Hi all! I’m currently undergoing my background check, and next week I have my CVSA. I’m really nervous. Not because I have anything to hide or anything to lie about. More or so I’m worried about being so stressed or nervous that I will overthink a question and it will make it seem to them like deception. For example, when it comes to drug use, I listed that I’ve done a certain drug at least 10 times. But when I think about that question I’m not 100% sure whether it was more or less than 10 times and I don’t want that confusion to ding me as deception.

Does anyone have any past experience with CVSA? How did it go? Any tips to ensure I make a good positive impression? What kinds of questions did they ask you?

Thanks everyone! Cheers and fingers crossed to making to it through to the next steps 🙏🏼

As some may know, Omaha, Nebraska had a very bad ice storm last night. I was a casualty--got three steps outside and fell on my head. I didn't respond to my Apple Watch fall alert, as I was a little stunned . The watch called 911 without my realizing it.

I don't know whether the call even went through, but in any case, I never spoke to anyone, and no one called me back.

Wondering about the protocol--what should happen if someone at dispatch does receive an automated fall-call, but there's just people talking in the background? Especially if it sounds as if the person who fell is being helped? Thank you!

So I have an interview in a few days and I just wanna know the best way to prepare for it all the way down to the right clothes to wear to also having prepared follow up questions. Anything would help

So, I've been a dispatch trainee for 4 months and out of those 4 months I only have 1 month and 3 1/2 weeks worth of training. It has not been a good experience at all. I don't feel confident to do the job the only things I feel confident doing are showing an officer out, showing an officer in en route to or from, placing them in or out of service, part time or training, and that's about it.

These other dispatchers are no help and I don't like being trained by all of them because if I learn one way it's never right. If I have questions I get met with "you already know this," or I get ignored, or snapped at. The training process for a dispatch training is a year but they are treating it like it's a month. I've been talked about by officers and dispatchers but then they get pissed if I don't talk.

I think I hit a breaking point honestly because Wednesday I almost walked out. One dispatcher told a Sgt that "it's easier to do the work ourselves than train a trainee" and I'm sitting right next to him. One dispatcher say smart comments all the time throwing them in my direction, Wednesday she got irritated because she had to keep telling her sister mute yourself and then she says "I'm not supposed to be doing anything" when your sister says something. So, I want to talk to my supervisor and HR and see if I can seek employment elsewhere in the commission. I know I have to make sure I say can this be confidential but I already know it's not. They gossiping about everything and everyone.

Hi all just a few questions because I feel like I am so overwhelmed. Quick backstory, I’ve worked in ems in a high volume area for 5 years but made the switch to dispatch since the pay is significantly more. I went through the academy and passed all my exams. Now I just concluded floor training but I feel like I am not doing well at all. I understand some mistakes are expected and that’s how you learn but I feel inadequate. I’m curious what helped and also what your training program was like. The academy I went through was 8 weeks long. After the academy we went to our rotations which was about a month of supervised training and then two weeks of monitored training. I feel like this is somewhat rushed…but maybe it is just me. I’m trying really hard not to just throw in the towel but it’s a lingering thought every single shift.

Hi all!

I’m a newly promoted supervisor and had been tasked with the wellness aspect of our center. Part of that is ideas for TC Week. Our morale is super low (no surprise) and I’d love to do something for the team. We have 29 (including 3 trainees). I’m thinking customized lunch bags and cups for everyone with their first name and their ID number.

Obviously this is a big expense and I’m concerned my idea will be shot down due to budgeting constraints. Does anyone have any other ideas they’d like to share?

I’m thinking of reaching out to a friend who oversees Pizza Hut for donations for one night. And possibly reaching out to our union to see if they’d be willing to donate anything.

Our center probably won’t be able to decorate due to new carpeting and consoles coming in in April. So I figured little gifts would be nice.

So I was at home cleaning, while I heard a knock on my door (the police) and they said do you call 911? And I said no! Obviously it was just my 4 yo daughter and my baby sleeping on the crib. And I left the door half way open to check on my daughter, but right after me they came in to my house, very suspicious I wasn’t afraid at all nothing was happening at my home but we live in a neighborhood and the houses are very close to each other, and my daughter was on her tablet no way she can make a call or is there a chance the location was wrong on their system or if there is a possibility my daughter call through the table to 911 there is no dial pad history she called, they check I check is there is any record of the call and couldn’t find any. And I have a doubt of what happened here. Opinions please.

I have applied for a 911 dispatch position a while ago and I did get an interview and everything went well. They told me it might take a bit of time for them to get back to me because of holidays and stuff like that. The thing is I have also applied for another position somewhere else before applying for this job and they gotten back to me and I also did the interview for this one as well and everything went well.

Today they sent me an offer letter and I like it, everything in there is what I had asked for. The days, the hours and the pay are really good and they gave me until 12/19/24 to reply to them or they are canceling the offer and I DON'T KNOW what to do here. I really want to get the job as a 911 dispatcher but its been a week or two since the interview. I am wondering if I should reach out to them and ask them if they are offering me a job or not.

ANY advice would be helpful here!

I just started doing dispatch recently, but the problem is that I’m not use to sitting in a chair for 12 hours a day

TMI- but my butt hurts from sitting for so long because of my tailbone sticks out (I think I broke it when I was a kid from riding horses) I was told it’s not recommended to get surgery because I have a risk of getting paralyzed with my issue.

So does anyone else have any suggestions or recommendations?

I’m supposed to be starting with Ft Worth PD communications and I had a few questions. How was the polygraph process? Did it take long? What kind of drug test do they typically do for these jobs? I have rolling veins and it’s a very difficult process everytime I have to get blood drawn, not to mention I always end up with bruises from the trauma of being stuck so many times. If it’s urine, do they watch you pee? Or do they typically send you to a clinic or something? …what’s the mental evaluation like? Is it thorough? They make this process sound very intimidating as if only the best of the best humans are capable . If you can help me out without being rude as I’m already on edge that would be greatly appreciated:)

I got the conditional offer today! Woo hoo!

Though I'm not too worried, I'm curious how extensive the background checks are. I was informed that they were going to be done by a PI and former police officer. I've never done drugs, smoked anything, and I only drink once or twice a month and socially. I also used to have an Etsy shop, but due to my income being mysteriously 2k lower than anticipated for several months (it took ages to get a hold of Etsy, they said a lot of money was missing but had no answers) I ended up transitioning off of Etsy- as a result some orders were delayed and I got bad reviews near the end. The site is still up. I post my artwork (fantasy illustration, sometimes containing artistic nudity) online. As far as I am aware, my driving history is clear as of a driving history check a couple months ago. I do have quite a lot of student debt though (about 150k).

Do I have to be worried about any of these things? I've already passed a background check for a Shengen student visa before, but I'm not sure the background check was as thorough. Does anyone have any advice, or does anything else stand out as negative?

These drone calls are going crazy. We're getting dozens each hour. At first its like, ok another one this is annoying. And then it gets exhausting. And then it gets concerning. We don't know anything but we're taking these calls day in and day out. Everyone is on edge, the public and employees alike. Some drones have been seen around our psap and the same night we had power and radio outages. Is this concerning to anyone else?

So long story sorta short did the criticall test in August, my panel interview in September(on my 31st birthday) first day of classroom training was 10/21. We do fire and ems only. Learned my agencies I serve, got my emd and efd certification. Also my over the phone and regular cpr along with pro qa academy and plenty of other things.

In addition to that we have been maybe 10 times in 2 months to sit with both call takers and dispatchers where we only listen and watch them work and then talk about things when the phone isn’t ringing. About a month ago we tried typing while they talk and right before thanksgiving we were typing and talking under our own names.

Tomorrow is our last 8 hour observation day and then for the next month starting Monday I’ll be working the same 12 hour day shift as my cto. Then I’ll switch to nights for a month and then hopefully meet up with everyone and get the go ahead to be released on my own.

So this is to supervisors, cto’s, people with some grass on their collars. Obviously I’m going to mess up and be slow out the gate and my goal is to use the things I’ve learned in academy and the constructive criticism I receive from my cto to become better and better after each call.

But what are you expecting from someone fresh out of the classroom? How much perfection are you expecting when I take a call from county to put someone out of service and cross staff someone else? Like yes I’ve read the documents and passed quizzes saying I know them but I’ve never talked to the captain of a fire house and done it in real time. Is that something you guys already know?

My main 2 goals are to improve and get comfortable enough to be released on my own. But my other goal is to try and make the best impression I can on both my cto’s for day and night as well as the people I will hopefully work with for the next 20-30 years. Thanks to all who do what we do. ❤️ 💪 🚨

So, I need some advice.

I'm 6 weeks into training. This job is very difficult for me. I'm trying very hard, and my very best, but I haven't been able to quell my anxiety enough to do things correctly. I still freeze in high intensity situations.

Just last night a woman called in and i wasn't able to calm her down enough. I got her address and what happened, so I could get a squad out to her, but she was freaking out, which made sense of course. My trainer had to jump in, and afterward, she didn't say anything to me, just typed in my nightly report.

I understand that I'm going to make mistakes. I understand that this job is not easy, and I understand that it takes time.

My issue is that my trainer doesn't think I'm progressing fast enough. I understand that it's been 6 weeks, but I came into this job with no previous training. They didn't give me classroom time, they literally just threw me into it.

I've come to the realization that I don't think I want to be a dispatcher, at least not a 911 dispatcher, but at the moment, I don't have a choice as I can't find a new job, and I need money rolling in. So, I have to make the most of this job until I can find another.

My question is, is there any advice as to how to progress like they want? I've practiced listening to 911 calls at home, I've practiced listening to the radio when I'm not at work. But I also just don't want to do this every waking moment of my life. I already work thirds, so I have no time in general.

Idk what else to do, and my trainer is really not happy with me. We have three "stations" at my agency, the fire side, the sheriff's side, and the city police side. My trainer has already told me that I should have already moved over to the SO side, and that I'm taking too long on the fire side. I just don't know what else to do

Any advice would help. And please no comments about getting out now. I know. I know I need to get out before anything happens. I just don't have the choice at the moment. I'm currently looking for a different job. There aren't many jobs available in my town. I just have bills I need to pay.

I'm extremely nervous. I'm not sure what to expect but there will be multiple interviewers in the call. How should I prepare?

hello! i took the criticall test on november 25th and haven't heard from TPS since. any indication on a timeline from when i'm able to hear back? or anyone i'm able to contact to follow-up on my test?

I’m a CTO looking for recommendations on free training resources specifically addressing responder safety and critical thinking. Multimedia resources or case studies would be great if you have any that come to mind.

I’ve scoured NENA and IAED. I’ve pulled some text from the PST 7th edition manual for my trainee to review and I’ve also played around with ChatGPT.

My trainee is new-ish to me, transferred from another CTO bc she wasn’t progressing. She’s been training on phones for 4.5 months.

When we review material, she can answer all questions accurately and knows where to find the answers, but has difficulty applying her knowledge when she’s actually on the phone. I’ve already discussed this with her as well as the training coordinator but her progress ebbs and flows, it’s never consistent.

We have checklists including role playing call types if they’re uncommon so they get practice, reviewing SOPs, specific CAD commands, etc. to ensure nothing is left out of the training experience. I’ve searched different methodologies and tried to apply as many different ones as I can tailoring it to what she struggles with. She studies independently as well and has flashcards for our call types and what questions to ask.

I even asked the training coordinator for recommendations bc everything I’ve tried isn’t working. I give immediate feedback (making sure to include positive with constructive criticism) and my trainee has vocalized her appreciation for my training approach. However… It’s still not working.

Training coordinator is sitting with her today, she wants to see firsthand how she’s doing. I’m extremely thorough in my DORs and I do complete them everyday.

I guess I’m just at a loss for what more I can do. It’s clear the trainee wants to succeed, I want her to succeed. I don’t know if this is really the career for her, but admin wants to continue with the training so any advice, tips/tricks, and resources would be very much appreciated.

Thank you.

Are any of your centers unionized? If so who did you contact?

Unit: Have you located the male and female yet?

Me: Negative, so far.

Unit: Copy, i’ll do some scans if you can scan as well.

Me: in my head - No shit sherlock i’ve been doing that this whole time Copy.

wtfffff 🙄😡

I have been on my own dispatching for a month now. I'm at a smaller agency that takes 911 calls and dispatches LE, fire, and EMS. The calls I find I struggle with the most are traffic complaints that are actively happening..erratic drivers mostly. I know my roads fairly well, but I feel like when I don't have the thorough callers, I take their word and try to get it out to the deputies quickly, and they always have questions I am not prepared for. Some of these traffic complaints are so vague, I feel so dumb I have to give them out. Tonight one of our Deputy sergeants was really rude about it, I just feel super discouraged. Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

Question regarding the drug test. I smoked one time over a week ago (1 puff coughed done 🤮) then I get a call for my urine test scheduled for a week later 🤦‍♂️. I never smoked weed before in my life other than 2 ish weeks ago. I’m very active in the gym, I drink about a gallon or more of water a day and ultimately live a clean and healthy lifestyle. Would this affect me or automatically rule me out as a candidate?

I’ve done this job for like 10 months, so I don’t have a fish to fry - but like, a growing ick of mine are dispatchers who turn their voice sultry like? Teetering the line of a sex operator type of sound . Like..bruh..

Our center is discussing it for our police calls so curious to know who else has it and what the experience has been like?

I am a new call taker (less than 4 months) and have noticed a couple things that are really keeping me from settling into the job with confidence. When people direct their anger at me, I freeze. That means if a caller is upset I’m not getting help there fast enough, or I’m asking questions they consider unnecessary or irrelevant, I falter, freeze, lose my confidence and literally blank on what to say or do. Especially in high intensity situations where only freelance questions are possible, I absolutely blank. It is frustrating and scary because I want to make sure I do a good job. Any advice on practical things I can say or do to help myself with this problem?

Unfortunately I crashed out. I was in phase three of my training and going from 1st to 3rd to 2nd shift. I knew there would be struggle but I didn't know how much. My training on first shift was great, very thorough. I felt like I learned a lot in my geography and 10 codes were on point. But going to phase two, my trainer was much less knowledgeable and only gave high risk situational training and not the day-to-day phone calls, which led to some failure in my second shift training. Something else our department lacked was a good morale among shifts. I know every department has their issues, but there was just so much drama and I did not want to get sucked into that either. This is a stressful job and I do not feel bad for crashing out. I've done shift work in the past and I thought I could go back and do it again but I am not in a position where I want to work second shift or be mandated to work over time and I was at a small department where it would have been inevitable. I applaud everyone who's able to do this job and stick with it for a long time. Thank you

Ok so I have been a dispatcher for a little over two years. In my jurisdiction, for me to move up to the next career level I have to either become a CTO (Communications Training Officer) or a OIC (Officer in Charge). I having issues with trying to figuring out which path I want to go down. I need some advice on what to do. I am a little worried about being an OIC cause I don’t want to go through the stress of just in case something were to go down. If I were to go down the CTO route I’m worried my possible trainee wouldn’t make it. Should I wait a little longer to see if my mind changes or should I just go for it and try it?

Hi! I'm asking specifically about Long Beach! I received the email that said I was selected to take my exam and go ahead with the process!

How intense is the background check when working with The City of Long Beach in particular? I'm just worried about the fact that I smoked prior to all of this (I am stopping so that I can pass a drug test) + have a bit of a rough mental health history unfortunately 😅

I really want this job and am passionate about it but I just want to know how the background check is so I can decide if I even have a shot at this. Thanks.