; from the mother who needs an ambulance for a non-breathing infant, to a robbery inprogress. It is of the utmost importance to remember, while assisting the public in every situation, you must also ascertain as much information as possible and advise the responding officers for their safety. For example; Mrs. Smith calls 911 to advise there is a prowler outside their residence attempting to break into the basement. Mr. Smith is armed with a pistol and has headed down the basement stairs. As a dispatcher it is your duty to advise Mrs. Smith to stay on the phone with you and keep you updated as to what happens prior to the officers arrival and contacting her. You also need to advise the officers that Mr. Smith has a gun and what his location in the residence is. When officers arrive advise Mrs. Smith if she has contact with Mr. Smith to come back to the phone and put down the gun for the officers safety. This example is an ideal scenario, what happens in each situation will not be ideal and will have many dangerous variables. This is why you must have good judgement and be able to multi-task; listen for radio traffic and still be able to talk on the phone, possibly answering other phone calls and operate a computer at the sametime. Being a Police Dispatcher can be very self rewarding and sometimes you will be rewarded by commendations from your department or organizations such as APCO (Association of Public-Safety Communication Officials). However, the rewards recognized by the public are very few. Unfortunately, in the eyes of the public a dispatcher is not equal to a deputy even if you are a deputy or police officer. They expect you to give them high quality service, but seldom leave positive feedback to you or your supervisor. If you have a family or small children this career may not be for you as it requires working rotating shifts, rotating days off, holidays and weekends. If I had to choose my career over again, I would follow the same career path; first as a dispatcher and later transfer to a road deputy. This career is very exciting and the situations you deal with vary from call to call. Every day is a day of change in one area or another. The best reward of all is knowing that your actions saved a life; it could be yours, your partners or a strangers. |
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Interesting Fact |
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When the U.S. Constitution was written, the federal government was not allowed to collect income tax. All revenues came from trade tariffs. The 16th Ammendment later permitted federal income tax. |
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Did you know... |
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The MyPlan.com Jr. College Database provides detailed profiles on more than 1,100 different community colleges in the U.S. |
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