The job interview is not a simple informal chat, but the person who will interview you and who works in the human resources sector of the company will follow a very specific pattern in asking the questions in order to be able to develop a psychological profile of your person who will add to your curriculum vitae and which will allow you to understand if you are the right candidate to hire for that position.
To help you better prepare for your next police dispatcher job interview and be able to get through it by getting you hired, we have decided to list the main questions that candidates are generally asked during the job interview, with related explanations and answers suggestions.
1. Why Are You Interested In This Role?
No matter what your role in the police is, for example explaining the dangers on the way to school to children, solving critical situations on patrol duty, or taking reports: as a police officer you are needed, safety has never been more important than now! The profession requires a great deal of dedication, and in return enjoys a high level of trust and respect among most people. Many colleagues describe that as a “friend and helper” they are often met with gratitude. A police dispatcher is to some extent also an information office, social worker, lawyer, educator, psychologist, ….
2. What Are The Roles Of A Police Dispatcher?
Police dispatcher work is exciting and varied. But it is also demanding. A police dispatcher will experience many a situation that pushes them to their limits, both physically and mentally. The police dispatcher service, therefore, needs strong personalities who can deal with diverse challenges. The police dispatcher job incorporates different job roles, some of which are:
- A police dispatcher is responsible for answering emergency and non-emergency calls at a police station. It records information from callers and directs police officers to crime and accident scenes.
- A dispatcher also assists people entering the police station with information about criminals, threats, and suspicious activity.
- By gathering the details of a situation, the dispatcher ensures that responders are fully prepared for the incident at hand.
- Monitors radio alarms and security cameras
3. What Are The Qualities That A Police Dispatcher Need To Be Successful?
A calm, logical demeanor and excellent communication skills are required to do the job effectively.
4. What Major Challenges Did You Face During Your Last Role? How Did You Manage Them?
Police dispatchers can guide people through CPR over the phone, speak calmly to those who have reported horrific tragedies, and even discourage people from committing suicide. They need to maintain control of their own emotions so they can help victims stay calm, and have thick skin to stay calm themselves and deal with people who are in their greatest moments of need and distress. I’ve always had a strong desire to help others, but it took time to learn to remain calm and not let those emotions guide me.
5. Describe Your Daily Routine As A Police Dispatcher?
When a call for police assistance comes in, the dispatcher picks up the phone and tries to gather as much information as possible from the caller. He asks for the address of the incident and inquires about the incident. The police dispatcher determines the urgency of the call and contacts the appropriate emergency services by phone or radio. He usually tries to keep the caller on the line while the police go to the scene of the accident or crime. By using clear, calm language, the dispatcher tries to calm the caller and help him to cope with the situation. During the call, the police dispatcher transcribes information into a computer system so official reports can be made. Typing and computer skills are important to ensure data is entered as quickly and accurately as possible. In addition, a police dispatcher must be familiar with the city map and the routes of patrol officers so that officers can efficiently find their way to their destination. Police dispatchers take on extra duties when they don’t answer calls. They typically work at police station reception desks, making official statements, keeping general office records, and helping people file complaints or criminal charges. Many dispatchers are also responsible for logging and retrieving information about prisoners, such as their previous charges, mug shots, and fingerprints.
6. Describe Briefly About Your Experience?
I have finished my police training and volunteered as a police dispatcher for one year. I can be tactful and diplomatic in sensitive situations. I respond calmly to emergency situations.
I am also a person of integrity and physically fit with an excellent independent vision. As my volunteering proved I can work effectively as part of a team and have been praised for having a good moral character.
7. What Kind Of Strategies And Mindset Are Required For This Role?
Dispatching police officers is a stressful job that requires the ability to coordinate and multitask the needs of different people at the same time. Anyone who aspires to become a police dispatcher should be confident that he or she can handle the reality of hearing people on the phone who are panicking, injured, witnessing a crime, or the victim of a violent crime. While this should not deter anyone with the mental and emotional toughness required to hold such a job, the reality of the job should be recognized by potential candidates.
8. What Is The Biggest Challenge You Foresee In This Job?
You rarely know before you start work what exactly awaits you – every day offers new challenges. Although unpredictable, the variety of day-to-day operations is the most interesting thing for me – from theft to accidents to missing person searches. A wide variety of issues must be dealt with, resulting in an “unvarnished look behind the scenes of our society”.
9. How Do You Stay Motivated At Work?
Routine is extremely rare in the police dispatcher occupation. Of course, certain tasks come up again and again. And yet every assignment is different, and every day brings new challenges. After all, police work focuses on people, with all their concerns, and in all imaginable situations. At the same time, police work is very diverse. It’s hard to not stay motivated when your work is constantly changing, especially when you know that others depend on you.
10. Describe A Time You Failed In This Role And The Lesson You Learned?
As a police dispatcher, I have experienced situations that really shook me up. I have witnessed serious accidents, domestic violence, and horrific crimes. To be able to deal with such situations and to be able to deal with the images in the long term, a police dispatcher must be psychologically stable and mentally resilient. During my first week as a police dispatcher, I answered a call from a very disturbed lady, a victim of domestic violence. The line disconnected in the middle of our conversation. I could not sleep for nights. It really felt like my personal failure.
11. Why Do You Feel You Are Qualified For This Role?
I believe that a large part of my success is due to my professor/ trainer who instilled in me a particular attitude at work and in life in general. He always stressed the importance of being competent and persistent. With his advice, I have tried to improve my skills both in the workplace and through self-training. I approach work with enthusiasm, I don’t try to find excuses not to do something or to delegate it to others. I think this particular attitude has helped me a lot in achieving my professional successes and I believe in it so much that I try to instill a similar attitude in those who work with me. I believe that success lies with those who know what they want and strive for it.
12. Share With Us Your Greatest Achievement
The police dispatcher is confronted with a wide variety of situations and circumstances. Sometimes they meet helpless or frightened people, sometimes they have to settle a dispute, sometimes they encounter an angry or aggressive person and sometimes they have to take tough action to restore peace, security, and order. In order to be able to adapt quickly to the changing locations and the different circumstances on site, the police dispatcher must be flexible. At the same time, they must exercise caution when it comes to assessing the environment and correctly classifying the special circumstances in individual cases. Empathy and intercultural skills are also extremely helpful. Because sometimes the police dispatcher needs a lot of tact to find access to other people and gain their trust. The combination of these skills makes me feel accomplished.
13. Being A Police Dispatcher Is A Stressful Job. How Do You React To Stressful Situations?
Over the years, I have learned to manage stressful situations better and to look at them from a new perspective, knowing that work often brings stress. If stress involves my team, I try to get people to talk with me to learn about the problems that contribute to stressing them. If the malaise is the result of a workload that is too heavy, I try to understand if I was wrong to entrust it or if the person is wrong to manage it. As for me, at the end of the working day, I always try to relax with a little physical exercise and reading a good book. If I know I won’t have the time, I try at least to have a chat at the coffee with pleasant people and socialize.
14. Why Did You Choose To Be A Police Dispatcher?
I was only 19 when I decided to be a policeman. I was about to graduate from a technical institute, I was about to specialize in telecommunications when I learned that there was a police training enrolment out at the State Police. So much was the desire to make myself useful to the community by avoiding unnecessarily wasting time inside any barracks that, without saying anything to my parents, I carried out all the procedures for enlisting in the State Police as a volunteer. Over time, then, what should have been a fixed-term commitment, for me turned into a real mission and I made the decision to do my job.
15. What Are The Risks Of This Job?
It is obvious that working in contact or situations outside the law involves many risks but the important thing is to always be attentive to everything that happens around you, to work with people you trust blindly and in compliance with the rules. All this helps to reduce the risk together with another fundamental thing, fear, which puts you in a position to amplify your attention and prevents you from making rash gestures, which saves your life.
16. What Is The Length Of Time A Person Must Report A Crime?
The victim or witness is advised not to waste time before reporting any crime. As soon as the crime scene is detected, it is best to notify the police. This will allow them to take action and aid their investigation. As much as people need the police, the police also need people to notify them of any strange movement or criminal activity. However, there are some limitations in reporting a crime, known as a statute of limitations. These are in place for the proper governance of the time that passes in reporting a crime before it is “forgiven” in the eyes of the law.
17. Tell Me Your Reaction If A Suspect Tries To Bribe You, To Forgive His Crime?
I do not tolerate any kind of corruption. If someone offers me money or other related material, I will take strict measures or action against the person.
18. Your Supervisor Gives You A Direct Order That Is Contrary To Departmental Policy. What Are You Doing? What If The Order Is Against The Law?
If I find myself in a situation where I am forced by the supervisor to look away from the law or directly break a law, I would be extra careful and try to understand why. I would file a complaint directly with the Justice Department clearly explaining what happened between me and the supervisor. I would give my best to stay away from anything that could alter my integrity within the police force.
19. What Are Some Tips That A Police Dispatcher Can Use To Optimize The Results Of The Investigative Phone Call With A Victim Of A Crime?
Some of the things that come to my mind are to take control and reduce the initial anxiety of the examinee. Demonstrate focused and alert attention. Ask accurate questions and constantly check the caller’s reaction. Verify that you really understand the answers obtained. Adopt techniques to intensify the caller’s participation and facilitate exposure.
20. Are You Afraid?
I’m not afraid, but I’m excited and sometimes have a certain degree of insecurity. I’m confident in myself but must be aware of how the other person responds – so no opportunity for complete relaxation.
21. If I Asked You Two Things That You Want To Improve About Yourself, What Would You Answer Me?
The two things I would like to improve in the next couple of years are my computer skills and my supervisor skills. I already know a lot about both topics, but I would like to do even better because they interest me a lot. I plan to attend some courses on a personal level to improve in these areas and I am already reading some books that are helping me in my self-training.
22. What Is Your Relationship With Your Superiors?
Generally, I work well with everyone. I especially like to work with a supervisor who regularly provides me with feedback on my performance because this allows me to improve. The last two supervisors I worked with considered me a collaborator who offered good performances and who always wanted to help.
23. What Is Your Relationship With Those Who Work With You?
I see myself as a team player. I like the atmosphere that is often created when you work well with colleagues. Sometimes I end up being the spokesperson for the group and playing a leadership role but I like that. However, I am hoping that those who work with me have respect for my work and feel comfortable with me both professionally and humanly.
24. How Do You Cope With Time Management?
I always respect deadlines. When circumstances beyond my control interfere with the planning of the work, I change the priorities of my tasks and those of my men, so we try to make up for the time lost to the unexpected.
25. Does Working With Less Intelligent Or Less Competent Superiors Create Problems For You?
I usually have good relationships with everyone in the organization, regardless of their age, education, or experience. Frankly, though, I have a hard time accepting poor performance, especially if it affects my work. I expect to be evaluated according to my performance and not to be judged on the basis of the incapacity of others. Could you explain to me better the situation I might encounter?
Conclusion
Here are the questions that are asked at the police dispatcher job interview. If you study them and prepare yourself properly you will make a good impression and will be able to remain impressed by the recruiter. Remember that even the way you behave, the smile, and the way you dress can affect what the recruiter will think of you: after all, he doesn’t know you and only has a few minutes to try to understand who you are.
