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A dispatcher is a communications worker who receives and transmits information to coordinate operations of other personnel and vehicles carrying out a service. A number of organizations, including police and fire departments, emergency medical services, motorcycle couriers, taxicab providers, trucking companies, railroads, and public utility companies, use dispatchers to relay information, direct personnel, and coordinate their operations. An emergency dispatcher, also known as public safety dispatcher, 9-1-1 dispatcher, or public safety telecommunicator receives calls from individuals who require emergency services, including police services, firefighting, and emergency medical services. Once information is obtained from the caller, the dispatcher activates the appropriate services necessary to respond to the nature of the call for help. The dispatcher also obtains and relays pertinent information to the field units to help ensure the adequacy and safety of the response. Emergency dispatchers may also use preapproved protocols to talk a caller or bystander through lifesaving medical procedures such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation, childbirth, and first aid. They may also require special certification. In the United States, about 10% of all dispatchers employed in 2004 were public safety dispatchers. A number of other organizations use dispatchers to respond to service calls, coordinate transportation schedules, and to organize the delivery of materials: A truck dispatcher is employed by a trucking company to monitor the delivery of freight over long distances and coordinate delivery pickup and drop-off schedules. A bus dispatcher monitors the schedules of their bus fleet and address any problems that arise during their operations. A tow-truck dispatcher responds to calls for emergency roadside assistance. A gas and water service dispatcher monitors their respective utilities and receive calls for emergency assistance that involve gas lines and water mains.

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Related concepts (4)

Dispatcher

Police radio

Police radio is a radio system used by police and other law enforcement agencies to communicate with one another. Police radio systems almost always use two-way radio systems to allow for communications between police officers and dispatchers. Most modern police radio systems are encrypted, and many jurisdictions have made listening to police radio frequencies as a private citizen illegal. Before police radio systems were first implemented, police officers assigned to their beat could only communicate with police command using telephone booths, call boxes, police boxes, or physical meetings.

Police

The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health, and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and the use of force legitimized by the state via the monopoly on violence. The term is most commonly associated with the police forces of a sovereign state that are authorized to exercise the police power of that state within a defined legal or territorial area of responsibility.