Dispatcher – Lateral

Maricopa, AZ
Maricopa Police Department

Salary: $23.80 – $36.18 Hourly

Closing Date: 6/30/2025

Position Summary:

The Dispatcher – Lateral role serves as the first point of contact in emergencies, coordinating police, fire, and medical services to ensure public safety. Dispatchers prioritize and assess calls, provide detailed location guidance, and manage resources through a Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system while maintaining situational awareness. The position requires strong decision-making skills, the ability to remain calm under pressure, and flexibility to work various shifts in a 24/7 environment. Ideal candidates will have at least one year of dispatching experience in public safety, exceptional communication skills, and the ability to thrive in high-stress situations.

Essential Functions:

  • Questions callers to quickly and accurately ascertain their location and nature of their problem to determine the type of response needed.
  • Appease and effectively extract information from callers under stress.
  • Interprets telephone or radio call and whether a police officer should be dispatched to the scene within the first few seconds of conversation to determine priority of call.
  • Provides location information from maps and other resources, applying knowledge of streets, highway systems, and geography to provide appropriate and timely assistance.
  • Detects unclear or unusual sounds on the phone or over the radio which may indicate a request for help.
  • Records information received by typing accurately, while also communicating verbally and receiving new information.
  • Makes sounds decisions and quickly reacts positively under stressful conditions.
  • Logs information received and/or transmitted using computer terminals to input, query information, send teletypes, and communication via TTY as needed.
  • Remembers details and procedures and applies such instantaneously in an emergency situation.
  • Verifies warrants and interprets data quickly and accurately.
  • Notifies Fire Dispatch of medical emergencies, such as attempted suicides, drownings, and serious injury accidents, etc.
  • Dispatches calls to proper emergency/police units and enters appropriate information into a Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system.
  • Prioritizes calls, monitors channels during critical incidents, determines appropriate officers to respond, and dispatches information to appropriate personnel.
  • Maintains constant awareness of the status of units and updates this information as it changes.
  • Work is performed in the City of Maricopa Emergency Communications Center under conditions requiring close contact with other employees, often during stressful situations.
  • All other duties as assigned.

Requirements:

  • High School diploma or GED equivalency.
  • Must have a minimum of one (1) year of experience as a Police, Fire, or Emergency Services Dispatcher and have a valid Terminal Operator Certification.
  • Two (2) years of experience in public contact or customer service experience which involves the operation of a multi-line phone system or radio communication system.
  • Must be able to work any shift – The Emergency Communications Center works 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including holidays.
  • Any equivalent combination of training, education, and experience that provides the required skills, knowledge and abilities.

Preferred Requirements:

  • Motorola (Spillman) CAD Experience.
  • Dispatching and/or Call taking at a Primary Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) also known as a 9-1-1 Center or for a fire department at a Secondary PSAP.
  • Experience with computer data entry and basic computer skills.
  • Bilingual (Spanish) speaking skills are desirable.