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This is to certify that the

dissertation entitled

Contextual Disequilibrium:
A Study of Dispatchers' Perceptions of
Job Related Training Factors

presented by

Dennis M. Payne

has been accepted towards fulfillment
of the requirements for

Doctor of Philosophy degree in CSS Doctoral Program

Major professor

Date 52- 5"“;8"

MS U is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution 042771

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usu Ie An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity um

 

CONTEXTUAL DISEOIJILIERIUI:
A STUDY OF DISPATCEERS' PERCEPTIONS OP
JOB RELATED TRAINING FACTORS

by

Dennis Michael Payne

A DISSERTATION

Submitted to
Michigan State Univeaity
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

DOCTOR OP PE ILOSPEY

College of Social Science
School of Criminal Justice

1989

ABSTRACT

CONT EXTIJAL DISEOUILIBRIUI:
A STUDY OF DISPATCHERS' PERCEPTIONS 01'
JOE RELATED TRAINING FACTORS

by

Dennis Michael Payne

The primary purpose of this study was to identify and describe job
relevant training factors that emergency dispatchers in Michigan perceive as
necessary for doing their work effectively. The first objective was to
provide a list job related training elements for a Michigan State Police
training program.

A secondary purpose of this study was to identify personality, skill and
ability. and attitudinal variables that effective dispatchers possess. The
objective was to provide the Michigan State Police with job related selection
criteria and a revised dispatcher position description based on the results of
this study.

Data collection involved four distinct components: a review of American
and British literature. a considerable number of personal interviews with
Michigan dispatchers, a mailed self -report critical incident technique to State
Police dispatchers. and a mailed survey instrument. The survey instrument
was administered to the population of state police dispatchers. a sample of
state police troopers and sergeants. and a sample from the all other Michigan
dispatchers.

An overall response rate of 68% was obtained with the survey
instrument. Univariate and bivariate techniques were used in the analysis
portion of the study. Numerous training variables were identified based on
the survey data. The survey instrument was an outgrowth of the results
from the critical incident technique.

Several personality. attitudinal, and skill and ability variables were
identified. Organizational issues were also identified that may be useful to
administrators in reducing dispatcher dysfunctions due to perceptions of role
conflicts between dispatchers and sworn personnel.

Copyright by
DENNIS MICHAEL PAYNE
1989

DEDICATION

To my wife of thirty years. Jan -- for her patience.
support, encouragement. and constant challenge to move forward.

iv

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

A great many people have assisted me with the completion of this
research. The efforts of some of these people deserve special mention. I
wish to thank Colonel Ritchie T. Davis and the men and women of the
Michigan State Police whose support and cooperation made this this work
possible. I wish to thank in particular the dispatchers of the state police and
the two hundred and five other law enforce met agencies who took the time
and effort to assist in this endeavor.

I wish to thank John H. McNamara. my advisor and committee chair, for
his continued interest and support. Albert C. Cafagna. David L. Carter, and
Daniel Kruger each provided insight and valuable guidance for this research
and for their assistance I am thankful.

Lastly. I wish to thank Robert C. Trojanowicz for his continued support
and cooperation throughout the last several years. His focus on and

awareness of issues led to the identification of this research problem.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
List of Tables ---------------------------------------------------------- 1
CE APT ER
I INTRODUCTION
Overview of Problem ............................................ 1
Purpose of the Study—----------. .................................. 5
Summary of Concerns -------------------------------------------- 3
Hypotheses ...................................................... 13
Research Questions ---------------------------------------------- 14
Public Act 32 of 1986 ------------------------------------------- 16
State Police Shift Commander Study ----------------------------- 19
Impact of the Study on Dispatchers ------------------------------ 20
Historical Positions ----------------------------------------------- 2 3
Are Dispatchers Supervisors? ------------------------------------ 25
II CONCEPTUAL & THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Conceptual Framework .......................................... 30
Disequilibrium & Cognitive Dissonance --------------------------- 33
Reduction of Disequilibrium -------------------------------------- 34
Disequilibrium 8: Reciprocity ------------------------------------- 37
Application of Concepts ........................................... 39
Relation 0f Concepts to Overall Theoretical Framework ----------- 4 3
Theoretical Framework of Dispatching ---------------------------- 53
Rights Based Framework ----------------------------------------- 55
Goal Based Framework -------------------------------------------- 53
WW Based Framework ------------------------------------------- 59
Summary --------------------------------------------------------- 59

vi

III REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Brief History of Police Communications --------------------------- 61
Dispatching in the Michigan State Police ------------------------- 65
The Critical Incident --------------------------------------------- 71
Importance of Dispatching --------------------------------------- 72
Processing Demands for Service ---------------------------------- 76
Gatekeeper's Behavior and Critical Incidents --------------------- 76
Consumer Demands for Service ----------------------------------- 77
Calls for Service as Demands -------------------------------------- 78
Characteristics of Demands --------------------------------------- 78
Call Interpretation ------------------------------------------------ 79
Qualifications of a Dispatcher ------------------------------------- 81
Types of Calls Received ------------------------------------------- 81
Rationale for Dispatcher Training --------------------------------- 86
Consequence of Error in Dispatching ------------------------------ 88
Complexity of Calls ----------------------------------------------- 90
Discretion --------------------------------------------------------- 93
Dispatching and Performance ------------------------------------- 94
Diversity of Calls -------------------------------------------------- 98
Training Level of Dispatchers ------------------------------------- 100
Stress in Dispatching ---------------------------------------------- 106
Summary of Review of Literature -------------------------------- 112

IV METHODOLOGY

Critical Incident Technique(CIT) ---------------------------------- 1 15
Instrumentation -------------------------------------------------- 1 17
Survey Design .................................................... 1 19
POpUlation -------------------------------------------------------- 1 20
Sampling Design -------------------------------------------------- 121
Sampling Frames ------------------------------------------------- 122
Rationale for Sampling ------------------------------------------- 123
sampling Error ------------------------------------------------- 12 4
Sample Size ------------------------------------------------------- 125
Response Rate in Four Groups ------------------------------------ 126
Departments Represented in Sample ----------------------------- 126
Geographical Di8tribution ----------------------------------------- 127
Types of Variables Identified ------------------------------------- 123
Summary of Major Research Steps -------------------------------- 133

vii

V ANALYSIS OF CRITICAL INCIDENT S Page

The Nature of Reported Critical Incidents ------------------------- 135
Contexts of Reported Critical Incidents --------------------------- 136
Interviews with Statewide Dispatchers --------------------------- 138
Critical Incidents and Safety -------------------------------------- 140
MSP Dispatchers' Responses to Open-Ended Questions ------------ 141
Other Dispatchers' Responses to Open-Ended Questions ----------- 142
Troopers' Responses to Open-Ended Questions -------------------- 144
Sergeants' Responses to Open-Ended Questions ------------------- 146
Summary of Open-Ended Responses ------------------------------ 148
Examples of Critical Incidents ------------------------------------- 149

VI ANALYSIS OF DATA

Introduction ...................................................... 1 60
Training Profile of State Dispatchers ------------------------------ 161
Summary of Training Profile ------------------------------------- 167
Variables by Respondent Type ----------------------------------- 169
Summary of Findings ............................................. 173
Variables by Gender ---------------------------------------------- I76
Determination of Training Program Content ---------------------- 180
Variables < 75% Agreement --------------------------------------- 131
Variables < 50% and >75% Agreement ............................ 135
ReSpondent Demographics ---------------------------------------- 137
Summary --------------------------------------------------------- 191

VII CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Introduction ------------------------------------------------------ l 93
Conclusions ------------------------------------------------------- 1 93
Research Questions ----------------------------------------------- 197
Recommendations ------------------------------------------------ 200
Bibliography 202

viii

APPENDI‘ Page

A. Selection Criteria for State Police Dispatchers ----------------- 210
B. Revised Position Description ---------------------------------- 221
C. Training Program --------------------------------------------- 226
D. Critical Incidents Transmittal Letters ------------------------- 23 S
E. Survey Instrument -------------------------------------------- 243
1'. Act 32. Public Acts of 1986 ------------------------------------ 263
6. Newsletter Announcement ------------------------------------ 273
E. Tentative 911 Service Plan ------------------------------------ 274

ix

4.1
4.2
4.3
5.1

6.1
6.2

6.3

6.4
6.5
6.6
6.7
6.8
6.9

LIST OF TABLES

Ease
Sample Size ----------------------------------------------- 126
Response Rate of 4 Groups --------------------------------- 126
Police Agencies Represented in Sample -------------------- 127
Nature of Reported Critical Incidents --------------------- 141
I . . E [1
Knowledge Variables -------------------------------------- 164
Skill and Ability Variables -------------------------------- 16S
Procedure Variables --------------------------------------- 166
5| l' I' l I
Training Variables! Respondent Type --------------------- I69
Personality Variables! Respondent Type ------------------ 170
Organizational Variables! Respondent Type --------------- 172
Training Variables! Gender ------------------------------- 176
Personality Variables! Gender ----------------------------- 178
Organizational Variables! Gender ------------------------- 179

6.10
6.11
6.12
6.13
6.14
6.15

6.16
6.17
6.18
6.19
6.20

11.. BI

Bax:
Training Variables < 75% ---------------------------------- 181
Personality Variables < 75% ------------------------------- 182
Organizational Variables < 75% ---------------------------- 184
Training Variables 60% - >751 --------------------------- 185
Personality Variables < 501. - > 75% ----------------------- 186
Organizational Variables < 50% - > 75% -------------------- 186
Ensembles
Respondent Gender ---------------------------------------- 188
Respondent Age -------------------------------------------- 189
Respondent Race ------------------------------------------- 189
Respondent Work Shift ------------------------------------ 190
Respondent Training --------------------------------------- 190

xi

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Overview of the Research Problem

This research is undertaken to assist the Michigan Department of State
Police in l) the development of a dispatcher training program, 2) to clarify
selection criteria for dispatchers. and 3) to aid them in constructing a job
relevant position description. Several months ago members of the state
police contacted the Director of the School of Criminal Justice and the
researcher and asked for assistance in the development of a training
program for their dispatchers. Those officials felt that training of their
dispatchers was a central issue in Michigan. and for several reasons they

wanted to have a program that was job relevant.

Primary Concerns for Research

Act 32 of the Public Acts of 1986 , The Emergency Telephone Service
Enabling Act. was passed by the legislature on March 16. 1986. That act
provides for the expansion of the 911 systems in Michigan. The officials
anticipated that their department, as well as other law enforcement agencies.
will experience a demand for new dispatchers. They wished to be ready
with appropriate training. They also indicated that they were not
comfortable proceeding in the hiring process until they had a clearer

l

understanding of the job of the dispatcher, assurances that the selection
procedure was in line with the job requirements. and that a job-relevant
position description was in place.

In the past dispatcher training was a hit or miss situation and training
was provided based on grants being provided or when funds were made
available internally. The position of dispatcher has evolved over the years
and they felt that the dispatcher of today works in a far more complex
environment than former dispatchers.

In addition to the estimated growth in the dispatcher roles. the study is
timely for other reasons. For the past several months the state police have
been studying the feasibility of placing their desk sergeants on the road as
shift supervisors. Currently the sergeants are assigned to the various post
as desk officers and dispatchers. As such they are considered shift
supervisors. If a dispatcher has a problem he or she can turn to the sergeant
who is working in the post for guidance, clarification. or assistance. Once the
sergeants are assigned to road patrol duties as shift supervisors of the
troopers, the dispatcher will have to be more independent. Though a
dispatcher can still reach a sergeant by telephone or radio, for practical
purposes, the dispatcher will have to be more knowledgable and
self -suff icient. .

In the more remote areas of the state where there are no dispatch
supervisors. self -sufficiency will be more critical. The requirements for
greater dispatcher effectiveness has become crucial to the overall mission of
the department.

The State Police have expressed other concerns. They felt that the

current position description for dispatchers that is used by civil service is
not an accurate description of the job in that it does not reflect the
responsiblity or complexity of the job. The current position description is
that of a Communications Clerk IV. The State Police feel that the inaccurate
position descriptions cause additional problems in the selection process.
Prior to this time. the training of dispatchers has not been based on a

valid assessment of the job itself . but was based on what most people
thought was necessary.

Other concerns expressed included the possibility of civil liabilities
arising from the charges of negligent hiring and negligent training. The
overall concern may be viewed as a desire to have their dispatchers trained
to be as effective as possible. This perceived ineffectiveness is seen as
having negative impacts on citizen safety. officer safety. and overall
organizational effectiveness. If a dispatcher misinterprets incoming
information from a calling citizen because of a lack of awareness. an off icer‘s
or a citizen's safety could be compromised.

At this time, when the state police call civil service for a list of
candidates. they are given a list of names that appear on the current
Communications Clerk IV list. The criterion for being on that list is primarily
two years of typing experience. This poses many problems for those in the
selection process.

According to the officials. if any change is to take place in the
classification of the dispatchers. civil service staff must be convinced that the
police dispatcher is something more than a person with two years of typing

experience. To address these problems the study will examine dispatching in

Michigan in general and specifically deter mine the training needs of the
Michigan State Police dispatchers. Because there is utility in developing
training programs for other agencies. a secondary purpose of the study is to
deter mine the training needs of other agency dispatchers. and determine
whether those needs are the same or different as those of the state police.

The state police have taken a leadership role in training other
dispatchers. As part of this overall determination. an attempt will be made
to discover whether certain environmental factors contribute to or hinder
effective dispatching. Examples of such factors include organizational
training programs. perceptions of dispatchers toward officers and
supervisors and vice versa. The overall goal of the state police in regard to
dispatching is to obtain dispatcher effectiveness. In this regard. attention
will be given to the discovery of the personality traits. attitudes. skills.
abilities. knowledge bases. and organizatinal issues that dispatchers identify
as related to effective dispatching.

Anticipated Outcome of the Research

The state police have requested three products. First, they wish to
know what training elements will be required to develop effective
dispatchers and. after the identification of those ele ments. they have
requested the development of a job relevant training program. The findings
of the research will dictate the form of the training. Such a training program
may be pre-service. in-service. or a combination of both.

Second. they have requested the identification of appropriate selection

criteria to be used in the selection of new dispatchers. Third. they request

the development of a position description which is based on the job as it is

being performed by effective dispatchers.
Purpose of the Study

Theoretical and Political Concerns

. In addition to the practical and organizational concerns within the state
police. there are other concerns that motivate the research that can be
identified according to five broad catetgories. Those categories are concerns

that are legal. ethical. labor oriented. political. and community oriented.

Legal Concerns

The Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended. has been described by some as
the nation's grievance procedure. Title 42 of the US. Code. Section 1983
provides a means for a citizen to obtain remedy when wronged by
employees of governmental agencies. Under this act. if a person is wronged
and deprived of some constitutionally guaranteed right or privledge. and if it
can be shown that the act or om mission of a government employee was a
result of a lack of training. the citizen may sue for damages. Under the
principle of negligent training an off icer, a dispatcher. a supervisor. or the
agency may be held liable for certain acts or f or f ailing to act.

Dispatchers must make decisions that affect the public safety on a daily
basis. Placing a person in such a position without proper training could place

the person and the agency in a legally vulnerable position.

Ethical Concerns

A police department '3 ability to respond the public's demand for
services. particularly emergency services. is dependent upon an effective
communications capability. Dispatchers are key players in the
communications operation of any law enforcement agency. To knowingly
allow a dispatcher, without appropriate training. to work in such a critical
position may cause them and the public harm. Accepting a person into a job
on the basis of an erroneous job description can cause undue stress upon
that individual. Such conditions may also increase anxiety. add to job stress,
and are unfair to the person in that job. To knowingly cause harm is
egregiously unethical. Providing proper training programs for dispatchers.
based on accurate assessments of the job and realistic position descriptions,
ensures that the calling public receives the best possible service in regards
to police response. To do otherwise is unethical. When a department states
an expressed goal to obtain effectiveness, such as dispatching, then certain
rights and duties of the parties involved derive from that goal statement.

These derived rights and duties are in the realm of applied ethics.

Labor Relations Concerns
Discipline and employee performance ratings are of key interest to
union officials and management. A supervisor is hard pressed to insure
accountability of subordinates unless there are accurate position descriptions
to guide employees and their supervisors. Under such conditions the written
performance ratings and other administrative actions become ambiguous.
Should the Department of Civil Service decide to create a new job

classification as a result of this work. it is conceivable that those in the new
classification may not be represented by their current union.
Communications Clerks IV are now represented by the United Auto
Workers. Such a reclassification could require the removal of newly
classified dispatchers from that bargaining unit. The union. as a political
institution. would undoubtedly resist such a move and fight for retention of

its membership.

Political Concerns

It is a reasonable assumption that enhanced dispatcher training and
recognition could lead to a demand from within the dispatcher ranks for
some form of state certification. Some states are now beginning to require
such certification with minimum training standards. Michigan does not have
such minimum standards. Certification is a common topic at dispatcher
meetings and is frequently highlighted in their national publications.

State police staff report that the Michigan Law Enforcement Officers
Training Council (MLEOTC) has discussed certification or licensing for radio
operators and dispatchers in the past. If licensing or certification does take
place it can be anticipated that there will be a demand for higher salaries in
line with an enhanced image. Under such conditions enabling jurisdictions
could be faced with realignment of their budgets. Such competition for
scarce resources is a political issue.

Dispatcher training is immersed in the issue of 911 dispatching. There is
always the possibility of political turf battles between different departments

because each agency in a county can make its own determination of what

role it wishes to play in dispatching. Some agencies may discover budgetary
efficiencies by belonging to a county-wide system. Other departments may
find it more efficient to have their own dispatchers and choose not to join

the county-wide 911 plan.

Community Concerns

A major area of concern among police administrators across the country
is the topic of police community relations. Generally, the dispatcher is the
person who makes the first contact with the public calling the police. A
dispatcher who may be ineffective for any number of reasons could

seriously damage the state of existing community relations.

Summary of Concerns

Any strategy to upgrade the quality of telephone and radio operator
relations with the public must focus on the operator's sensitivity and
professionalism. It has been suggested elesewhere that the minimum
elements necessary for such include 1) better selection procedures. 2)
improved training. and 3) the restructuring of the job to enhance the pay.
status. and productive contribution of the radio dispatcher to police

operations.

Other Issues
If the results of this study indicate that there is a training void in

dispaching. other organizational problems could surface. A person not

properly trained or not qualified. in a decision making position such as
dispatching. could lead to liability for the agency when harm comes to
someone as a result of their work. Organizations that select and accept
persons for such a job based on an inaccurate job descriptions frequently
find that the incumbent suffers stress. This condition often leads to frequent
turnover and it is inefficient.

If physical or psychological harm occurs with the knowledge of such
def iciencies, the action is unethical. Because the concepts of goals. individual
rights, and duties of dispatchers. citizens. and officers are also interwoven

into this research. the research takes on an ethical dimension.

Basic Assumptions

An underlying assumption of this study. determined after several
conversations with dispatchers. is that the world in which the police and the
police dispatcher work and interact is one system.

The system works most effectively when the officers and the
dispatchers perceive things. conditions, problems, police incidents. and
proper responses in similar ways. Another assumption is that there is a
misunderstanding and lack of appreciation of each others‘ role among
dispatchers and the police officers they dispatch. It is proposed that police
officers view the internal organizational environment of dispatching
differently from those who work in that role.

It is also assumed that the dispatchers may not see the external
environment of street police work in the same way as the officer views his

or her work world. If there is a contextual disequilibrium among

10

dispatchers then it is possible for dispatchers to misinterpret demands for
service from the public. fail to identify critical propositions in a caller's
message. and assign officers to calls that do not accurately portray the
problem being reported. If such conditions exist the results are not only
ineffective, but could lead to dangerous situations for the officer and the
citizen alike.

A training program based on the real world of dispatching and policing.
as determined from the effective handling of critical incidents. appears to be
a means of bridging the gap. if one exists. between perception and fact for
dispatchers. Knowing more of what a police officer's duties entail and what
their responses are. as well as an awareness of the knowlege and concepts
officers use to make decisions. should improve contextual understandings.

If changes are warranted. those changes should provide for better
informed decision making by the dispatchers. If the results of this study
indicate that there is a training void. other organizational problems could be
present. A person not properly trained or not qualified. who is placed in
such a decision making position. could lead to liability for the agency.
Organizations that select persons based on inaccurate job descriptions
frequently find that the incumbants suffer from stress and such conditions
can account for absence or an increase in turnover. Turnover is costly and
inefficient. When organizationally derived. physical or psychological harm

to such incu mbants is unethical

Definition of Eff ectivness in Dispatching

Effectiveness is described as producing an intended or expected result.

ll

Effectiveness may also refer to producing a striking impression. The concept
of effectiveness is a complex phenomena that implies the skillful use of
energy or industry to accomplish a desired result. It is efficient when it is
done with little waste or effort.

A major factor, in determining dispatcher effectiveness. must refer to
the nature of the work. Included within this def inition. is the capacity to
prevent injury or reduce injury to the officers that are dispatched. and the
citizens who have made the demands for police services. Matching the
response to the nature of the demand for service is also descriptive of
effectiveness.

The primary purpose of using the critical incident technique was to
identify the variables that would be used to operationalize effectiveness as
perceived by those who are performing the job of dispatching. The context
used is the reported critical incident. Those incidents were determined by
the dispatchers and reflect their own experiences.

The operationalization is the process of deter mining what the specific
empirical observations are ascribed to as indicators of the attributes
contained in the concept of effectiveness. This complex term is believed to
contain demonstrations of certain attributes and possession of certain skills
and abilities. Among those that were observed in conversations with

dispatchers were:
1. Preparedness to do the job without negative impacts on the system.

2. Ability to work in a high pressure environment without negative
reactions.

12

Ability to receive and obtain critical information and prepare the
appropriate police response.

Ability to discern critical and dangerous elements in a caller's message.
Ability to remain calm in the face of excited callers and transmit this
calmness and objectivity to the caller in order to obtain maximum

information.

Ability to discern propositions in the call content in order to be able to
determine when safety is an issue.

Possession of technical skills on the radio. the computer. and other
equipment.

Ability to know when and how to take control of complex situations.

Ability to make logical decisions based on the information obtained.

Meaning of Variable Groups

The survey instrument included three primary groups of variables that

have been characterized as 1) training variables. 2) personality variables.

and 3) organizational issue variables.

Training variables describe specific knowledge of police related subjects

that respondents felt were descriptive of effective dispatchers. They may be
related to a specific subject such as " Effective dispatchers understand

criminal law" or they may be related to an awareness of a particular

procedure such as “Effective dispatchers understand the Michigan blockade

procedure" .

Personality variables describe personality characteristics. personal

13

skills. or abilities that respondents felt were descriptive of effective
dispatchers. They may be related to a specific skill such as " Effective
dispatchers have good interpersonal skills" or personality characteristics
like ” Effective dispatchers are compassionate to callers".

Organizational issue variables describe the respondent's relationships
with others within the organization and the strength and meaning of such
relationships between organizational members or between the dispatcher
and the organization. The variables include role perception and relative
position within the organization. They may be related to the organization
such as "A dispatcher's position description is an accurate picture of what a
dispatcher does" or they may be related to persons such as "Police officers
understand the dispatcher's role".

In addition to these primary variables demographic variables were also

included in the survey instrument for purposes of analysis.

Hypotheses

1. MIL
There is no significant difference in perceptions between sworn and
civilian respondents of the training requirements for effective
dispatchers.
Alternate
There is a significant difference in perceptions between sworn and
civilian respondents of the training requirements for effective

dispatchers.

14

Hull

There is no significant difference in perceptions between sworn and
civilian respondents of the necessary personal characteristics possessed
by effective dispatchers.

Alternate

There is a significant difference in perceptions between sworn and
civilian respondents of the necessary personal characteristics possesed
by effective dispatchers.

Null

There is no significant difference in perceptions between sworn and
civilian respondents of organizational issues related to dispatching.
Alternate

There is a significant difference in perceptions between sworn and

civilian respondents of organizational issues related to dispatching.

Research Questions

In addition to the hypotheses being tested the data also indicate

other broad questions. The answers to these questions may have an impact

on improving overall dispatcher effectiveness by identifying appropriate

subject matter for a training program and identifying organizational issues

that can be addressed by management in order to reduce role conflicts or

structural problems that may be present.

What variables do respondents identify as the appropriate training

requirements for effective dispatchers?

10.

ll.

12.
13.

15

What skills. abilities. and knowledge do respondents identify as
indicative of effective dispatchers?

What personality variables do respondents identify as descriptive
of effective dispatchers?

What organizational variables do respondents identify as related to
to effective dispatching?

Do the position descriptions of dispatchers accurately reflect the job
that dispatchers perform?

What organizational changes could be made to improve dispatcher
effectiveness?

Are there differences in role perceptions between the dispatcher
and officer respondents of the police agencies studied?

Are there differences in perceptions between the dispatcher and
officer respondents in regard to the personality attributes of
effective dispatchers?

Do dispatcher and officer respondents differ in their perceptions
regarding organizational and environmental issues?

D0 dispatcher respondents. regardless of their department of
assignment. tend to agree or disagee regarding training factors.
personality f actors. and organizational issues?

Are there significant differences in the perceptions of respondents that
can be attributed to demographic variables?

What is the training profile of the samples of dispatchers?

If disequilibrium exists. what organizational changes should be made

to address the problem?

16

State Police Concerns that Drive the Research

There are four other concerns that drive the research. 1) the passage of
Act 32 of 1986. 2) conflicts with dispatcher selection policy. 3) the potential
for implementation of the state police shift commander study. and 4) the
issue of whether or not dispatchers are supervisors due to the nature of
their job.

Public Act 32 of 1986

This study is not focused on 911 or Central Dispatching. but on the
dispatchers themselves. Some of those dispatchers may work in a 911
system. Because new legislation has been passed that may result in an
increase of the number of dispatchers in Michigan. the concept of 911
becomes relevant. The State Police request for a dispatcher training
program was predicated. in part. on the passage of this new legislation

Act 32 of the Public Acts of 1986. the Emegency Telephone Service
Enabling Act. became law on March 16. 1986. That act established the
procedures for the establishment of county-wide 911 emergency telephone
services. It also allows for funding for the restructuring of the telephone
system to be passed on to the consumer. Funding for upgrading current
dispatch centers is not included in the act. Those costs must be borne by the
agencies that are involved in 911 services.

A Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) must be approved by the
County Board of Commissioners. The PSAP may be a city or township police

l7

department. a sheriff department. or a state police post. Departments may
also combine in a county to form one PSAP. The PSAP refers to a
communications facility operated or answered on a twenty-f our hour basis
that is assigned the responsiblity by a public agency or county to receive
911 calls, and to directly dispatch emergency response services. or to
transfer or relay 911 calls to other public service agencies.

A PSAP is the first point of reception for a 911 call and may serve its
jurisdiction or other participating jurisdictions. Police officials anticipate
that a statewide growth of the dispatching function may occur as a result of
the enactment and implementation of this act.

The Director of the Michigan State Police has indicated that he is willing
to have his department be a PSAP in any county. He has indicated his
willingness to house the facility and staff it with dispatchers and supervisory
personnel in areas outside cities. villages, and townships. The Director has
also agreed to consider cities. villages and townships, if they choose to
combine. and if they have the support of their public safety officials. as an
option to be in included in the county-wide PSAP.

This system is designed for emergency calls. Administrative calls to the
police agencies are to be handled by the agencies directly. The calls for
emergency services will be handled using the closest car concept. The laying
of new telephone lines and maintenance costs are to be borne in part by the
users and will cause an increase in telephone bills.

If the legislature feels that the State Police have a role in dispatching
statewide. on a county by county basis. then a strong demand will exist for

new state police dispatchers. If this demand does not surf ace, a need for

18

training of state police and other dispatchers still exists. The staff in charge
of the state police dispatchers are m‘ the opinion that the dispatchers
currently employed may not be appropriately trained. Under a grant from
the Office of Criminal Justice the State Police have trained about 500
dispatchers statewide. That is one third of the total.

Political battles over f unding. recognition, and power are nothing new
in government. The concept of 911 provides an opportunity for recognition
and visibility. To avoid jurisdictional in-fighting each central dispatch center
that is formed will be required to come under the umbrella of a governing
board on the county level. The legislation requires that the "closest car
concept" be used by those agencies involved in 911. Several safeguards
have been included in the legislation to avoid improper implementation. The
implementation procedure includes the development of a Tentative 911
Service Plan, a County Board Review. Public Hearings, Notification to
Agencies Involved. and Final Adoption Procedures. A copy of a tentative
911 service plan and a copy of Act 32 is included in the appendix.

Selection Conflicts

State police officials also report that the hiring process for their
department is further complicated because civil service requires that the
department use the current Communications Clerk IV list from which to
draw applicants for the dispatcher job. The classification of communications
clerk refers to persons with two years of typing experience. It is the feeling
of the state police officials that the job of dispatcher is more complicated

19

than that of communications clerks and requires more than just two years of
typing experience.

State officials requested this study of the dispatching function on the
basis of complexity of the job and the critical nature of the job in order to
obtain realistic selection criteria. a job relevant position description. and
recommendations for training programs based on the needs of the job.

Those in the supervisory position over the dispatchers feel that the
state can provide uniform training for dispatchers once it has learned the
training needs of the dispatcher position. There may be poliitcal concerns on
the local. county, or state level for recognition in regards to 911 and central
dispatching. Those political entities with the designation of PSAP will no
doubt require a greater number of dispatchers. It is suggested by officials
that in those counties where there are several answering points. the
likelihood is that the county will choose a central dispatch configuration. It
is conceivable that in some of the smaller departments that some dispatcher
positions will be disposed of . Those who have the training and necessary
skills could possibily be absorbed into the larger departments. Those who do

not have the skills and training may not.

State Police Shift Commander Study

During the time that this study was being discussed and for mulated.
state police officials performed a study on the role of the state police shift
commander. That position is that of a sergeant in the state police. A final
combined report was submitted to the Commanding Officer of the State

Police Uniform Division on August 31, 1987. It was the combined report of

20

the Shift Commander Position Review Advisory Committee and the
Sergeant's Role Implementation Task Force. The work of that joint group
evolved from a Sergeant's Role Quality Circle that was organized to offer
recommendations that would make the shift commander's position more
personally satisfying and challenging while attaining departmental
objectives.

There are several interesting insights in that report in regards to the
role of shift commanders, however they will not be taken up in this study.
There are also many elements in that study which impact on the role of the
dispatchers and emphasize the need for taking a closer look at the
dispatchers and their training. It should be noted that the supervision of the
officers on the road by the sergeants is only one of several initiatives that
have been implemented. A result of a survey instituted by the state police
reveals that the Michigan State Police is the only state police organization in
the country that does not assign at least a portion of the supervisor's time to

field supervision

Impact of the Study on Dispatching

Among the changes that impact on the dispatcher are several
recommendations to expand the role of the shift supervisor by including
supervision of field personnel. On the recommendations of those committees
and task forces. sergeants at two selected state police posts are currently
piloting this method of road supervision by sergeants. Several action steps
in the study have a direct impact on the role and training of dispatchers.

Action Step 3A is designed as a provision for support to ensure shift

2|

commander effectiveness. This step recommends redefining the
Communications Clerk IV job description to create a position capable of
relieving the shift commander of dispatching.clerical. routine ad ministraive
duties. and capable of staffing the desk in the absence of an enlisted officer.
In order to relieve the shift commander of dispatching and clerical duties.
he or she must be replaced by a well qualified person capable of performing
these tasks in an acceptable manner. The authors of the report recommend
that where the work load allows. the communications clerk could fulfill the
need for a secretary and dispatcher. thus eliminating the need for part-time
secretarial staff. An example of this is found in the smaller or medium size
posts. At the busier posts work loads may demand that these functions
remain separate.

Action Step 3B recommends providing in-service training to current
communications clerks which would provide knowledge. skills. and abilities
to broaden their job duties. It states that in order to work independently of
direct supervision. the communications clerks must have general knowledge
of criminal and civil laws. the motor vehicle code, sufficient knowledge of
standard police procedures to respond to emergencies involving life
threatening situations, and requests for emergency responses. The
dispatchers must possess skills in screening calls. obtaining appropriate
information about incidents, determining action to be taken. and dispatching
necessary personnel. Such persons will also receive the incoming calls. The
recommendation notes that the communications clerk described within the
proposal must possess a higher level of knowledge and skill than is presently

required of departmental radio operators.

22

Action Step 3D recommends designing secure work sites where
communicators will be required to work alone. Another recommendation is
that the position of shift commander be expanded to include mandatory field
supervision of officers assigned to patrol and or investigative duties.

The committee felt strongly that the supervisors must be in a position to
interact with their troopers on a daily basis.

Among several alternative options available to the state police. should
they adopt the concept of road supervision entirely. are limited hours of post
operation and remoting calls to larger posts. transfer of calls to 911 centers
where they exist. and to analyze and redeploy current full time employee
positions such as secretaries and radio operators. These FTE positions would
replace the uniform sergeant on the desk on either a part time or full time
basis . MSP Combined Report (1987).

A person in the job of communications clerk (dispatcher) without the
necessary training and skills cannot provide an appropriate response or
evaluate the scope or nature of a police problem. In the absence of proper
training such conditions could lead to no response. an improper response. or
an untimely response by the police. The state police recognize the need to
deter mine the proper role and proper training to avoid such situations.

The focus on dispatcher training within the state police may lead to a
demand for a classification change and salary increases. This emphasis on
dispatchers may lead to a demand from the dispatchers for certification.
Enabling political decision makers may be faced with a restructuring of

financial resources within their communities and the competition for scarce

23

resources among their community agencies. if they should follow suit of the
state police in this endeavor.
Historical Positions

Traditionally the troopers have been on the road on patrol and the
sergeants. formerly corporals. have been stationed at the posts as desk
officers. The terms desk officer and shift supervisor are synomomous. Those
positions involved answering the phone. handling walk-in traffic, dispatching
cars, and monitoring and supervising the patrol force from that distance.
Over the past several years several administrative tasks have been added to
the job of sergeant.

For several years, troopers in the state police on general patrol have
received their supervision in an "after the f act" manner. Once assigned to
their patrol area and once assigned complaints to investigate. the officer left
the post and performed their duties with very little oversight. The sergeants
remained at the posts to handle the radio. phone traffic and other duties.
When a trooper's shift ended the officer made out the necessary reports and
left. The sergeants reviewed their written work after the fact. Under
conditions of a most serious nature sergeants did. from time to time, go to
the scene to provide a level of supervision. This practice was an exception
and not the rule. For several years most of the metropolitan police agencies
have had sergeants on the road assigned to beat or patrol areas. Though
that was not one on one supervision.none the less. they were out there and
available to their officers to provide supervision when required.

At posts where dispatchers are assigned. the sergeant is available to

those handling the function of call reception or dispatcher for advise and

24

guidance. At first the sergeants handled the phone calls and gave the proper
information to the dispatcher. Over time and in the face of added duties the
sergeants did less telephone answering and the job was relegated to the
dispatcher. If a decision is made to assign the sergeants to the road on a
regular basis the dispatchers at the posts will require greater self sufficiency
and will no doubt be making more decisions in the absence of the sergeant.
Though the sergeant will be available by radio or telephone. in practice
many decisions that are currently turned over to the sergeant will be made
independently. If the shift commanders are assigned to the road function in
posts that do not have dispatchers. that change will require hiring of new
dispatchers to fill the void. This planned change in staffing pattern of state
police posts is another reason to insure that the dispatchers have the proper

job relevant training.

Propositions from Shift Commander Study

1. Relevant training. when identified through job analysis. can provide a
more uniform level of service to the public and the dispatched officer
by reducing the opportunity for misinterpretation of calls and their
importance.

2. Dispatchers. who are in a primary control position, require an
understanding of the knowledge bases of the police context.

3. Dispatchers who are not appropriately trained learn the details of the
police context and police operation second hand and through job

exposure.

25

Formal Dispatcher Training in Other States

Moylan (1983) contacted seven other states that were reasonable
comparisons to Michigan. The criteria for determining the comparison states
were not reported. The role of the dispatcher in each of those states was
essentially the same as Michigan. The general job description included
computer terminal operation. telephone complaint handling. and operation
of the radio system.

The states that were queried were Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania. New
York. Wisconsin, Utah. and California. Other than Ohio, Utah. and Michigan all
of the states provide their dispatchers with a training program varying from
twenty-four to forty hours in length. None of the reporting states had
training standards for dispatchers. It was concluded that all of the states
were beginning to look at the overall effectiveness of training based on their

perceptions of the future needs of dispatching work.

Are Dispatchers Supervisors?

Dispatchers when asked to describe their duties in the contexts of
critical incidents frequently refer to controlling the conversation between
them and the callers. This control is used so that the dispatcher can be sure
to obtain case-critical information. to be able to calm those that are excited.
and to be assured that the information they need is obtained in the event of
a disconnect with the caller.

Dispatchers. after making decisions regarding the type of call and the
type of response that is required, dispatch cars and then assist by obtaining

further information relative to the incident or procure other support services

26

for the responding police officer. This process often gets very complex. It
may require other cars being assigned as back up. forwarding information on
serious matters to supervisors. calling other departments for assistance. and
as cited in the critical incidents. keeping persons on the line and obtaining
information regarding what the person is doing or where a gunman is hiding
and so forth.

In the years prior to the prevalent use of civilian dispatchers police
officers were the dispatchers. In the state police, the desk corporal was the
dispatcher. and as a person. operating the radio and dispatching cars to calls.
was also the shift supervisor. The command and control philosphy of that
department stated that when the "desk man" spoke it was the voice of the
department. Cars could be assigned. disengaged. reassigned and given
direction by the police dispatcher. From time to time. in the absence of the
corporal. seasoned officers were assigned to the radio position. In the East
Lansing Headquarters of the state police. the Operations Desk operated as the
voice of the commissioner. The supervision of operations was staffed with a
sergeant. but the dispatching to the posts was done by civilian radio
Operators. To ensure consistency. it was made clear to the entire agency that
operations was a command and control center for the entire department.
regardless of who was doing the talking on the radio.

There was an organizational mind set in police agencies that if one were
dispatched to a crime scene or a call for service. that this was tantamount to
an order from a superior officer. If that dispatcher was in fact an officer of
equal or lesser rank to the responder. the fact that he was on the desk
negated the differences because he was acting in a supervisory capacity.

27

In many other policeagencies police officer dispatchers were also
common. The change from police officer to civilian dispatchers came about
because of several conditions. Cost considerations and increased demand for
police services were chief among the reasons for the switch from police to
civilian dispatchers. While not commonly public, there was some resistence
from officers in being dispatched by civilians. This was undoubtedly a carry
over from their previous experiences and the mind set of earlier years as
stated by VA Leonard (1938).

Police officers from the Detroit Police department for example. took
issue with the use of civilians to dispatch officers. The officer's felt that if
they were to be properly protected. they needed an experienced police
officer to interpret the calls properly. The key issue was whether or not the
civilians were in fact in a supervisory position over the officers.

The Taft-Hartley Act definition of supervisors was used to settle the
matter. The prevailing viewpoint is that it matters little if a civilian
dispatcher is doing the job as long as there is a police supervisor present to
guide them in police matters. Personal presence is not necessary but what
matters is that a police supervisor is readily available. That availability may
be by radio or by telephone. The Taft-Hartley Act definition for a supervisor
is found in the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947 as amended by the
Labor Management Reporting Disclosure Act of 1959. Section 2 (II) states:

The term " supervisor" means any indiviudual having authority, in the
interest of the employer. to hire. transfer. suspend. lanOff. recall.
promote. discharge. assign. reward or discipline other employees. or
responsibility to direct them or to adjust their grievances. or effectively
to recommend such action. if in connection with the foregoing exercise

28

of such authority is not a merely routine or clerical nature. but
requires the use of independent judgment."

According to the Taft-Hartley definition dispatchers are not in fact
supervisors. One who is not familiar with the police structure, after
reviewing what dispatchers do in the course of handling critical incidents.
could conclude that many of their tasks are close to directing. They do
exercise a good deal of independent judgment. Controlling and taking control
of situations does not mean that they have supervisory control over the
officer's that are dispatched. Functional supervision. decision making. and
use of discretion is not the same as supervision in the sense of Taft-Hartley.

Independent judgments are made by dispatchers. The dispatcher
receiving a call from the public must effectively listen and understand the
concepts being reported. They must often calm the caller and they must also
establish the credibility of the caller. After gathering case-relevant
information they must determine if further information is needed to make
an informed decision on the nature of the call as well as the proper response
that is appropriate. In those cases where. in the opinion of the dispatcher. a
police response is not necessary. the dispatcher must advise the caller of
other resources available to handle their problem.

If a decision is made to send a car. the dispatcher must decide what car
to send. how many to send. if a back-up car is required. if a supervisor
should be called. and what.if any. other resources are necessary. Those
resources may be ambulances. fire trucks. wreckers. other agendas, or
special services such as crime lab personnel. detectives. or special weapons

teams.

29

Dispatchers are not supervisors. Some of the work that they do often
resembles supervision. but in fact they speak for the agency or the on-duty
shift supervisor. They may transmit guidance from the supervisor. but do
not initiate such orders. They may transmit policy or procedures when
appropriate. but they do not possess the authority to censure.

Confusion over whether dispatchers are supervisors may evolve from
the historical position of dispatcher. Those positions were in fact
supervisory when the position was held by the sergeant or officer acting as
supervisor in the sergeant‘s absence. As long as a supervisor is available
there should be no confusion over the issue. A more precise definition of the
position of dispatcher might be team member.

Historically. only seasoned officers dispatched the patrols on their
assignments. As members of quasi- military organizations. police officers
may have problems in relating to dispatchers because of their organizational
mind set on the formal chain of command and the functional positions
occupied by dispatchers. Dysfunctional interpretations such as these can be
overcome by involving the dispatchers in meetings with officers and
clarifying the dispatcher's role in police training programs. Part of the
problem may be that dispatchers were originally hired to reduce costs by
replacing officers in order to have more officers on the street. Placing

additional duties on the sergeants has also complicated the issue.

CHAPTER 2

Conceptual Framework

Disequilibrium between Contexts

Over a period of several months dispatchers were asked to comment on
their work environment. their perceptions related to their work. the
problems they encountered. the training necessary to be effective. and in a
general way. where they felt they fit into the police system. Many were
asked in free flowing discussions at their training sessions to comment on
what they behaved made a dispatcher effective or ineffective. In addition to
this exposure. several hours of tapes from a state police dispatch center were
reviewed. The feedback from these sources was noted and evaluated in
order to get a sense of dispatching and to discover a logical way of looking at
the phenomenon of emergency dispatching. This was done to deter mine
what training was apprOpriate for dispatchers.

It was concluded that dissatisfaction, frustration and concern existed
among dispatchers and a good deal of the problem evolved from a lack of
preparation for the job. a lack of training in police subject matter. and a
perception of negative status within the police system. This dysfunction is
viewed as contextual disequilibrium.

It is theorized that a dispatcher has a certain view of how the police
world is structured. particularly in terms of what an officer does in
responding to and handling police matters and what the role of the
dispatcher is in support of that function.

The police also have a view of how the dispatcher's role is structured.

30

31

particularly in terms of what they do and how they should do it in support
of the police response. The police officer's role is based on training and
experience in doing the job. but the dispatcher, who generally lacks that
experience. must depend on training to obtain a clear view of how the parts
of police response function should fit together. It is concluded that the
dispatcher's view of policing is not the same as the police off icer's view and
conversly. It is hypothesized that there is disequilibrium between these two
contexts as perceived by the two parties- the dispatcher and the police
officer. It is important that they both understand each other's working
context and expectations in order to have a smooth working system.

A dispatcher's view of policing based on their encounters with the
telephoning public. associations with officers in the radio rooms and dispatch
centers. and from what they have learned over the years from on-the-job
training may not include important concepts and procedures that officers use
on a day to day basis. In this important linkage between caller. dispatcher.
and off icer. it is critical that the dispatcher and the responding officer are
reaching conclusions and making decisions from similar sets of assumptions.

It is difficult to imagine any consistency of operation if the dispatchers
are not provided much of the same information that police officers use to
guide their thinking in these matters. Operational and organizational
effectiveness is bound to be lessened if these two parties of the process are
not operating from similar bases of information.

Every decision a dispatcher makes relating to a crime. a civil matter.
handling of information or the host of other issues must be based on their

view of the police world. When that view differs substantially from the way

32

the officer views the same situation. communications can be viewed as in a
state of disequilibrium. The system. which includes the receipt of a call.
interpretation of a call. determination of the need. classification of the call.
and dispatch of an officer becomes dysfunctional.

For example. a dispatcher may receive a demand for some form of
police response. The demand may be crime related, service related or
misdirected to the police. A caller may report several propositions in their
demand. It is up to the dispatcher to deter mine which propositions are
important and how they are related. define the information in terms of
legitimacy and jurisdicition. formulate it into a police call for service. and
dispatch the officer. If critical propositions. that could affect officer or public
safety are omitted or misinterpreted. due to a lack of knowledge or
understanding of the police context. serious consequences could occur.

Dispatchers have reported during several interviews that some officers
hold them in contempt. Several felt that the police supervisors do not
understand them. Many admit that they do not know enough about the
police job. Several suggested that it would be useful to be exposed to patrol
in order to get a better feel for the problems encountered by the officers.

A common suggestion from dispatchers is that the officers spend some
time working the dispatcher's job and vice versa in order to improve mutual
understanding. When such contextual disequilibrium exists. training in
matters relative to the source of the disequilibrium can alleviate this
condition and improve overall effectiveness of the dispatching process.

Training is not proposed in an attempt to make police officers out of
dispatchers. but to bridge a perceived gap by the introduction of job relevant

33

training. Many of the reported dysfunctions could be alieviated with mutual
understanding of roles supported by role relevant training. One way of
doing this is to inform dispatchers on many of the subject areas that are
necessary for a responding police officer.

A problem that surfaced early in this formative stage of the research
was that the dispatchers felt a strong need to provide an effective service to
the citizens and felt a duty to do their best to protect officers. It was clear
that they were not sure of the basic concepts and foundations that officers
used in making their determinations of the appropriate action to take. yet

officers and dispatchers work in the same police context.

Disequilibrium and Cognitive Dissonance

Disequilibrium may be viewed as a form of dissonance. A lack of
reciprocity may be viewed as part of the cause of the dissonance. Festinger's
(1960) views of dissonance have some application in formulating the
conceptual view of this work. Festinger (1960) states that an individual
strives towards consistency within himself or herself. Opinions and attitudes
of individuals tend to exist in clusters that are internally consistent There
is a consistency between what a person knows or believes and what a person
does. This is generally true in political and social attitudes.

When individuals have behaviors or attitudes that appear inconsistent a
person will usually rationalize the inconsistencies to himself. When such
inconsistency continues to exist. a psychological discomfort will appear. This
kind of inconsistency is often replaced with dissonance. Consistency is

replaced with consonance. Festinger (1960) feels that the existence of

34

dissonance. being psychologically uncomfortable. motivates a person to try to
reduce the dissonance in order to achieve a state of consonance. In addition.
persons will actively avoid situations and information that would increase
dissonance. Dissonance in this sense has been described as hunger.
f rustration. or disequilibrium. It is proposed that the existence of
non-fitting cognitions is a motivating factor in itself. Cognition. in this sense.
refers to a belief about one's environment. oneself . behavior. knowledge. or
precision. Cognitive dissonance could be descriptive of the dispatchers'
reported problems in the sense that there may be non-fitting relations
among their cognitions. Their beliefs about their environment. the police
communications system. and its operation may be a cognition that is
non-fitting. Cognitive dissonance then may be conceived as a belief about
the environment that is in a state of disequilibrium.

It is proposed that the dispatcher may attempt to know the police world
and the concepts and theories that make sense to the police. but due to a
lack of police-specific training. they do not accurately understand it. The
dispatcher's lack of understanding, lack of exposure. and lack of training is

reflected in their frustrations. stresses. and concerns.

Reduction of Disequilibrium

Disequilibrium. in this conceptual overview of dispatching. is similar to
dissonance. New informing information may be expected to reduce such
disequilibrium or dissonance. Critically relevant information can be
delivered through a thoughtful training program that is designed to inform
dispatchers of the idiosyncracies of policing and basic information used by

35

the police in response to calls and general patrol issues.

Exposure to appropriate police theory and relevant police training can
change a dispatcher's knowledge base and provide a broader base of
information. Supported with a broader base of information a dispatcher
should be able to make a decision that is more in line with how an officer
would react to the same incoming information from the citizen.

Historically. police officers and police supervisors were the dispatchers
for the police. Both the dispatcher and the dispatched worked from the same
background. Regardless of the reasons that led to the use of civilian .
dispatchers, those who were involved in the changeover failed to take into
account the differences in cognitions. This oversight is due in part because
the change has been gradual and in many cases dispatchers were supported
by uniformed officers they could turn to for advice. With the expected
expansion of the 911 systems and the planned relocation of state police
sergeants from the office to the f ield. these differences become critical. A
common remark from officers was "police officers make better dispatchers
because they understand what the police do" or "I would rather have an
officer watching out for my safety than some person who does not
understand". Such options are not realistic in the current cost conscious
environment. If dispatchers are properly selected and trained that option
should not be desirable.

Festinger (1960) states that if two elements are relevant the relation
between them is either consonant or dissonant. Each increases as the
importance of the element increases. When the dissonance under

consideration is between an element corresponding to some knowledge

36

concerning the environment (police response) and behavior is relevant
(dispatcher interpretation and handling of calls) this dissonance can be
eliminated by changing the behavior cognition element in such a way that
the behavior is consonant with the environmental ele ment.

The observed need is for more police task information. If that task
information is not immediately available to the dispatcher because the
sergeant is no longer physically present. the dispatcher must become more
self -sufficient. Current practice is to place the caller on hold and ask for
clarification or interpretation of reported propositions. This system is not
eff icient. effective. or practical.

Festinger (1960) also reports that it is possible to change environmental
elements that are social environments and more difficult to change physical
environments. It is not possible to eliminate all of the stresses of
dispatching nor is it desirable to do so. In addressing contextual
disequilibrium. in the relationship between dispatcher and police. it may be
possible to reduce the dissonance or disequilibrium by adding new cognitive
elements. This is the purpose of the training program.

A dispatcher's work environment can be described as psychologically
uncomfortable. stressful. or lacking in reciprocity. A recurrent theme that
surfaced during the interviews and discussions with dispatchers was "the
officers and management do not understand us".

Though a training program is designed to change their knowledge base
and impact on the dispatcher's cognition. there are and will be circumstances
that will make it difficult for a person to change their behavior:

I. the changes may be painful or involve loss.

37

2. present behavior may be satisfying to some or

3. making the change may not be possible for some due to emotional

reasons or inability to practice the new behavior.

Lewin (1951) states that people interpret information to fit what they
already believe. This generally arises from involuntary exposure to
information. The desired change is to change what dispatchers
believe about policing by introducing training subject matter that the police
use as a base for their decision making. Such a transfer of information
should provide for contextual equilibrium.

Lewin (1951) also points out that people who accept a certain role, or
position respond to the expectations which others have of that role. and they

are influenced by the persons or associates while occupying a given role.

Disequilibrium and Reciprocity

Dispatchers work at key points in the police system. They receive
inputs to the system. but they are not necessarily assimilated into the
system. They are often seen as civilian operators and thus outside of the
policing process or inner circle. They are often not really accepted as part of
the "police work theme". When such people are so separated and are not
provided reciprocity. they will live and work in dissonance in their
surroundings. Conditions such as these can result in frustration. stress.
anxiety. and anger. Such results can affect the manner and substance of the
messages they relay and that in turn can affect the officer and the public.
When such conditions exist, the dispatchers may create their own

perceptions of the police world. If their perceptions are not in harmony with

38

the officers they dispatch. a condition of contextual disequilibrium can
develop. An absence of reciprocity among dispatchers. the police. and their
administrators may account for part of the disequilibrium. Training for the
dispatcher, the off icers. and a heightened awareness for administrators could
assist in bridging this gap.

Conversations with several dispatchers have revealed that the patterns
of dispatcher and officer relations are not stable. A common observation is
that there is an unequal exchange between the two groups. Gouldner (I960)
hypothesizes that the norm of reciprocity is one of the universal principal
components of moral codes.

Sim mel (1950) states that social equilibrium and cohesion could not exist
without the reciprocity of service and return service and that " all contracts
among men rest on the schema of giving and returning the equivalence".
The combined efforts of dispatching and police responses are viewed as an
internal social system and this is the context of this study. Without
reciprocity a condition of instability can arise in the social relationship.

Gouldner (1960) states that Merton's paradigm of f unctionalism
stresses that analysis must begin with the identification of some problematic
pattern of human behavior. some institution. some role. or a shared pattern
of belief. The problematic pattern of this study is a perceived lack of
effectiveness. Reciprocity may be viewed as a transaction. Gouldner (1960)
notes that the principle of reciprocity is involved in functional analysis. He
said that the demonstration that A is functional for B helps account for A's
persistence and stability only on two assumptions: 1) that B reciprocates A's

service. and 2) that B's service to A is contingent upon A's performance of

39

positive functions for B.

He goes on to say that although reciprocal relations may stabilize
patterns. it does not necessarily follow that a lack of reciprocity is socially
impossible or always disruptive of the pattern involved. Relations with no
reciprocity can occur where power disparity allows one party to coerce
others. The police off icer's relations with the arrested citizen or the
dispatcher who is low in the organizational hierarchy are such examples.

Tensions can arise in the event of a breakdown in reciprocity. Some
groups may display the ideal of unconditional generosity which Gouldner
(1960) calls "walking the second mile". A important point that Gouldner
makes is that if empirical analysis f ails to detect the existence of functional
reciprocity it is necessary to search and analyze compensatory arrangements
that may provide a means of controlling the resultant tensions thus enabling
the problematic pattern to re main stable.

Reciprocity. as used in the context of the dispatcher-officer relations at
work is not an all or nothing matter. It may. as Gouldner points out. be
variable. It may be that compensatory mechanisms have substituted for
reciprocity or that power disparities maintain the functionalist holding of

"survival" despite the lack of reciprocity. Gouldner (1960).

Application of Concepts

After several conversations with and observations of dispatchers over a
three month period. preliminary conclusions were reached that a good deal
of dissatisfaction. frustration. and concern existed among dispatchers in

Michigan. The informal interviews and conversations with these

40

dispatchers led to a preliminary hypothesis that the majority of the
problems were work related. and may have evolved from a lack of
preparation for the job. a lack of appropriate job related training in police
subject matter. and a perception of negative status or isolation within the
police subsystem of emergency response processing.

These conditions were perceived as dysfunctional and further
examination led to the conclusion that dispatchers. though an integral part of
the police operation. were not fully accepted or integrated into the police
system. This overall condition has been described as contextual
disequilibrium. The context referred to is narrowly confined to the police
response process. That process may be viewed as a system. The input is the
call that is received from the citizen. the process or throughput is the
processing of the call by the dispatcher. This process includes obtaining
critical information. investigation. consoling. calming. and interpretation. The
entire process requires decision making by the dispatcher. who then
transmits the interpreted and coded call to the police. The third part of the
system is the output. This element of the system includes the officer's
response to the call and the handling of the incident until the incident is
stabilized. The bounds of the system include the call to the police by the
citizen on the one end and the handling of the incident by the police on the
other.

The disequilibrium referred to emanates from two sources. It is a state
of being. Disequilibrium can have effects on the overall system of delivery
in the police response process. The first source is the lack of recognition.

lack of training. and negative perceptions of status held by dispatchers.

 

41

Much of the problem is perceptual. These deficites can lead to other
problems that could in turn lead to operational dysfunctions in the system.
A discontented dispatcher. who may harbor feelings of animosity or anger.
is less effective than one who is satisfied. The disequilibrium is not meant to
be descriptive of the whole problem. but is a concept used to describe
resultant conditions that develop from many factors present in the system.
These forces may be social. cultural. organizational. or perceptual.

It was hypothesized that dispatchers had a certain view of the police
world in which they worked. That view was limited by their training.
socialization. and acceptance by their police counterparts. The police also
have a view of how the dispatchers' role was structured and how the
dispatchers functioned in the subsystem of police dispatching. It was
hypothesized that the dispatchers' view of the police process was not
accurate and the police view of the dispatchers' process was not accurate. A
problem with this situation is that both the dispatcher and the police officer
are working in the same subsystem and are mutually dependent and
interrelated. Effectiveness in such a situation requires mutual
understandings and similar bases of information for equilibrium to exist.
Both of these functions are viewed as being in tandem. When each position is
operating from a different perception of fact a condition of contextual
disequilibrium is considered to exist.

In order to clarify this disequilibrious condition other concepts are
used to describe certain forces that may be operating within this system that
either contribute to the disequilibrium or reduce it.

One purpose of the research was to determine if such disequilibrium

42

existed. If the perceptions of the uniformed officers and the dispatchers on
such matters as training. personal characteristics. and organizational issues
were in agreement. there would be no evident disequilibrium. If on the
other hand. the perceptions were significantly different in these three areas
one could conclude that a degree of disequilibrium did exist. Total
equilibrium in this narrow field of policing is probably not possible. If
proper training is instituted to inform dispatchers of the police thinking. and
organizational steps are taken to provide for mutual respect and
understanding of each other's role. then at least the observed disequilibrium
could be reduced. At best. an improvement in the conditions between
dispatcher and officer is all that can be expected. Overall effectiveness of
the emergency communications process should also be improved.

The other concepts used in this conceptual overview include
reciprocity. cognitive dissonance. and functional autonomy. All of these
concepts are related in some way. Some may be causes of the observed
disequilibrium and others may reduce it. No one concept is designed to
describe the situation. Cumulatively. these concepts are employed in an
attempt to understand the forces that may be operating that impact the
system. To be sure, others are there.

The system operates and these concepts have an impact on the
overall operation of the process of emergency dispatching. It will be noted
below that the process element of the system has an impact on the output

from the system.

 

 

 

43
I INPUT J "_ I proccssnuaoucnpur) I- [OUTPUT J ]

’FEEDBACK
CALL FOR SERVICE Dispatcher receives information. Police Receive Information
investigates. queries. clarifies. recedes. Police Respond to Call
makes decisions. transmits information Police Apply Services

‘ Note: If service is poor or inappropriate. the citizen provides feedback to the agency
and the process can be changed. If officers receive innaccurate information the
dispatchers can be advised and changes can be made. If officers‘ services are not
appropriate feedback is given to agency beads by citizens.

In order for the dispatcher to properly process a demand for service
from the citizen. certain knowledges. skills. and abilities. and personal
characteristics are required. Viewing the simple cpen system on the
previous page. one can see that if things are not right with the processing
ele ment of the system. the output may not be apprOpriate to the input side
of the model.

Relation of Concepts to Overall Theoretical Framework

Festinger (I960) felt that the existence of dissonance. being
psychologically uncomfortable. motivates a person to try to reduce the
dissonance in order to achieve consonance. People tend to avoid situations
and information that would increase their dissonance. Dispatchers. who may
be alienated in their jobs and confused with conflicting roles. may have such
dissonance. This type of dissonance is likened to disequilibrium. While

dissonance is quite different from disequilibrium . there are similarities that

44

provide a basis to view them as related in some sense.

Cognition is used in this framework to describe one's belief about one's
environment. oneself. behavior. knowledge. or precision. Cognitive
dissonance in this sense. may be descriptive of the dispatchers‘ reported
problems because it relates to non-fitting relations among their cognitions
about their environment. self . behavior. and knowledge. It is this condition
that led to the view that a form of congnitive dissoance existed among the
frustrated. ill-trained. isolated. and low status workers. When these
conditions are present the condition of disequilibrium can be conceived as
existing. Such disequilibrium is on a scale. Conditions may exist because of a
lack of proper cognitions about their work world. This condition is
compounded by a lack of reciprocity. It can be further compounded by the
existence of functional autonomy among off icers. and lead to a condition of
contextual disequilibrium. The training program that was developed from
this research. the selection criteria that was suggested. and the
implementation of a new position description for dispatchers are all viewed
as having a positive impact on the system and may be able to reduce
disequilibrium. This statement will only hold true if the training status. lack
of recognition. and confusion over role are the causes of the condition of
disequilibrium. This remains to be seen.

Festinger (1960) states that new informing information may be
expected to reduce the dissonance. In the sense that dissonance and
disequilibrium are similar. new informing information may be expected to
aid in establishing system equilibrium. Thoughtful training programs and

organizational initiatives can provide knowledge about the police context

4S

and reduce frustrations and stresses that dispatchers currently have
regarding knowledge gaps in police matters.

Status. prestige. and acceptance into the police circle on the other hand
may not be effected by the addition of new information by way of training.
Lack of personal recognition for dispatchers by their officer counterparts. as
integral parts of the police process may be psychologically uncomfortable.
These stressful perceptions of the dispatchers may result from a lack of
reciprocity. A lack of reciprocity in the dispatcher's job may arise when
officers fail to reciprocate for extended services provided to them by the
dispatchers. It may not be because officers are indifferent. Officers may
not understand the dispatchers' iob any more than dispatchers understand
their jobs. Interviews tend to support the idea that dispatchers are in fact
viewed as outsiders by officers in some cases. When such persons are so
separated and are not provided expected reciprocity. they work in
surroundings that contribute to dissonance. Extended over time. such
conditions can lead to anxiety. anger. and high stress. At worst it could lead
to withholding of services. Such conditions in turn can have a negative
impact on the response process. Messages to the public can be inaccurate.
Critical elements of the messages to officers may also be omitted.

Simmel (1950) states that social equilibrium and cohesion could not
exist without reciprocity of service and return service. and that “ all
contracts among men rest on the schema of giving and returning the
equivalance." The concept of reciprocity. as used in this framework. refers to
services performed by dispatchers and return services by officers. It may

be viewed as a barter of service for return of respect and acceptance for that

service and no more than that.

The rationale for including reciprocity in this work is the work of
Simmel (1950) and Gouldner (1960). Both indicated that without reciprocity
a condition of instability can arise. In the broadest sense. disequilibrium.
dissonance. and the instability that arises from a lack of reciprocity are all
viewed as connective. The researcher views this process of emergency
dispatching as a loosely coupled open system. It should be recognized that
the open system model can only work smoothly when factors that disrupt
the throughput process are absent. Dissonance. disequilibrium. negative
reciprocity. or active functional autonomy of officers all have negative
effects on the processing of emergency responses (throughput).

In other words. unless the causes of the disequilibrium are addressed
the thoughput element of the sytem will be inhibited and have impacts on
the output of the process. The feedback loop of the system is generally
neglected in practice. There is generally no feedback provided by the officer
to the dispatcher unless a major incident occurs. The research itself is
considered a form of feedback to the agency.

Festinger (1957) notes that this theory of cognitive dissonance is based
on the idea that persons attempt to establish internal harmony or
consistency among their opinions. attitudes. knowledge. or values. He refers
to this as a drive to consonance among cognitions. Radelet (1986) describes
Festinger's views on dissonance as a strain or tension between two items of
knowledge. two attitudes. opinions or values. Radelet (1986) also reports
that the presence of dissonance gives rise to pressures to reduce the

dissonance. This calls for changing one of the dissonant elements of

47

knowledge. Opinions or values. The purpose of using these concepts is to
obtain a better understanding of what it taking place perceptually and
behaviorally.

If there are not some mutually agreed upon foundations from which to
operate. the system has a tendency to become disequilibriuous. The
reference is to similar ideas of what an effective dispatcher is all about. some
agreements on proper training of dispatchers. and agreement on the
desirable characteristics of good dispatchers. Radelet (1986) also used this
theory of cognitive dissonance to help the reader understand the wide
communications gap that existed between white police officers and minority
residents of the inner city. The communications gaps may be an oversight
or it may be as Brown (1981) described the officers' protection of their
occupational culture. The dispatchers may in fact be perceived as outsiders
or as the arms of the administration of an agency. If this is so. this
perception among officers could lead to a desire to remain secretive about
their work. Such a condition only compounds the problem of dispatching.
Because officers and dispatchers work in tandem. it is important that there
be clear and open communications between them. This is particularly so in
relation to the transfer of information. There must be some agreement on
what is important and what is not when handling critical incidents.

In discussing disequilibrium it is helpful to examine what many have
referred to as functional autonomy. This examination may assist in
deter mining if disequilibrium exists. The organization in this research is the
subsystem of dispatching. It is viewed as a natural system model.

Limitations of the natural system model come from some of the assumptions

48

of that model. One such assumption deals with the interdependence of the
parts. Gouldner (1959) refers to the organizational group structure or roles
and to the socialized indiviudals who are its members. The natural system
tends to focus on the organization as a whole and does not explore
systematically the significance of variations in the degrees of
interdependence. Merton (1957).

By functional autonomy Gouldner (1959) refers to the degree to which
any one part of the system is dependent on others for satisfaction of their
needs. He states that the systems in which the parts (persons or groups)
have high functional autonomy are regarded as having a low degree of
system interdependence. Those systems in which the parts have a low
functional autonomy have a high degree of system interdependence. He also
stated that some parts may survive separation from others and that their
interdependence is not necessarily symetrical.

According to Parsons (1956). organizations are social systems which are
oriented toward attainment of specific goals. This statement. according to
Gouldner (1959). refers to goals that are the goals of the administrators such
as effectiveness. A better formulation might require some specification of
the ends of the various people within the organization. These ends may vary
and may not be identical. They may even be contradictory.

Assuming that the organizational parts operate to maintain boundaries
and to remain in equilibrium, the parts may be expected to defend their
functional autonomy from encrouchments. An example of this might be
officers defending their functional autonomy from dispatchers. who wish to

be included in the police system. The basic source of organizational tension

49

in those departments studied may come from a tendency of people or groups
to resist encrouchment of their functional autonomy.

There are also several cultural and social structures that act to maintain
functional autonomy of the parts of the organization. For purposes of this
analysis. the parts are the officers and the dispatchers. Culturally. it could
be the norm of privacy. This is quite common and is evident when
examining the critical incidents. A norm of confidentiality does seem to
exist. Gouldner( 1959) refers to these things as guarding of officer secrets.
The attempt to establish social or cultural equilibrium between dispatcher
and officer is in conflict with functional autonomy. A natural system theorist
might assume that the equilibrium of groups depends on conforming
behavior of its group members.

According to Parsons (1959). group equilibrium is a function of the
extent to which its members .who he calls ego and alter, conform to each
others expectations. The equilibrium model also has assumptions. One
assumption is that each act of conforming behavior will cause a similar
degree of of appreciation or cause a similar reward. This is somewhat akin
to my view of reciprocity. The rewards are not equal nor is there reason to
think that they should be. What is important is that there needs to be some
greater degree of reciprocity than currently exists.

Homans (1963) makes the point that reciprocity or the lack of it may
account for stability or instability in social systems. Bennis (1966) states
that reciprocity is maintaining the internal systems and coordinating the
human side of enterprise. He sees it as a process of mutual compliance. Katz

and Kahn (1966) refer to equilibrium as a steady state of being.

50

Assuming that disequilibrium does exist. be it social. cultural or
functional. the question is how to reduce it to a more tolerable level and
improve the effectiveness of the system. Disequilibrium may also be viewed
as a conflict. It may be a conflict of values or simply a lack of
communication. It can also be more allusive. It may be more psychological
and thus appear as cognitive dissonance. It may be perceptual and be due
to a perceived lack of reciprocity between the role holders.

Rose ( 1965) speaks of reducing group conflict. This was alluded to in
the research as enhancing reciprocity between the parties. training
dispatchers in police related matters. and improving the organizational
climate to accept dispatchers as professional police persons. Rose in 1965
noted that the technique for reducing conflict does not always have to be
directed at its cause. but merely that constructive efforts to reduce conflict
must take congnizance of the goals of the group that are engaged in the
conflict. The conflict here is conceptual.

Control of the phenomenon does not require an attack at its source.
Rose (1965) felt that it might just as well be directed at its symptoms. He
recommended mediation between groups to settle the conflict and resolve
perception issues. This research indicates that there are differences in
values and interests. In fact. it may be that the interests of the two parties
are similar. but that the values are not. Overt conflict between dispatcher
and officer should be regarded as destructive when it is destructive to the
group as a whole. The processing of inaccurate information. due to a lack of
preparedness or training. and the resultant danger to officers from this

practice. is such an example. The best one can hope for is a tentative

5|

accomodation. Open conflicts are amendable to mediation . but perceptual
problems are somewhat harder to address. Using Parsons (1951) view. what
is desired is a stable equilibrium of the interactive process between
dispatcher and officer. Parsons (1951) said in empirical fact no social system
is perfectly equilibrated and integrated. Deviant motivational factors are
always present and operating. They become established and thus are not
eliminated from the motivational systems of the persons involved in the
system.

Reciprocity as used in this disseratation may also be conceived as a lack
of cooperation. Barnard (1966) states that the survival of cooperation in the
system depends on two interrelated and independent classes of processes.

1) those which are related to the creation of or distribution of satisfaction
among individuals . and 2) those which are related to the system of
cooperation as a whole in relation to the environment. His first point relates
to the reciprocity that is discussed in this research. The vitality of the
organization lies in the willingness of the individuals to contribute to the
cooperative system. The continuation of the cooperation or willingness also
depends on the satisf actions that are secured by the individual contributors
in the process of carrying out the purpose. If the satisf actions do not exceed
the sacrifices required. willingness disappears and a condition of
organizational inefficiency exists. This condition is the contextual
disequilibrium. Survival of the organization as a subsystem depends on the
maintenance of equilibrium of the system. This type of equilibrium is
primarily internal and a matter of proportions between the elements. but it

is ultimately and basically an equilibrium between the system and the total

52

situation external to it. This external equilibrium has two terms in it. It is
the effectiveness of the organization and its efficiency which comprises the
interchange between the organization and the individual. March and Simon
(1961) also speak of a theory of equilibrium. The contributions a worker
makes to the organization may be labor from the worker. fees. or other
payments. In this case. for purposes of explaining the theoretical
background of this dissertation. the payment is viewed as the output from
the worker.

Blau ( 1961) in discussing the dynamics of organizations said that peer
relationships rest on reciprocity in the social exchange. Unilateral services
engender obligations which destroy equality of status and erect barriers to
the free flow of information and communication. This interference is
dysfunctional for work groups. Social cohesion depends on basic equality of
status. Cooperation is a major source of cohesion in work groups because it
unites members in the voluntary exchange of valued assistance. Cohesion is
not a stable condition and requires constant effort to renew the fundamental
equality that makes the members of the group accessible to each other.

Simon( 1976) refered to a system in equilibrium. He said that
individuals are willing to accept organizational membership when their
activity in the organization contributes directly or indirectly to their own
personal goals. The contribution is direct if the goals set for them have
direct personal value for the individual The contribution is indirect if the
organization offers personal rewards to the individual in return for his
willingness to contribute activity to the organization. Other inducements

may include intangible egoistic values like status. prestige. or enjoyment of

S3

associations. Bennis (1966) said that reciprocity
has to do primarily with the processes which can mediate conflict between
the goals of management and the individual goals of the worker.
Management has decided that dispatcher effectiveness is a goal. The
dispatcher has a goal of prestige. status. and quid pro quo for his or her
service to the officer. The dispatcher wants acceptance as a team member.
Viewing the conditions as a system it must be noted that this is a very
loosely coupled system. Below are some ideas of the forces that either
contribute to or inhibit the smooth processing of the subsystem of police

emergency response.
Realm
Reciprocity.Communications. Equilibrium
Status. Low Functinal Autonomy. Consonance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

INPUT __ PROCESS __ OUTPUT
Citizen Call 1 Dispatcher Work - _ Officer Respmse _
Nautilus.

Lack of Reciprocity. Dissonance
High Functional Autonomy. Disequilibrium
Poor Communications

Theoretical Framework of Dispatching

Three theoretical frameworks were examined with which to view the
training of dispatchers. Those three ethical frameworks were examined in
an attempt to find a f it that explains the relationships involved and the
demands placed upon the actors in this process. The purpose of using an

ethical framework is to obtain a systematic response to ethical issues

54

involved in this endeavor of dispatcher training. At the onset of this work
state police officials said that they desired effectiveness in dispatching and
they felt that their dispatchers ought to be better trained.

In discussing this ethical framework with which to view dispatcher
training it is informative to identify the parties included in the framework.
The moral agent is the Director of the Michigan State Police. The moral agent
is that person who will ultimately make the decision to implement the
recommended training. The moral agent in fact may be a deputy director or
a division head that has been authorized by the director to make such
program decisions that involve the expenditure of funds. The dispatchers
are part of this framework as they have relationships with the citizens that
call for the services and the officers they dispatch to provide those services.
They may possess certain rights and duties. The officers. citizens. and
supervisors are also included in this framework because they too may have
rights or duties connected with the implementation of a goal of effectiveness.

Each theoretical framework has three elements. Those elements are
overall goals. individual duties. and individual rights. Rights and duties in

ethical frameworks may be basic or derivative.

Goal Based Frameworks

Goals may be viewed as states of affairs that are considered good in
themselves and thus ought to be maximized. Such a goal could be dispatcher
effectiveness. Actions taken can be evaluated in terms of how they either
support or hinder the maximization of the goals. A framework that holds

that the maximization of the goal overrides all other considerations in

55

determining what. all things considered. ought to be done. is said to be a goal

based framework.

Duty Based Frameworks

Duties apply to individuals. A person is said to have a duty to carry out
or refrain from certain acts. if and only if , the framework includes a rule or
principle requiring or forbidding that type of action. Police officers have a
duty based framework because their framework includes rules of law and
legal principles that both forbid and require certain actions. Such a
framework is a duty based framework if it includes duties that ought to be
done even if certain overall goals adopted by the system are not furthered.
For example a police officer strives to reach goals of his agency in response
to goals of the criminal justice system which may be viewed as arresting a
person who has violated a law. This duty based framework includes rules
and principles to preserve constitutional rights of individual citizens and that
duty must be carried out even if it does not further the adopted overall goal

of arresting a suspected criminal.

Rights Based Frameworks

Rights in this framework refer to claims or entitlements that a person
has which require that others not interfere with the exercise of those rights.
A right may also be a positive right such that it requires that someone
provide the right holder with something that he or she needs or desires. A
person has a right within this particular framework. if and only if. the

framework includes rules or principles specifying those rights.

56

In the larger context of police dispatching one might conceive a duty
based framework when examining the officer's position. a rights based
framework when examining the citizen's position. or a goal based framework
when examining the dispatcher's position in regard to dispatcher training
that is designed to achieve the goal of dispatcher effectiveness.

Benjamin and Curtis (1986) make the point that it is not the elements of
the framework that distinguishes them because all of the frameworks
include goals. duties. and rights, but the way in which these elements are
ordered. What must be determined in order to decide which ethical
framework is appropriate is whether the goals. duties. or rights are basic.
derivative or subordinate. In a goal based framework rights and duties of
the parties have no independent standing. but are derived from principles of
utility. A goal based framework is employed to view the phenomenon of
dispatcher training. The definitions of duty based and rights based
frameworks do not apply here because this context does not include
elements of rules or principles that specify certain rights or duties. It does
make sense because the maximization of the goal overrides all other
considerations in determining what. all things considered. ought to be done.
The goal in this case is set by the moral agent and that goal is to obtain
effectiveness for dispatchers. In applying the goal based framework to the
training of dispatchers one must view the Director as the moral agent. The
overall goal or objectives of the organization is best served when there is
attainment of organizational objectives. Those objectives are served in part
by the operation of the dispatching process. Dispatcher effectiveness is the

focal goal in this framework. This goal of dispatcher effectiveness may be

57

stated as a desire to maximize the effectiveness of the dispatching system
given that the resources are available. with the minimum amount of friction.
in order to maximize the crime control and service function of the police.

This goal also creates derivative rights and duties. 1) A right of the
officers to have the best trained dispatchers handle their calls. 2) a right of
the dispatcher to have the best training available to do their job effectively,
3) a right of the dispatcher for training that will enable them to work
effectively in a complex environment. 4) a right of the citizen to receive the
best possible service from the police. and 5) a right of the dispatcher to be
treated fairly and equitably.

The goal also creates derivative duties. A duty on the part of the
dispatcher to apply the training that is offered. a duty to adhere to the
concepts that are taught. a duty on the part of the agency participants to
train the dispatchers. a duty of the supervisor to insure that dispatchers act
within the scope of their job specifications and according to the principles
used in the training. a duty on the part of the dispatcher to provide
maximum safety for the citizen and the officer. a duty of the officer to
reciprocate with the dispatcher.

Considering these rights of the parties there are corresponding duties
for others to provide the right holder his or her rights. Those that receive
the rights have corresponding responsibilities. For example. if a dispatcher
obtains a right to be trained. that same dispatcher now has a responsibility
to use that training effectively. A graphic representation of such a goal
based framework depicts how the rights and duties are derived from the

goal.

58

Goal Based Framework
BASIC: 1. Can“ maximum effectivness)
DERIVATIVE: 2. Right; 2. Duties

Evolution from Goal to Duty Based Framework

Though not particularly ger maine at this time. once the training
program has been implemented and the rights and duties have been
specified. the job relevant position description and the job selection criteria
that will be developed in conjunction with the training program may be
viewed as those rules or principles that are included in the duty based
framework. For those in the future. the ethical framework can be viewed as
a duty based framework. In the current goal based framework. the
derivative rights and duties of the parties flow from the basic goal of the
framework.

In a duty based framework. the duties will be basic and rights will be
derivative of those basic duties. In addition. subordinate goals will evolve
which in turn will have their own derivative rights and duties. A graphic
view of such a duty based framework is explanatory. Certain basic duties
will give rise to certain rights. Provided a person does not violate these
duties and rights at level 1 and 2 that person pursues certain goals. such as
the maximization of effectiveness. at level 3. The dotted line between

denotes that the goals at level 3 cannot be rightfuny pursued by violations

59

the duties and rights at levels 1 and 2 which function as moral constraints on
the pursuit of goals at level 3. From the goals at level 3 a person can derive
nonbasic rights and duties at level 4. Any conflict between the duties and
rights of level 1 and 2 and the duties and rights of level 4 are to be resolved
in favor of level 1 and 2 because these are more basic to the overall

framework. Benjamin and Curtis (1986).

Duty Based Framework

BASIC: 1. 12911:;
DERIVATIVE: 2.3181115
SUBORDINATE: 3. mail
DERIVATIVE: 4. Rights 4. Butler
Summary

Alternative frameworks exist for a variety of reasons. Assuming these
represent a standard framework of ethics. the alternatives become plausible.
For example. dispatchers within such a framework either directly claim such
rights as central or the fundamental rights are dervied. In either case. it is
impossible to have an ethical framework. in which there are duties people
are obliged to perform. unless there are corresponding rights held by

someone else. This is so regardless of the ethical framework.

60

Accepting the goal based ethical framework. dispatchers have to be
accorded certain fundamental rights. These rights include. but are not
limited to. the right to be treated with respect. to be treated as peers in the
response process. and a right to be properly trained in order to reach a goal
of effectiveness. The agent. the Director or his designee acting on his behalf ,
has a corresponding duty to provide the training and insure that other rights
are accorded to the right holder. In considering this goal based ethical
framework. rights are either a starting point or they are derived from the

goal. Whenever there are duties there are corresponding rights.

CHAPTER 3

Review of Related Literature

Brief History of Police Communications

The demands for police services in the United States have increased
over the years. In the early days of policing few demands were made of the
police. and those that were had to be made in person. Cultural and
sociological changes over the years have accounted for many of the increased
demands for services that exist today. The public was not only more
self -suff icient in handling many of their problems. but they could not have
reached the police if they had wanted to. The mission of the police was also
very different and social problems were not as complex as they are today.
Changes in the scope of policing. modern technology. the public life style. and
personal and community values have had much to do with the increased
demands for services.

The earliest police organizations in the United States used very simple
methods of communicating. One early method of communicating was the
sentry to sentry method. Quite simply one officer in close proximity to
another just hollered to the other. The demands during the previous century
and the earlier part of this century were quite low. Those demands
remained rather low until the introduction of the automobile and its
expanded use by society in general.

In a rather short period of time police communications changed from
very rudimentary system to a technologically advanced system. The
telegraph. the telephone, the teletype. the radio. and computers all

61

62

contributed to the advances in police communications. In the last 120 years.
‘ police communications evolved from officers calling each other by voice to
the modern computerized systems of Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) and
Enhanced 911 systems (E911).

In 1845. New York City adapted the electric telegraph to police
communications. When first utilized in New York City. telegraph operators
were employed at the headquarters to send and receive Morse code signals.
In 1858. a dial telegraph was installed in New York City. It allowed officers
to send specific uncoded telegraphic messages over the wires. The telegraph
was used for communications between precincts and their headquarters but
those on the beat received little help until the 1880's.

Patrol officers were on their own and had to use their own resources on
the streets. Except for the occasional rounds by the patrol sergeants. officers
were virtually alone. The first police call boxes used the telegraph. That
one-way communication from officer to the station allowed the officer to set
a pointer in the box for one of the few available calls. The officer pulled a
release mechanism and the telegraph transmitted a coded message for
wagon calls. ambulances. or calls for help. Headquarters could not
communicate with the officer nor was the public able to reach the police
station. The public made demands for service by personal contact with an
officer or by stopping at the police precinct station house. On April 11. 1878.
the Washington. DC. Metropolitan Police Department ordered fifteen
telephones for police use. By 1880. the New York City police had two
precincts with telephones. The use of the telephone grew and by 1893. New
York city police installed the first police switchboard in the United States.

63

possible. The telephone quickly replaced the teletype and telegraph for
general use and it increased the capability of officers for communication
with headquarters. A workable recall system was not developed until the
early part of this century. The first police recall system that was recorded
was in 1905. When someone in headquarters had a message for an officer a
red light. which was installed by the call box. was activated. That system
was only useful if the beat officer was near the box.

The automobile was in general use long before police departments had
the capability of reaching officers cruising the streets in patrol cars.

The first police radio station license was issued to the New York City
Police Department on June 11,1920 as station KUVS. Receiver sets were
installed in the police cars in 1921. but several technical problems prevented
their wide scale use and they were ineffective. Police radio advocates of the
time had many adversaries.

A more common and workable means of contacting officers on patrol
was to use the commercial radio stations. Messages were put out blindly.
Anyone with a radio receiver heard the broadcasts. That system only
worked if the officer was near a commercial radio. The Detroit Police
Department began using radio in police work soon after the beginning of
commercial radio with call letters of KOPS.

By 1933. licensed state police radio stations were in operation in Iowa.
Louisana. Massachuesetts, Michigan. Pennsylvania. and Texas. The bank
robbery era . use of police radio. and development of police blockade
systems all evolved during this period. Byl929. Michigan provided by law
for a state owned and operated police radio station All state police cars

were equipped with one-way radios and receiving sets were installed in the

64

offices of sheriffs and police chiefs statewide. Leonard (1938).

By 1941. two-way police radio was a reality in Michigan. Soon after
this period. improvements were made. The advent of the police computer in
Michigan in the 1960's advanced the police into the age of micro chips.

As the societal changes took place. the capabilities of the police changed;
and as the demands for service grew. the capability of the police to handle
those demands grew. It is interesting to speculate whether the demand
created the technological advances or whether the technological advances
created the demand.

V.A. Leonard (1938) commented on the role of the police radio operator
and his view of the importance of that position. whether the position is
occupied by civilians or sworn officers. points out the criticality of
dispatching in police agencies. "Because of the control by communications of
the movements of the force. the operator in many organizations is virtually
the director of their operations. dispatching and concentrating officers at
one point and then another. as the usual procession of emergencies come to
the attention of the police." Leonard (1938).

It is interesting to note that V.A. Leonard recommended that the
position of radio operator be used as a training ground for officers. He noted
that ordinarily the duties of the radio operator gave him a perspective of the
general operation of the organization. not afforded by any other position in
the department. That philosophy was carried over to later periods. The

desk or radio operator position at a state police post was manned by

corporals and later by sergeants as shift supervisors. When relief was
necessary due to vacations and days off. a senior and experienced officer

was chosen to fill in. This practice. based on the nature of the role of

6S

dispatcher. has significance when viewed in the context of the change from
sworn personnel to civilians. A return to the use of experienced police

officers on the desk is not efficient or cost-effective.

Dispatching in The Michigan State Police

Early dispatching in the Michigan State Police was done by uniformed
enlisted officers of the department. Other police departments as well used
officers in the role of dispatcher. The position of a civilian dispatcher of
today evolved through a series of changes that took place over the past
several years. Many of those changes occurred as a result of technological
improvements. Others were of organizational necessity motivated by cost
effective considerations or cyclical restrictions of funds. Most can be
conceived as a result of technology coupled with increased demands for
police services.

The role of state police dispatcher is closely associated with the
development of the state police. The state police began as the Michigan State
Troops on April 17.1917 and was organized to replace the Michigan National
Guard. which had been called to duty in Eurorpe in World War I. The
absence of the guard left the citizens of Michigan without any home guard
force. Political forces favoring and Opposing the formation of the State
Troops were equally active and the formation of the agency was not without
conflict.

On March 21.1919. Governor Albert E. Sleeper signed a bill into law
creating the Michigan State Police or Constab ulary. as it was commonly
called. Political forces were divided on this issue. but those issues are not

germaine to this study. In the 1920's. the Federal Radio Commission (FRC)

66

had authorized small local radio systems for police departments in Michigan
of 500 watt capacity. In the mid 1920's the state police proposed a
statewide radio system. but this proposal met with severe resistence by the
PRC. The FRC was later renamed the Federal Communications Commissions
(FCC). The Commissioner of the State Police at the time. Oscar G. Olander.
lobbied vigorously. and with the cooperation of members of the legislature.
House Bill 466 was introduced providing for funds to establish a 5000 watt
communications system for the state police. The State’s request for a 5000
watt station was denied and in its place the FRC authorized several smaller
stations to be strategically located statewide. That configuration would have
required relay of messages from post to post. Despite the PRC denial.
Governor Fred Green told the PRC that Michigan would in fact go on the air
with its 5000 watt radio. In 1930. the legislature subsequently funded the
building of the radio station. but private electronic firms refused to provide
the necessary tubes and equipment to build the station in recognition of the
PRC ruling. It is interesting to note that the federal resistance to police radio
was not limited to the state police. Michigan police departments were
restricted by the PRC to limit their broadcasts to two minutes out of every
thirty minutes. Moylan (1983).

The Detroit Police Department was the first department in the nation to
have radio dispatched cars and they responded to this ruling through the
Detroit Free Press in an article of April 10. 1930 entitled "Curtailing Police
Broadcasting". The Detroit Police spokesman made it clear to the readers of
the Detroit Free Press that the police needed the opportunity to use the
police radio:

67

The Federal Radio Commission's order limiting municipal police
broadcasting to not more than two minutes in each half hour

of the day is a serious threat to the usefulness of the radio in
apprehending criminals. The police will have the air for four
mintues out of every sixty. Gangdom will have the other fifty-six
minutes in which to do what it pleases with the lives and property
of the citizenery. The radio commission again leans heavily toward
the underworld.

Public support. support from police departments. political support. and
media interest led to a change in the position of the PRC. On May 16. 1930
the PRC approved the license for a 5000 watt State Police Radio Station
known as WRDS. Four months later the station went into service. That
station transmitted to state police posts. sheriff departments. and local
departments at eighty receivers. State police cars had a total of forty-four
receivers.

The radio network to the cars was a one way system. The police
dispatcher could send out a message to a car equipped with a radio. but did
not know if the call was received. In practice. officers would stop and call
the station for further details and to confirm receipt of the calls. Prior to
that time. messages had been sent blind over commercial radio frequencies
for officers to call for messages. An officer located near a radio in a gas
station or other location could listen for calls. It was not uncommon for
officers to stop by their favorite spot and check for messages with owners of
radios. This system allowed everyone to know what the police were doing
and security was non existent. In 1934. communications were extended to
twenty-one of the other f orty-seven states utilizing two-way radio.

Michigan was the first state to implement a statewide police radio system

68

and the first to implement an FM two-way radio network in 1941. That
system allowed radio traffic to be broadcasted between the posts. to the car
and. from car to car. By the summer of 1941 all state police cars were
equipped with two-way radios. This advancement required more
dispatching functions.

Moylan (1983) reports that the evolutionary process that resulted in
the separation of roles between officers on the desk and civilian dispatchers
was set in motion by the advent of two-way radio and the increase in radio
traffic as a result of that change. During the early1950's a microwave
system was installed and this "pipe line" as it was called. provided an
important link between the dispatchers in East Lansing and Detroit. Major
relay stations were established in the 1950's at Detroit. Paw Paw. Houghton
Lake, and Marquette. Those relay stations were staffed by civilian operators
who were licensed as radiotelegraphers. The purpose of that system was to
relay warrant and vehicle checks from the outposts to the East Lansing
headquarters. East Lansing headquarters radio housed the necessary data
on warrants. records. and other police related information. In addition to
this sytem. select posts had teletypewriters and could communicate on
regional systems. One such system was the Wayne County Teletype System.

The East Lansing headquarters could also communicate by teletype to
those posts within that system. These systems seemed advanced at the. time.
but by todays computerized standards it was antiquated and extremely slow.

In 1967. the department moved into the computer age with the
installation of the Law Enforcement Information Network (LEIN). The first
computer could store vast amounts of information that formerly required

manual searches and wasted valuable hours. Prior to the installation of LEIN

69

it was common during peak periods for an officer on the road to wait up to
thirty minutes with a motorist awaiting a report on the motorist's driving
status or criminal record. Many citizens were taken to the post to wait for
the results of the record check. This process often took hours to complete.
Such ordeals for the citizen led to a general reluctance on the part of officers
to check someone out thoroughly. The implementation of LEIN. the National
Crime Information System (NCIC) in Washington. DC. and the National Law
Enforcement Teletype System (NLET S) not only revolutionized police
communications. but has led to many changes in the role of the dispatcher of
today. NCIC accesses police data in Washington. DC. and is maintained by
the FBI. INLET S is a communications link between agencies. The number of
dispatchers over the years has fluctuated due to economic reasons. In 1967.
there were f if ty-two state police dispatchers. In 1983. there were
eighty-seven dispatchers. An all time high was one hundred. Today there
are seventy-six F'I'E's for dispatchers. Three of the seventy-six dispatchers
left their jobs during the course of this research. It is anticipated by
officials that changes that are now taking place in Michigan will have a major
inpact on the number of dispatchers. not only within the state police. but
among many other departments. Within the state police the role definition
of the shift commanders and its eventual implementation will require
additional dispatchers.

Act 32 of 1986 will create a need for additional dispatchers in other
agencies as well as the state police. In developing the sampling frame for
this work. it was learned that there are fourteen hundred and ninty-five
dispatchers statewide. The majority of dispatchers are located in local and

county police departments.

70

People are directly or indirectly affected by police service delivery on a
regular and recurring basis. People are monitored by the police on their way
to work and when traveling for pleasure. Accidents occur and the police are
expected to respond. tend to the injured. and restore order to the roadway.
At all major gatherings it is likely the police will be on hand to control
crowds as well as traffic. While we sleep. there are patrols working to
respond to reports from citizens. In the myriad of emergencies that occur
citizens expect the police to respond and provide the appropriate help. In
addition to these critical duties. the police are also called upon to f aciliate a
broad range of other services such as assistance in finding lost children.
missing persons. non-criminal matters. and all forms of conflict resolutions.
When a citizen is victimized. the police are called upon to investigate and
apprehend those responsible.

Public order depends on the existence and application of police services.
Those services are basic to the community order. It is the dispatcher. the
call receiver. call taker or gatekeeper that is the first contact that the citizen
has with the police department. The level of training of these dispatching
personnel has an impact on just how these basic and necessary public
services are provided.

The variation of calls that the police receive are innumerable. Crime
fighting is only a small portion of those calls. None the less. in those cases.
which have been estimated to be no more than 15% of police work. the
critical nature of the incidents require that those receiving and responding
to the calls are properly trained in order to maximize the effectiveness of the

response.

71

The Critical Incident

The starting point of this study and the primary focal point is the
critical incident (CIT). These incidents are not restricted to incidents of
crimes. A husband choking to death at a dinner table or a child trapped in a
burning home is no less important than the report of serious crime. In some
cases. such as property crimes. those non-crime critical incidents may be
more critical.

The critical incidents used in this research are defined by the sample of
dispatchers themselves. As such. this is a perceptual study based on the job
as it is actually performed by those that are either receiving calls for service
or dispatching those that must respond to calls for service. Many of the
dispatchers perform both functions and others interchange between the
roles. Levin et a1 (1980) found that CIT's yielded job analyses reports which
appear to engender relatively higher quality examination plans than other
job analysis methods. It must be noted that the CIT‘s themselves must be
abstracted and categorized to form a composite picture of the job essentials.
Sistrunk and Smith (1982).

The CIT yields behaviorial information from which more traditional
elements of personnel requirements and specifications like knowledge. skills.
abilities. appitude. must be inferred. The CIT was among the highest rating
in the survey of job analysts for purposes of performance appraisal, working.
training. and safety. Levin. Ash and Bennett (1980).

A critical incident is a behavior which demarcates. in specific and
comprehensive terms. what constitutes successful job performance and
unsuccessful job performance. In gathering these incidents one might ask

incumbents to record specific incidents of effective and ineffective behavior.

72

This method focuses on job behavior rather than poorly defined traits. It is
well suited for establishing objective training programs to overcome

employee performance deficits.. Levin. Ash. and Bennett (1980).

Importance of Dispatching

In a discussion of the nationwide expansion of the calls for service and
crime Sumrall. Roberts. and Farmer (1981) said that in consideration of the
cycles of limited resources, administrators have initiated several measures to
reduce cost in a growing demand for police services in an environment with
less financial support. Many of those initiatives led to the institution of 911
Systems and E911 Systems to simplify and expedite access to the police.
Dispatchers have replaced officers due to cost containment necessities. The
resources continue to dwindle and the calls for diverse services continue to
expand. As the calls for service workload have burgeoned. departments
have come to replace the sergeants as the real supervisors of patrol activity.
Even with the state of the art technology one ought to consider the level of
information and demands.

Even if resources were not an issue. the need for appropriate training
for dispatchers is evident. If for no other reason. the criticality of the
information they manage can have an impact on the citizen and officer
safety as well as the overall performance of the police.

The Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) in one of their studies
noted that if alleviation of the problems of traditional response are devised.
the dispatch/operator role is still in a critical position due to the decision

making process that takes place. Summral. Roberts. and Farmer (1981).

73

The complaint operator or dispatcher has the first contact with the
citizen. The dispatcher has the opportunity to provide a myriad of services
to the citizens. Better informed dispatchers could make better informed
decisions and by so doing provide the most appropriate response.

A dispatcher's role is very important. Decisions by these police
employees often dictate the type of response an officer makes because they
communicate their own sense of the nature and urgency of the call.

Sumrall et a1 (1981) report that unfortunately such operators and
dispatchers receive inadequate preparation and support in many agencies.
In that PERF study. the dispatchers that responded to the survey reported
that they had received rudimentary training and have to elicit information
to make rational response decisions. Further compounding this condition the
authors note that there is no formal supervision of dispatchers. no standard
set of questions for a dispatcher to ask to determine the nature of a call and.
no standard procedures for operators or dispatchers to use to match
resources with types of incidents.

Pepinsky (1976) feels that the dispatchers' decisions have a critical
effect on the patrol officers’ responses. If a dispatcher named no particular
offense. it was unlikely a police report was made. In the majority of cases
where the dispatcher was specific on an offense. the officers reported the
offenses.

Dispatchers in police departments have suffered from the fact that their
role has been largely misunderstood or underplayed. The demands made on
dispatchers are unrealistic if proper training is not initiated. All police
administrators are not ambivalent about the dispatching function. Much has

been written about the discretion of the police officer. but little attention has

74

been paid to the discretion of dispatchers and the impact of their decisions
on the overall police service to the citizens they serve.

One finding of the PERF study. that reflects the importance in training
for dispatchers. was that although information gathered during call intake is
important in determining the response. police agencies have failed to pay
adequate attention to the training. supervision. or guidance of call operators
and dispatchers. Sumrall et al (1981). To train the dispatcher to deal with
their job more effectively is to improve the capacity of the police to
discharge their responsiblity effectively.

The American Bar Association in its document. WW
11131191. (1973) defines the responsibilities of the police by selecting eleven
specific objectives of policing. It is interesting to think of those
responsibilities in view of the role of the dispatcher. The responsibilities of
the police outlined include responsibilities:

1. To identify criminal offenders and criminal activity and where

appropriate to apprehend offenders.

2. To reduce opportunties for the commission of some crimes through
preventive patrol.

To aid people who are in danger of physical harm.
To protect constitutional gaurantees.

To facilitate movement of people and vehicles.

To assist those who cannot care for themselves.
To resolve conflict.

To identify problems that are potentially serious law enforcement

98999.5”

and governmental problems.

75

9. To create and maintain a feeling of security in the community.

10. To promote and preserve civil order and

11. To provide other services on an emergency basis.

It is the receiver of the phone call from the citizen and the decision
making dispatcher who deter mines. in many cases. which of these
responsibilities apply. In f act. few of these responsibilities can be carried
out successfully unless the initial infor mation. determinations. and
transmissions are correct.

It would appear to be good sense. considering the importance of the
dispatching role in a police department. that a highly trained professional be
employed. Historically this was not an issue because the person on the
telephone and the radio was a sworn police officer and possessed the

training and experience necessary for correctly coding the calls.

Dispatcher Independence

A study in England on dispatching and communications showed that on
the typical call one can expect 35% of the information presented by the caller
to be accurately represented on the log. Radio operators use a good deal of
individual subjectivity. Hulbert (1981). stated that there are several
factors affecting the message process.

The changes that take place in semantics range from the caller. to the
radio operator's log. to the officer. Terminological changes may take place so
that the words can be given a "police flavor". The same event can be
described in different words.

The content of the call may pose a problem for dispatchers. When there

are two or more propositions presented to the call receiver they may be

76

reduced to the most serious one in the mind of the operator. The second or
subsequent propositions however. could be more important to the police
officer in his context. Meanings can be changed in the transmission of the
call content from the operator to the dispatcher to the officer or from the
operator directly to the officer. When meanings are changed. distortion of
the incident could occur. It is important for the dispatcher to be attentive
and to understand the meanings police attribute to propositions. and the

context in which they work in general. Hulbert (1981).

Processing Demands for Service

Percy and Scott (1985) refer to the tasks of telephone call receiving as
Gatekeeping and dispatching as a Response Coordinating Function. Those
gatekeepers may also be viewed as boundary spanners who perform
boundary spanning activities within their agencies. Boundary spanning is
described as how organizations seek to adapt to uncerctain environments. In
the case of dispatching those uncertain external environments refer to the
diverse calls for service. Most of the previous works on the subject were
descriptive of the types of calls. the numbers of calls. and whether the calls

were for crime related work or calls for service.

Gatekeeper's Behavior and Critical Incidents

This study focuses on the behavior of the gatekeeping dispatchers to
deter mine. according to their perceptions. what an effective and ineffective
dispatcher is. It is a study of the content of their tasks and the determinants
of their decision making processes in order to discover the training that is

required for such a position based on the complexities of the task content.

77

This perceptual study examines the self -reported critical incident to
determine just exactly what the gatekeeper or dispatcher does.

Consumer Demands for Service

Percy and Scott (1985) use the concept of consumer demands in their
work which relate to calls for service from the public to the police. It is
conceptualized as citizen-agency contact aimed at affecting general policies
and procedures at the broadest level. Measures of such demands include
voting. complaints received from citizens regarding service. or other
measures that influence the operation of the agency. This is a broad view.

At another level. one more closely aligned with the purpose of this
study. the concept of demand represents individual requests for services of
the agency by its constituent citizens. A service demand. in this narrow
sense. may be thought of as a signal communicated to the agency personnel
expressing a need for services or resources of that the agency.

These kinds of demands are often stimulated by the occurrence of a
crime. a disorder. a need for system information. or general assistance that
could fall into a host of broad categories. Frequently. the demand is
misdirected to the police and must be routed to another public service
agency. In some cases the gatekeeper must provide information to the caller
regarding more appropriate agencies to handle their demands. The
determinants of such demands will not be explored in this study. but it is
instructive to provide an overview. for purposes of general understanding.
of the subject matter.

78

Calls for Service as Demands

Citizen calls for police service represent direct demands on government.
The job of the police phone operators. who are often interchangeable with
dispatchers. is to translate the citizen's demand into off icial. bureaucratically
recognized inputs. The operators enjoy considerable discretion in how the
call is received. processed. and how information is transmitted. The police
dispatcher screens calls. categorizes the citizen's problem. and thus
determines much of the initial police repsonse. Antunes and Scott (1981).

In their study the authors analyzed 26.000 telephone calls from 21
jurisdicitons in 3 metropolitan jurisdicitons. The data of that study indicate
that most citizen calls to the police involve requests for information. request
for assistance. abatement of nuisances. traffic related problems. or
interpersonal disputes. Only 20% of the calls involve predatory crime.

The initial decisions of police dispatchers deter mines much of what
happens in the police department on a day to day basis. The style of the
operator is imporant and can have a negative affect on police community
relations. Citizens who are under emotional pressure are not models of
clarity. concision. or coherence. Their information may be ambiguous or
incomplete and perhaps even incoherent. This fact places an added burden

on those answering and decipering calls for service.

Characteristics of Demands

Demands are characterized according to their intensity. immediacy. and
specificity by Percy and Soott.(l985). These factors may vary widely.
Intensity of a demand to the police may vary from a simple request for

information regarding an incident that has occurred to a report of a life

79

threatening incident. The determination of the intensity of the call is the
task of the person receiving and interpreting the call from the public. That
person is the dispatcher.

The characteristic of immediacy refers to the speed to which the needs
must be attended. Some calls may require an immediate police response
such as a child choking or a report of a person suffering from a heart attack.
Other calls for service may be less immediate in nature such as a report of a
larceny that occurred several days before. Percy and Scott (1985) report that
immediacy is often correlated to intensity.

A third characteristic that the authors describe is specificity of the
individual need of the caller. Some are clearly communicated such as a need
for an ambulance at the scene of a major accident. Others may be less

obvious and require investigative communication skills and knowledge.

Call Interpretation

Manning (1988) states that several propositions are transmitted to the
call receiver and it is the task of the dispatcher to deter mine which of those
propositions are most critical and bear on the nature of the call for service.
Misinterpretation of propositions could lead to an improper response by the
police. Erroneous determinations could have serious consequences for the
citizen. the police. or both. The dispatcher must be able to understand all of
the pr0positions and be able to priortize them correctly as well as determine
how they might be related. This kind of interpretive ability is based on
knowledge of police matters. law. etc. It is important that the responding
officer receives information that accurately reflects the real circumstances
of the incident.

80

Manning (1988) stated that calls for police service are considered by
many to be a critical point in policing. perhaps the most critical in the
criminal justice system. Manning contends that the exercise of discretion in
receiving and responding to calls for service is not yet well understood. If
dispatchers and call takers are to exercise discretion then how much
discretion are they to ultilize? More importantly to this research are those
critical decisions. and the relationship of those decisions to the training.
skills. and abilities of the person.

Logical questions that arise include such questions as. Are they
effective? How are we to know what an effective dispatcher is? How are
they to be trained? How extensive is the dispatcher's training? Is the
training consistent with what is needed in order to make the critical
decisions they are called upon to make 7

The call for service is a critical period in overall police response. At this
stage the public may receive help in the form of needed information to
resolve some anxiety or receive a rapid police response to a life threatening
incident. It is not uncommon for a dispatcher to give verbal directions for
conducting cardiac pulmonary resuscitation over the phone after dispatching
an ambulance and a police car to the scene.

The call to a police dispatcher sets a process in motion that may
traverse the full spectrum of the criminal justice system. The call is
received. interpreted. and encoded to the responding officer in the form of a
dispatch. This action may lead to a response and investigation that may lead

to an arrest. prosecution. conviction. and imprisonment Manning (1988).

81

In the interim. many of the other facets of the criminal justice system
may be set into motion. These other facets include bonding. releases on
one's own recognizance. procurement or assignment of defense counsel. plea

bargaining. probation etc.

Qualifications of a Dispatcher

Controlling the exercise of discretion by dispatchers begins with the
selection of persons who are qualified to deal with the rigors of the job.
Effective call takers or dispatchers are people who have good people skills
with an ability to listen and draw out salient information from the caller.
They are those who have the toughness and good judgment to deal
effectively under pressure and adapt quickly and effectively to different
situations. Such persons have aptitude for juggling available resources in
light of competing demands. Experts have suggested prosiac skills. such as
typing ability and computer literacy. Scott and Percy (1983) report that
people actually selected for these positions are often ill-suited to the tasks.
Departments often assign disabled or disciplined police officers to the most

sensitive task of answering calls or as dispatchers.

Types of Calls Received

Reiss (1971) estimates that dispatches in response to calls for service
account for 14% of the patrol time of officers. McEwen. Connors and Cohen
(1986) state that 50% of the calls to communications centers are for
information. Manning (1988) states that the dispatch function itself is largely
an administrative one. The use of the critical incident technique in this

research and the results of that technique indicates that the dispatcher is a

82

decision maker. a controller of call conditions. and a resource specialist to the
police responders. The term ad ministrative. as a descriptor of the
dispatching process. does not account for the complexity and scale of human
skills necessary to be an effective dispatcher. There are also others who
hold that the role of the dispatcher is administrative in nature. Such
administrative work includes recording information on calls received.
sending officers to calls. assigning units. noting times of assignments. and
recording information from officers on arrival and departure. Whitaker.
Mastropski, Ostrom. Parks. and Percy (1982).

This view leaves out the critical nature of the work and the serious
consequences of the decision making process which reflects a more
consequential role than administrative. Because of the differences among
people in a job. and in light of the complex nature of the host of calls
received by dispatchers. different dispatchers are likely to handle similar
calls differently. After years of experience and inputs from the police. as
well as training. there are certain responses from a dispatcher on a given
type call that are acceptable and other responses that are not acceptable to
the responding officers.

As a group. the police have a general consensus on a right and a wrong
way to handle most situations. There are several acceptable alternatives as
well. Each method of handling a police matter varies somewhat due to the
specific nature of circumstances. Most effective dispatchers have a mental
laundry list of what should be done at a minimum. what is ideal. and what is
unacceptable. There have been no studies outlining these expectations that

police officers or dispatchers have in this regard.

83

There are certain questions that must be asked of every caller in order
to optimize the police response and to insure officer and citizen safety. Even
though some suggest that the job is primarily ad ministrative. and anyone
with proper procedures in hand could function effectively. there is evidence
that this is not workable. Examples abound in case reports from dispatchers
that show that just getting the name. time. date. and telephone number of
the caller and the nature of the call is not sufficient for a proper and safe
response. Unless a dispatcher is familiar with police subject matter. laws.
and people problems in general. and specifically aware of excitement of the
caller and other tell tale signs of stress. the dispatcher could miss critical
cues in receiving the call. The outcome of such ad ministratively handled
matters could be disasterous.

A case in point from a personal experience highlights this viewpoint.
Several years ago. prior to the widespread use of civilians for dispatching. as
a state trooper. this researcher was working at night with another officer in
one of the more heavily populated counties of Michigan The dispatching
desk officer had over fifteen years of police experience. That officer viewed
dispatching as an administrative task. A call was received from a business
person who said "I am having trouble out here with a drunk" The shift
supervisor obtained the caller's name and location of his business and hung
up without further inquiry. The call was encoded and transmitted as a man
having trouble with a drunk. That message was transmitted as a routine call
and there was nothing in the dispatcher's voice that gave any indication of
urgency or that there was anything other than a usual drunk call. Quite to

the contrary the dispatcher sounded rather casual. The two officers

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responded to the call without any particular haste. Upon arrival at the
intersection. the caller ran up to the patrol car and said "Look at the hole
that guy shot through my jacket 1" He was asked what happened and said
that a car came around the corner and spun around in the gravel. He went
out and asked the driver if everything was ok. The driver got out of the car.
pointed a hand gun at him. and fired a shot. He was asked why he didn't
tell the desk man that and he said that he never asked. He was just told that
a car would be sent and he could explain it to the officers. After locating the
person. he was arrested while attempting to steal a car at gunpoint from two
elderly persons. Subsequent investigation revealed that he had assaulted
twelve persons that evening with a firearm.

The point of this example is that viewing the job of dispatching as one
that is primarily administrative overlooks the need for a dispatcher to get
investigative information to pass on to the responding patrol car. The
incident described above turned out without major injury to anyone. but it
had the potential to be disasterous. Had the dispatching officer obtained
relevant information an entirely different method of approach would have
been used and injuries that were sustained by some people could have been
avoided.

There are certain things that dispatchers are expected to ask callers on
such incidents in order to optimize the police response and insure the
greatest safety to all involved. If someone reports that a person is seriously
assaulted in a home. in addition to the name, number and type of incident
the dispatcher must find out if the person is still in the house. if the person
is armed. if there are other weapons in the vicinity. where they are located.

if the person has been arrested before. what the person's mental state is at

85

this time. the condition of the person assaulted. whether an ambulance is
needed. location of other innocent persons in the home. and on and on.

After learning the critical information a car is dispatched. back up cars
are sent to support. and the caller is frequently kept on the line for reports
of further developments as the incident unfolds. An effective dispatcher will
often run a record check on the assaulter if the name is known and this
information will be passed on to the responding cars. These are not
uncommon incidents. If there is a person barricaded in a house the
information necessary for a proper police response becomes more complex
and other resources will be needed. These tasks are hardly limited to
administrative work.

Because of differences among people in any job. and in light of the
complexity of many calls for service. different call takers and dispatchers are
likely to handle similar calls differently. The dispatcher must listen to and
effectively read and often calm the caller; assess caller eligibility. encode the
call into one of several agency categories: deter mine what additional
information is needed to make a properly informed decision; provide
feedback to the caller; and mediate as appropriate.

In addition. the dispatcher must decide what response is appropriate
and what action is to be taken in the borderline cases. When a decision is
made to send a unit the dispatcher must coordinate the response and make
decisions on what other information to give the officers. All of these duties
have implications for the eventual outcome of an individual incident or
episode Manning (1988).

Dispatchers must also decide when advice to the caller over the phone is

more appropriate. If dispatchers do not send a car when one is needed

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the citizens will not be served and they may fail to call the police in the
future when police help is needed. The appropriatness of the response has
to do with what the dispatcher says regardless of the action taken. Manning
(1988).

Obviously a rude response by a dispatcher will reflect that the police
are rude. Public impressions are important to the police. Improvements in
the police dispatch function are likely to entail not only what call takers and
dispatchers do, but what they say and how they say it.

Language barriers present yet another problem for dispatcher reception
and response. There is no gaurantee of an appropriate police response if the
dispatcher does not understand the caller or their needs.

Manning (1988) says that very little systematic evidence exists on how
operators are trained to draw out such Information. policies for sending units

in response to calls. or how those policies are carried out.

Rationale for Dispatcher Training

Central to the focus of this study is the identification of the required
skills and abilities of dispatchers. the desirable attitudes of dispatchers. the
personality attributes of dispatchers. and the organizational perceptions of
dispatchers. Training of dispatchers is most important in regards to call
interpretation. proposition prioritization. discernment. and assignment of the
right resources to the specific problem. A call to the police department may
be classified as a report of a disturbance. Such a general category may
include loud children playing in someone's yard or a murder. Unless the
dispatcher is trained in the concepts of policing and possesses a similar

knowledge base as the police. it is doubtful that they will have the the

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ability to determine from the caller what the more complex disturbances are
all about. It would be difficult to determine intensity. immediacy. or
specificity. Under such conditions no accurate assessment can be made until
the police arrive and investigate. This condition could be dangerous to all
involved. Some police departments have taken the position that the
dispatcher's job is to send a car to all calls. This is not efficient or effective
and often emanates from a mind set that the dispatchers are civilians and
know nothing of police work. nor should they.

The person who performs the demand processing task of call receiving
and dispatching must be able to screen calls for legitimacy in terms of the
organizational domain. Once it is established that the demand for service is
within the domain of the agency a second phase of screening takes place.
The second phase involves the previously mentioned concepts of intensity.
immediacy. and specificity as described by Percy and Scott (1985).

In addition to these decisions, a dispatcher must know what resources
may be needed to effectively handle the matter. In some jurisdictions. that
have a high volu mn of calls for service. mechanisms for rationing services
are implemented. Calls may be shuffled so that those with higher priority
are serviced before those that are less immediate. The gatekeeping
dispatcher exercises a considerable amount of discretionary decision making.

Radio dispatchers must possess the ability of telephone operators. but
they must make sound decisions in a very short period of time. They must
also possess a thorough knowledge of police strategy. theory. and operations.
It is important for them to know the local geography and be aware of
unusual local location situations. Specific training recommended includes

training in voice and diction. interview techniques. simulation training on

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incidents. interpersonal relations. and decision making. Sannes (1976).
Percy and Scott (1985) reported that persons who perform demand
processing functions are usually considered to be low level bureaucrats. but

unlike their counterparts in traditional bureaucracies. they do exercise
lattitude in activating the provision of service. Their conclusions on this
matter are not inconsistent with the findings of this study. Widespread
discretion among dispatchers makes the evaluation of their performance
difficult. It is difficult to have a clear set of procedures and behaviors in
such a complex context. A dispatcher must decide to send a car. determine
who to send. describe the type of problem to the officers. initiate the
dispatch of other needed resources based on the nature of the problem. and
monitor the off icers' actions for further developments. It seems basic that
such decision making processes require a broad range of knowledge of the
context of policing as well as personal skills of communication. In reaching
decisions regarding the eligibility of the caller for services the dispatcher
requires a degree of insight and knowledge regarding that service. A broad

range of services require a broad base of knowledge.

Consequence of Errors in Dispatching

Personal and organizational factors are at work in the complex pattern
of gatekeeping (dispatching). The consequence of errors by dispatchers can
have far reaching organizational impacts on the officer and citizen. A caller
who is rudely treated will talk to other citizens and this practice can have a
negative impact on agency reputation and citizen support. General goodwill.
police image. and police community relations can be positively or negatively

affected by the demeanor of the dispatcher who answers the call for service.

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Failing to understand the messages from the public could result in the wrong
resource or no resource being applied. Consequences of such situations can
be serious.

A tape recording of such an incident was reviewed and that incident.
while not commonplace. is an example of such serious consequences.

A woman called the Detroit central dispacher center and reported to a
telephone call receiver that she and her husband had just returned home
and found that someone had shot their dog. She said that something was
wrong. There was a long silence on the receiving end and the operator did
not ask any questions. The tape revealed that the dispatcher heard several
loud reports that were shots being fired in the caller's home. No action was
taken. but the dispatcher just listened. The citizen who called had been shot
several times by intruders. A few moments later the caller's husband came
in the back door and one can hear the words ” Oh. no." followed by a series of
shots. The call taker just remained on the line and listened. After a few
more minutes of taping. the intruders returned to the home and fired
several shots around the house. The line remained open for eleven mintues
before the dispatcher heard what had happened. Once this was discovered
by the dispatcher cars were dispatched. The woman and her husband were
found shot to death in their home. It was later concluded that the
immediate recognition of what was occurring would not have saved the
woman. but the husband may have been saved had appropriate action been
taken immediately.

Failure of a dispatcher or call taker to understand the circumstances
that commonly lead the police to become interested in social situations and a

lack of knowledge and awareness of concepts that guide police thinking may

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lead to such improper conclusions regarding immediacy. intensity. and
specificity.

In their description of the process of dispatching. Percy and Scott (1985)
state that each dispatcher must be able to accurately interpret the demand
that is being made by the caller. and be able to code it in such a way that the
responding officers have a feel for the factual nature of the call. What the
officers do and how they respond depends on an accurate assessment of

facts presented to the dispatcher.

Complexity of Calls

It is not uncommon for those not intimately familiar with dispatching to
think that call receivers or dispatchers merely have to determine the name
of the caller. the address. the telephone number . and a brief description of
the incident. Such an assumption presumes that the caller has specific detail
and also understands all of the relevant concepts of policing. This position
also presumes that the caller has prepared a f actual. precise. and accurate
message before calling the police. More often than not the police dispatcher
must clarify the demand. obtain other relevant information to make a sound
decision regarding the nature of the call. and ensure that a proper response
is made. Dispatchers must be able to do this frequently with an emotionally
charged citizen who just wants help quickly and may be irritated by
questions. Demand messages are frequently complex and can be influenced
by the caller's language. perspective, attitude. and involvement in the
incident that they are attempting to report.

Percy and Scott (1985) found that most of the larger police agencies

establish sets of terms. codes. and categories to assist the dispatchers in

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reducing the complex to the simple. Such coding and categorization can
increase error or distort the original message content. The Michigan State
Police do not use such codes or categories for calls.

Dispatchers may not only use codes to simplify messages, but as
Mennerick (1974) suggests, they may devise information typologies to
characterize those served. Five typological dimensions suggested by
Mennerick are: 1) facilitation of work. 2) control. 3) gain. 4) danger. and 5)
moral acceptability.

Examples of such typologies are found in the classification process used

with prisoners or parolees by corrections officials to determine how much
trouble those persons may cause. Such codes or typologies can influence
both the dispatcher and the responding officer. They can also affect their
interpretation of facts and thus affect the way the officer prepares to
encounter the caller. McCleary (1978).

In some of the larger dispatch centers, telephone operators transmit the
coded information to the dispatcher. Agencies have developed standardized
systems to carry out this process. In smaller agencies the call receiver and
the dispatcher are the same person. In addition to taking and coding calls
the dispatcher may frequently be requested to give immediate assistance to
the caller. Examples that are common are instructions on CPR for a family
member. what to do in poisoning cases. how to protect the crime scene until
officers arrive. and in some cases remaining on the phone to give minute by
minute observations of a gunman who has barricaded himself. Call takers
are assisted in eligibility determination by criteria established by current

laws. departmental tradition and administrative guidelines.

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Interpretation of the demand is somewhat more difficult. People who
call for police service articulate them in their own words and from their own
point of reference with a multitude of expectations about what should be
done. It is up to the dispatcher to make sense of this and to process this
demand in such a way that the responding officer is aware of the facts of the
case as best as they can be determined. This process requires the dispatcher
to probe for more facts and deeper understanding. By utilizing interpersonal
skills. the dispatcher is able to deter mine quickly what has occurred. Few
departments have established basic or in-service training programs that
provide the basic skills in probing for information. Most call takers and
dispatchers learn from observation and some learn from on the job training

programs. Percy and Scott (1985).

Communicating the Message to the Street Officer

Dispatchers perform several tasks after the receipt and interpretation of
the caller's message. They assign personnel to respond. In some cases in
which the dispatcher is also a police supervisor. they may stipulate specific
actions that are to take place. In cases of civilian dispatchers. specific
instructions may also be given such as "He is in the garage with a rifle on the
east side of the house so only approach from the west side". The street
officer's discretion has been well documented. but the dispatcher is not
without discretionary responsibilities. The dispatcher may transmit the
service demand to provide the officer with information about the situation
and enable them to respond accordingly. " He has a gun". "He is a former
mental patient and is intoxicated" Such information allows the officer to

mentally prepare for such encounters. request special back up resources. and

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to take protective actions. Demand information also allows the field

personnel to make faster determinations of problems.

Discretion

A recurring the me in the process of dispatching is the level of discretion
at all levels. It is difficult to restrict discretion. There are too many
variations in the calls and responses to prepare a programmed response in
every case. Discretion is not without its organizational problems for
management control. Without clear rules of behavior. the dispatcher can
introduce personal judgments when making decisions and taking action.
Such actions may not be consistent with the objectives of the agency. In
order to decrease discretion. an organization must increase supervision. One
major force in the introduction of civilian dispatching in police work was the
cost effectiveness of having a lower paid civilian replace the higher paid and
greater trained police officer. Such moves freed up officers to work the

street.

Criticality of Calls for Police Service

A dispatcher receives hundreds of calls on a daily basis. To the citizen
though. who may be the victim of a crime. that call to the police dispatcher is
of critical importance and of the highest priority. A citizen may not have
need for the police for several years. but when they do it is most important
to them. This is true whether they are the victim of a crime directly or have
family member who is a victim. It may be their first call to the police. It
matters very little to the citizen whether the per son on the other end of the

line is a sworn member or a civilian. To the caller that contact is the police.

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and their expecations are the same regardless of who answers the phone.

The police may appear to accept such calls as routine. but the dispatcher
cannot afford to transmit that attitude to the caller or to the responding
officers. The emotional needs of the calling citizen must be kept in mind as
well as the fuctions and limitations of the particular police agency.

In this research. there are no distinctions made between call taker and
dispatcher. Dispatchers are treated as one whether they are from a small
police agency and work alone on the radio desk. or whether they are one of
many dispatchers at a central dispatch center.

This study is not focused on the calls for service. but rather on the
dispatchers themselves and particularly on the variables that tend to
describe both effective and ineffective dispatchers in receiving. interpreting.

and dispatching officers.

Dispatching and Performance

Most studies of the police focus on the activities of the police officers on
the street. Percy and Scott (1985) note that there are significant linkages
between the dispatching function and organizational performance. They
note that dispatchers affect performance by deter mining eligibility. A
decision is made on who does or does not obtain police resources and this is
defined within a scope of rules. Dispatchers translate the complex message
from callers into agency-relevant terms and codes. Such information has an
impact on the structure of the response by officers. They also note that the
method selected for response by the dispatcher has an impact on the
process. If the reponse is inappropriate the organization may not be

effective. Citizens also evaluate the information dimension of the dispatcher's

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job. This can result in satisfaction or hostility by the consumer of services.
The manner in which the dispatcher transmits the call also has an effect on

the officer’s reception of the message.

Information Transmission

The exchange of information and the transmission of meaning is an
important aspect of the dispatcher's function and in the organization's
effectiveness. Information relative to demands for service to a police
department is generated by a call to the police or is initiated by officers on
patrol in direct contact with citizens. Only the former is examined in this
research. Dispatchers are key people because it is they who receive and
interpret. The dispatcher must make decisions on the meaning and value of
particular facts. Their evaluations are affected by factors such as
communication mode. message duration. message authority. coding.
characteristics of the demand. and the demand volu me. Percy and Scott
(1985).

View On Training

In reviewing the literature on the subject of dispatchers. training is
often mentioned as a postscript. Most of the time the comment is limited to
the fact that very little training is provided. Only after determining what
effective and ineffective dispatching is can a comprehensive training
program be developed for dispatchers that is job relevant. Training and
personal make up will influence orientations of a dispatcher in determining
who should be served and how they should be served. Everything that the
dispatcher brings to the job influences his or her decisions. Those things that

96

occur on the job as well as their perception of their place in the organization
also will have an affect on their decision making process. Those decisions in
turn influence the officers that are dispatched and the way the way in which
the entire process of dispatching is handled can influence the final outcome

or service.

Criticality of Training

One premise of this dissertation is that the catalyst that provides for
accuracy and effectivess in this regard is the level of training. Training may
have been accumulated over years from on the job observations. but the
criticality of the nature of the work and its consequences requires that such
training be provided up front.

The focus of this study on training of dispatchers is premised on the
belief that training and awareness of the police context is a major if not a
critical factor in determining just how well the response and final outcome
turns out. If the dispatcher has a different set of values and an information
base than the responding police officers then there may be contextual
disequilibrium.

The police may view a particular set of facts one way and a dispatcher.
not sufficiently schooled in policing concepts. may view the same set of facts
another way. Unless the dispatcher and the dispatched officers are
operating from the same bases of information. interpretation of facts will be
different and disequillibrium will exist. It seems imperative that
dispatchers view critical propositions of a call in ways that are similar to the

way that police officers would view it.

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This argument was presented on many occasions over the past twenty
years by officers who were concerned that civilians could not think like
off icers. and therefore could not dispatch cars as well as seasoned officers.

On the job training. utilizing feedback loops to correct misinterpretation
by dispatchers. is acceptable for the training environment. In the real world
of policing however. the feedback from the field on actual calls is not
consistent with effectiveness or safety. The critical nature of police work
and its relationship to citizen and officer safety is such. that basic knowlege
on such incidents is necessary up front for dispatchers. While there is a
close correspondence between the focus of this study and information
theory. only those elements related to the training or lack of training will be
addressed.

Percy and Scott (1985) also report that because of the volumn of calls
received. the police ad ministratrors are searching for an efficient means of
managing demand. The demand for police services is high. The introduction
of new technology has done much to increase the efficiency of police
response to overload calls. Central Dispatch centers. 911 and Enhanced 911
centers have become common. The passage of a new law in Michigan has
prompted those in charge of state police dispatching to be concerned with
the level of dispatcher training that exist now. and to be concerned that the
most appropropriate training be instituted in the future.

A lack of ongoing training is frequently listed by many dispatchers as a
problem in their agencies. Training is considered a low priority for police

dispatchers. Guthery and Guthery (I988).

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Diversity of Calls

The police respond to citizens calls for help and are held accountable
for their disposition in many cases. Many and perhaps most citizen calls are
neither crime or law related. but represent various kinds of public and
private troubles about which the individual citizen can do little or nothing.
Manning (1977).

Despite the ideal held by many police officers that they are primarily
crime fighters and enforcers of the law. several studies have shown that
services to the public account for the majority of citizen inputs to the police.
The complexity of the calls for services and their diversity adds to the
complexity of the dispatcher's job and heightens the opportunity for error in
the information exchange cycle between citizen and dispatcher and between
dispatcher and officer.

Barcal (1970) mentions that traditionally police see themselves as
quasi- military organziations that "enforce the law“. He views the police as
service agencies which are involved in dispensing a wide variety of services
to the individual and to society. In his study of metropolitan police
departments. he found that the vast majority of calls made to the police
were for services. He classifies Service I calls as those calls that are handled
by dispatchers without sending a car. Service 11 calls are those calls that
were handled by dispatching a car. His summaries lend support to his

position. Those summaries are on the following page.

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Detroit Monk sum:
IntaLcalls

1.027.000 5.200.000 461.000
2mm

370.000 (36%) 2,080,000 (40%) 98.000 (21%)
Seawall

657.000 (64%) 3,120,000 (60%) 363.000 (79%)

The service calls he refers to are those in 1968 that were transmitted to
the police departments via the emergency phone numbers. After a call is
received. the operator or dispatcher must decide whether or not a car is to
be sent as a response or how to respond to those callers when a car is not
dispatched. Barcal (I970) feels that emphasis on the crime problem and
social problems have hidden the majority of police work from the public's
eye.

In Detroit. in reference to those calls for service. when a car was not
sent. 195.000 (52.6%) were resolved by the dispatcher without resorting to
referral. Eight thousand four hundred calls (2.2%) were referred to private
agencies. and 131.000 calls (35.5%) were referred to other police bureaus.
Thirty-five thousdand five hundred calls (9.6%) were referred to other
governmental agencies.

Others refer to the police as the street level bureaucrats. These
bureaucrats are often expected to be more than benign passive gatekeepers.

They are also expected to be advocates. to use their knowledge. use their

100

skills. and to secure for the citizens the best treatment consistent with the
constraints on service Lipsky (1981).

While that author. in describing the street level bureaucrat. is
describing the police off icer. the relationship between officer and dispatcher
in terms of the information upon which to base appropriate action is not that
remote. If the officer must use knowledge and skills and be an advocate. a
dispatcher must also do the same because the input for the action is the
same. Such information comes from the caller and is interpreted by the

dispatcher.

Effectiveness of Codes

Human beings and their problems are of an infinite variety. No matter
how comprehensive the codes devised. some demands will be lumped into a
general category. Even the more specific codes that are used to put a call
into a category are broad. such as "Threatening physical injury" .

Dispatchers can provide citizens with information on response. which
allows them to understand what will be done about their problem. This
information may calm the person or inf uriate them depending on their
expectations of the police. There are other pieces of information that are
provided that will help the caller such as "Turn on the light". "Watch for the

police". "Direct the car into the farm" and so on.

Training Level of Dispatchers
Operators are taught to use the equipment and become proficient in the
use of demand processing equipment such as radio. computers. and law

enforcement information networks. Dispatchers however have very little

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training in the pr0per techniques of effective interpersonal communication.
The lack of formal training of dispatchers is explained as existing from a
long-held police perception of the role of call takers. Civilian dispatchers
are frequently held in low esteem. They have little status in the
organization and have lower pay than the officers. This is true even though
they have a wide latitude in discretion in their decision making and many of
their decisions bear upon the safety of the officer. Some departments treat
call takers and dispatchers as clerical staff . and they tend to be treated as
such by officers imbued with their own sense of professionalism. Percy and
Scott (1985).

Another factor contributing to the lack of training for dispatchers is that
many call takers, as well as dispatchers. are civilian and female. 64 % of
sampled departments employed only civilians as call takers and another 26%
used both uniformed and civilian opeators. Sumrall. Roberts and Farmer
(1981).

A thirty-two city study showed that 75% of the sampled agencies used
civilians exclusively as call takers. Colton. Brandeau and Tien (1980)

Because they are civilians. others report that many officers feel that the
civilians have limited knowledge of police work. A lack of professional
image enhanced by low status and low pay has much to do with the nature
of the job. The chances for advancement for civilians are limited. and even
in the large centers. there is usually only one center director and a few shift
supervisors. Those who are only call takers could get elevated to dispatcher
status in locales where those positions are separated. but the same dead end

awaits them. For practical purposes upward mobility is non-existent.

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Regardless of these inconsistencies whether it is the dispatch room of a 911
center or the single small department operation. a dispatcher working alone
is the nerve center of the police department and the only link between the
citizen in need and the responding police.

Dispatchers are in a unique and frustrating position within the police
agency. They may have low pay and low status. but they usually act in the
name of the chief. sheriff or director. This is particularly so in the absence of
other police supervisors in the building. A common characteristic of
dispatchers is their caring attitude toward the officers they dispatch.

In many departments the dispatchers are given the role of coordinating
the activites of patrol personnel in one or more geographic areas. This
monitoring activity of the patrols is a command and control function.
Dispatchers also have authority to implement radio silence. maintain radio
discipline. and request locations of officers. They also are responsible for
maintaining the status of the officers and must document how long they are
out on assignment or lunch.

Percy and Scott (1985) feel that the importance of dispatchers has been
largely overlooked in analyses of the police performance.

The tasks of the dispatcher does directly affect the decisions. actions.
work tasks. and responses of the officers who handle calls. A conclusion
reached by Antunes and Scott (1981) in their study of 26.000 calls for service
to metropolitan police departments was that any strategy to upgrade the
quality of phone operator relations with citizens must focus on increasing the
dispatcher's sensitivity and professionalism through:

1. better selection procedures;

2. improved training emphasizing professional norms; and

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3. restructuring the job to enhance the pay. status. and productive

contribution of the operators.

In 1983 Robert Moylan. then assigned to the state police operations
division. ad ministered a questionnaire to the state police dispatchers to
determine the perceptions the dispatchers had of their needs and to
determine how they acquired their job skills. The purpose of that
questionnaire was to be the basis for a training program to be initiated by
the Operations Division of the State Police. The opening statement of that
report indicates that most state police dispatchers have had little or no
formal training. Fifty-two responded to the questionnaire for a response
rate of 60%. The results of the survey revealed that 64% of the respondents
had no formal training and 36% had three to five days of LEIN training. The
data indicate that 48% of the respondents felt competent after six months on
the job while 10% felt competent at nine months and 15% felt that
competency existed after one year on the job. Another 27% indicated that
it took anywhere from three months to a year and one half to become
competent. Many of the respondents qualified their responses by stating
that the compentency level referred to routine work. Many still felt
uncomfortable handling emergency situations.

Over one quarter (26%) of the respondents reported that supervision
was not adequate. The remainder either felt it was adequate or had no
opinion. In-service training was seen as most desirable with 83% indicating
that this form of training was necessary. Twelve percent felt it was not and
5% of them were uncertain. The conclusions reached by the state police at

that time were that training was needed and that many of the dispatchers

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experienced morale problems in varying degrees.

The general feeling among the state police dispatchers was that the job
was very different from that of clerk. and they resented being classified as
communications clerks. In 1983. when that questionnaire was administered.
the Department of Civil Service allowed secretaries to move into the
dispatcher communications clerk position. but did not allow the dispatchers
to move laterally to the secretary position. Other factors noted by the author
contributing to job dissatisfaction were stress. job complexity. lack of
training. lack of appreciation by off icers. and lack of upward mobility.

One way to improve the dispatcher's ability to deal with the stress of
the job is to train them properly. In the view of Scott and Percy (1980)
these people have been poorly paid and undertrained. They conclude that
they are frequently thrown into the job with insufficient interpersonal
communications skills and with no training in making crucial decisions in the

pressure situations that arise in police dispatching.

Design of Training

Training should be designed. both in content and format. so that the
knowledge conveyed and the skills that are developed relate directly to the
knowledge and skills that are required of a dispatcher on the job. Training is
viewed as a systematic. intentional process of influencing behavior of certain
organizational members such that the resultant behavior contributes to
organizational effectiveness. The term behavior in this context includes any
aspect of human activity. cognition. or feeling directed toward the

accomplishment of work tasks. Sistrunk and Smith (1982).

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Effective training programs include both pre-service and in-service
training. McEwen. Connors. and Cohen (1986) felt that the most successful
training programs include the use of easy to use manuals. flip charts. various
simulations. and role playing techniques. A test of a dispatcher's knowledge
is no indicator of their ability to utilize that knowledge prOperly. Because
their behavior in handling critical incidents is so important it appears
necessary to provide dispatchers with scenarios from known critical
incidents and then test their ability by role playing to determine if they can

make the correct decisions.

Importance of Information

Some police administrators believe that the more information that can
be disseminated to the responding officer the better prepared they will be.
Departments that share this view have call takers and dispatchers that
attempt to get as much relevant informaton as possible.

Others like Rubinstein (1973) feel that minimal information should be
provided to responding officers. He argued that the dispatcher has no way
of knowing whether he has been told the truth and must therefore leave
that determination up to the officer. He felt that the complaint will be
repeated by the complainant anyway on the off icer's arrival so dont bother
to put it out as such.

Both Rubinstein (1973) and Manning (1980) indicate that incoming
information is ambiguous and can be misleading and thus transmitting
details to officers compounds the distortion. Others. including this
researcher. disagree with the negative assessment of incoming information.

That position may be true to the degree that the dispatcher is untrained.

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Properly trained and supervised. the dispatcher can and has been most
useful to the officer. and as such they can be perceived as a team members.
Trained and experienced police dispatchers have dispatched for years. and
there are countless cases of the value of their work. Their investigative
inquiries have had an impact on the outcome of the cases as well as

providing for the safety of the officers who responded.

Stress in Dispatching

A great deal has been written about police officer stress and among
those writings. giving limited attention to police dispatcher stress. the job
has been linked to that of the air traffic controller. An interesting question
to pose is whether the reported stresses of dispatching are from the job of
dispatching or from organizational f actors. perceptual f actors, or a
combination of these and a lack of training resulting in a condition of
contextual disequilibrium.

Terry (1985) reports that stress in policing is usually divided into four
categories. The first. external stress. emanates from perceived problems in
the criminal justice system. The second. internal stress. derives from the
organization. often due to inadequate training . poor pay or equipment.
paper work. and poor career development. The third. task relevant stress.
develops from too many calls, not enough help to do the job. shiftwork.
boredom. fear. or role conflicts. The last. individual stress. evolves from
personal fears regarding job competence or individual success.

French's work (1975) examined stress for the police as well as a
number of other occupations. He discovered that responsibility for others.

complexity of the work. low salary. and lack of participation in decision

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making were chief stressors among the police. There is little reason to
believe that dispatch work within the police department would be any
different.

Others focused on the police work itself and concluded that the chief
stressor was a lack of support from the administration of the department.
Krues, Margolis. and Hurrell (1974). While there has been a dearth of
research on police officer stress. little attention has been paid to the stresses
of the police support system such as dispatchers. complaint clerks. clerical
personnel and others who are so critical in the success of the law enforcment
mission. The primary stressors which affect the communications
environment include the perception of second-class citizenship. insufficient
training. the handling of multiple calls. decision making. anticipation. low
control over the working environment. confinement. stress caused by dealing
with the citizen. and inadequate interpersonal communications. Sewell and
Crew (1984).

Weaver (1985) states that the key to ensuring optimal performance of
all dispatch personnel is intensive training. He reports that the
responsibliities of the intake operator and radio dispatcher have risen
dramatically even though calls for service management programs have been
introduced. These management programs include alternative response
strategies. call stacking. call prioritization and others. A comprehensive
training program is viewed as a mechanism that can reward high
performance dispatchers. identify those who need additional training. and
identify personnel. both present and prospective. who do not possess the

skills necessary to perform effectively. Weaver (1985).

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In discussing the forgotten victim. Sewell and Crew (1984) state that the
occupational stress of dispatching parallels that of air traffic controllers. In a
circumstance of significant pressure of time. the dispatcher must direct the
activities of many police units. receive and assimilate a variety of
information from a variety of sources. and effectively communicate with
officers and citizens. The nine categories of problems were:

1. Perception problems that others within the agency saw them as

second class citizens and supervisors viewed them as lacking

knowledge of their role. They worked without benefit of formal

training and without such training the maximum safety for officers

is not assured.

2. Decision problems with potentially life threatening consequences.
The urgency of handling people's problems is magnified by the number

of calls in such a short time frame.

3. Anticipation problems to endure the stress of anticipation or
vicarious fear. The dispatchers want to nurture and determine officer

status to confirm safety of the officer.‘

4. System problems noted when the equipment is deficient or out of

date which only amplifies their fears.

5. Control problems under conditions in which they had little control
over their working environment. Officers had more discretion with

responses and dispatchers felt they were not as free and thus had very

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little flexibility in handling the public demands.

6. Confinement problems included a lack of opportunity for breaks.

7. Interpersonal problems were displayed by the limited
communication with field officers. Their communications skills were
reserved for the public. Dispatchers indicated that they had no outlets

to discuss conflicts with officers.

8. Citizen contact problems required facing callers that suffered from
hysteria to anger and yet they were required to provide a professional
response. Other examples included dealing with persons who were

inaccurate or unfamiliar with the area.

9. Professional development problems included a lack of opportunity for

growth. limited career paths. and too few supervisory positions.

Among the recommendations to reduce these stressors were diet.
training in role situations. field training in patrol and investigative
procedures to insure mutual understanding. and rap sessions with patrols.

Most studies of stress in policing are confined to sworn personnel even
though dispatchers are the hub of police activity and provide an integral
ancillary function Doerner. (1987). Herringer and Urbanek (1983) note that
this neglect is perplexing in light of the movement toward civilianization.

In a study performed in Tallahassee. Florida. Doerner (1987) notes that

no published empirical studies investigating police dispatcher stress were

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found. That study was limited to one agency and a small sample size. He
found that male dispatchers were more apt to suffer from stress than the
female dispatchers and that the helping theme was prevalent among those
studied. Recommendations from that study include better selection. better
training. and better career structure for dispatchers. Doerner (1987).

Dispatchers must collect information from people who are in distress
while controlling their own emotions. Six occupational factors have been
identified as stress producing in the job of dispatching. Decision making as a
producer of stress deals with those decisions that must be made while
receiving simultaneous demands in an uncertain context. Fragmented
informaton from callers requires dispatchers to utilize decision making skills
to the limit of their training.

Call prioritizing frequently causes stress. A dispatcher must evalute the
relative importance of each call though many dispatchers reportedly lack
adequate training in information collection. Anticipatory stress can describe
the dispatcher's environment. The work may be slow one moment and in a
matter of seconds escalate into a series of highly stressful events.

Working conditions can produce job stress. A dispatcher may suffer
stress from low pay. poor status in the organization. and continued shift
work. Environmental isolation can exist. Due to security reasons. dispatch
centers are often away from windows and located in secured central parts of
a facility. Such indoor locations often use fluorescent lighting which can
cause headaches and f atigue. Moriarity and Fields (1988). Both of the
authors recommend psychological screening for dispatchers as a part of the
selection process. A logical extension of liability related to negligent hiring
or negligent training extends to dispatching.

111

Both Moriarity and Fields (1988) recommend five qualities that
dispatchers should possess. Those qualities were 1) poise under pressure.
2) the ability to take control of a crisis situation. 3) personal integrity. 4)
intelligence capacity to deal with expectations of the dispatch position. and
5) excellent interpersonal relations skills.

There are ample tests available to test for psychological preparedness
for stressful work. Two such tests are the Inwald Personality Inventory
(IPI) and the Minnesota Personnel Interpretive Report (MMPI). A natural
caution is to assure that such tests are administered and intrepreted by
qualified professionals.

Several suggestions have been made by experienced dispatchers to
relieve job stress. The suggestions include proper diet. exercise. leaving
personal problems at home, focusing on understanding rather than being
understood. and viewing the incident through the eyes of the caller or the
officer. Most dispatchers recommend meetings with supervisors and officers
to air their feelings and to facilitate mutual understanding. Organizational
contraints frequently prevent this avenue from being utilized by the
dispatchers . Wilson (1988). Stress can be positive as well as negative.
Training is recommended as an adjustment to dispatcher stress. Once
dispatchers have control over their environment readjustments can be made
and reactions can be second nature. This method is called Stress Response.
Role demands may be classified as either role conflict or role ambiguity.
Role conflict exists when a dispatcher is given conflicting directions from
management or others. Role ambiguity exists when a dispatcher is told to

demonstrate different behaviors by two different managers. Bruns (1988).

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A Dispatcher's Perspective

Burton. (1986) reports that a great number of dispatchers are hired
today in the United States without any regard for their mental or technical
ability to do the job. Burton (1986) also reports that women dispatchers
report problems with male officers. ranging from subtle sexual insults.
intentional prof anity. to outright sexual harrassment. The relationship

between dispatchers and street officers is reported as precarious at best.

Summary of Review of Literature

Demands for police services as reflected in increased calls are
increasing. The majority of calls to the police are for services and a much
smaller percentage of calls are for crime related matters. Service calls are no
less important that crime related calls. Such calls for services deal with
matters up to and including life threatening situations.

The dispatching function is a very critical part of the overall police
response process. Much of the appropriateness of the police response is
predicated on the dispatcher's ability to obtain factual information and
perform accurate assessment of the demands. thus translating the demand
into a proper response. The f uf illment of many responsibilities of the police
are often stimulated by the interpretive skills of the dispatcher. A
dispatcher spends a good deal of time in discretionary decision making.
Those decisions affect the citizens and the officers and have effects on
overall police performance. The demands for services are varied and
complex and many are received under stressful conditions in less than

comfortable environments.

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The role of dispatcher has been given insufficient attention over the
years despite the growing complexity and importance of the job. Job
relevant training is viewed as important for effective utilization of
dispatchers in law enforcement agencies. but training has been under
utilized. The consequence of errors in dispatching can be extreme.

In recognition of the nature of dispatching. current practices. and lack of
relevant training. it is suggested that changes in selection criteria. accurate
position descriptions, and institution of job related training are important
requisites to improving the dispatching process. Departments who fail to
address these issues and implement changes place their dispatchers in an
untenable position and increase the opportunity for job burnout. costly

turnover. and vicarious liability.

CHAPTER 4

Methodology

Preliminary Investigation

An overall feel for the perceptions of dispatchers was a necessary
starting point. During the months of June. August. and October of 1987 visits
were made to three separate training programs held in three Michigan
cities. These visits provided an opportunity for discussions with 180
dispatchers representing many departments. After a short presentation on
the general purpose of the study. the dispatchers were asked to freely
express their viewpoints. concerns. and wishes regarding training deficits or
perceptions of role conflicts. if any. in their jobs. The majority of those in
attendance were not from the state police. but from other police agencies
from across the state.

Over a period of several hours at each of the three training sessions.
those in attendance spoke freely of problems and perceptions of problems.
The issues ranged from individual training deficiencies to organizational
issues. In order to accomodate the free flow of information several informal
conversations were held with these dispatchers in the evenings.

Though the original request was made to develop a training program for
state police dispatchers it was deemed appropriate to investigate the
relevance of such a training program for all dispatchers on the premise that
dispatchers' duties and training needs may not be significantly different

from one agency to the next.

114

115

Because the focal agency of this study was the state police it was
decided to use their dispatchers as the base for information for the critical
incident technique that was employed. In order to obtain the widest
possible variations of critical incidents and to obtain as rich a source as
possible. it was decided to utilize the entire population of state police
dispatchers. An early assumption was that uniformed officer may have a
different view of what a dispatcher should be and how a dispatcher should
be trained. All of the troopers and sergeants stationed in the same areas as
. the state police dispatchers were identified as populations from which to
draw samples of officers for comparison purposes.

A sample frame of statewide dispatchers from all other agencies was
obtained by polling every police department within the state. A LEIN
message was developed which explained the purpose of the study and
requests were made for the names of the dispatchers from all the police

agencies in Michigan by the state police operations office.

Critical Incident Technique (CIT)

Each state police dispatcher was sent an explanatory letter from the
Director of the State Police outlining the purpose of the study. the purpose of
the CIT. and instructions for completing the CIT forms that were developed
for this purpose. The dispatchers were asked to think of three critical
incidents in the past year in which they were involved or personally aware
of and I) describe the incident in their own words. 2) specify what the
dispatcher did to handle the incident, and 3) give their views on why the
incident was handled effectively. That is. what was it that the dispatcher did

116

that made the handling of the incident effective or ineffective. These reports
were received and analyzed over a period of several weeks. A process of
analytic induction was used to determine what factors explained effective
and ineffective dispatching. It should be noted that this is a perceptual
study and the dispatchers themselves were left to define effective and
ineffective in the context of the reported critical incidents.

After all of the descriptions of skills. abilities. attitudes. personality. and
knowledge were extracted from the CIT's. a questionnaire was developed
based on the informaton from the CIT's. That questionnaire was pilot-tested
on the thirty-f our dispatchers of the Lansing. Michigan Police Department
dispatch center. Recommended changes were made and after several
revisions a final survey instrument was prepared.

The instrument was administered to l) the population of state police
dispatchers as a retest of their critical incident sub missions. 2) to a sample of
86 State Police sergeants. 3) to a sample of 227 State Police troopers. and 4)
to a sample of 312 dispatchers from other agencies.

In order to develop a feel for the nature of the problem. to determine a
way of looking at dispatcher effectivness. and to develop research questions.
180 dispatchers were engaged in dialogue during and after three training
sessions held in the spring. summer. and fall of 1987. Several loosely
structured interviews were conducted at that time. Later. twelve hours of
tapes of dispatching were obtained from Genesee County Central Dispatch
and were reviewed. Site visits were made to two dispatch centers and
dispatchers and supervisors were engaged in discussions relative to the

subject of dispatcher training and related issues. It was determined that a

117

critical incident technique (CIT) would best serve as a means of obtaining
foundation data for the later development of a survey instrument. Because
the state police have asked for a job relevant training program for their
dispatchers. those dispatchers were chosen to complete the CIT's.

Macey (1982) recommened the use of the critical incident technique
data for designing behaviorally based instructional programs. In his groups.
meetings were held to provide examples of effective and ineffective

performances.

Instrumentation

The entire population of seventy-six state police dispatchers were
chosen as respondents for the CIT. Prior to the administration of the survey
instrument three dispatchers had left the state police. Transmittal letters.
and an explanation of the purpose of the research and detailed instructions
accompanied the forms that were developed to obtain the CIT's. Transmittal
letters and CIT forms may be found in the appendix. The format for the
critical incident reports included three open-ended questions asking the
respondents to describe in their own words three critical incidents that were
examples of effective dispatching and three that were exemplary of
ineffective dispatching. The respondents were asked to explain why they
felt the examples were effective or ineffective. and to explain fully what it
was that the dispatchers did that made them effective or ineffective.

Those variables that were identified as important in defining

effectivness were used to construct the questionnaire. The questionnaire
included training variables. skills and ability variables. personality and

attitudinal variables. organizational variables. and demographic variables.

118

In order to obtain a profile on dispatcher training the last section of the
questionnaire included a training profile. Only dispatcher respondents
received the training profile questions.

The survey instrument was pilot tested on eight dispatchers of the East
Lansing Police Department prior to a second pilot test at the Lansing Police
Department. Suggestions on the questionnaire were received and changes
were made in the questions and format for the responses. The responses
were changed from dichotomous yes and no format to a Likert Scale format.
Responses ranged from strongly agree to strongly disagree.

The second pilot test was administered to 34 dispatchers at the Lansing
Police Department Dispatch Center. Eighteen of the 34 dispatchers
responded for a response rate of 51%. That agency was selected because
after the random sample was chosen from the sampling frame. which
included the Lansing Police dispatchers. they were not among those chosen
in the sample. After additional revisions. the final questionnaire was
developed and transmittal letters and letters of explanation were prepared
to accompany the mailed questionnaires.

In order to maximize the response rate and to improve communications
with department heads. the executive directors of the Michigan Association
of Chiefs of Police and the Michigan Sheriff ’s Assocation were contacted and
agreed to place prepared announcments in their monthly publication.
Announcements were made of the research project to police officials and
dispatchers alike.

Utilizing the the list of all state police dispatchers and the three
sampling frames. the questionnaire was administered simultaneously to all

the state police dispatchers as a retest of the CIT. to a sample of state

119

troopers working in the same geographical area as the dispatchers. to a
sample of state police sergeants also working in the same areas. and to a

sample of dispatchers from other police agencies in Michigan.

Survey Design

The survey design can be conceptualized as a three-tiered perceptual
study of dispatchers. It is cross sectional because it was administered at one
time. Though there were weeks between the ad ministration of the CIT and
the administration of the questionnaires it is considered one time frame as
opposed to a planned timed sequence. There was no interest in changes of
perception over time. so a trend design was not chosen

Because the questionnaire was ad ministered to the state police
dispatchers and a sample of dispatchers from other police agencies. the
responses from the state police dispatchers was compared with those from
the other agencies. This variation approximates parallel samples.

If there were no significant differences between state police dispatcher
responses and other departmental dispatcher responses inferences could be
drawn of similarity. This design allowed for inferences from the state police
dispatcher population and the other agency sample to the general population
of dispatchers statewide. Inferences were limited to job description. training
needs. and selection criteria. Interest in organizational dysfunctions was
limited to the state police because only their sworn personnel were sampled.

This research is also descriptive because it is designed to discover and
identify factors relevant to training needs and selection criteria. The
training and selection variables were be based on the perceptions of those
doing the job. those supervising dispatchers. and those being dispatched.

120

The survey design is intended to produce a list of job relevant training
factors that will have practical applications in the police communications
field. Because the research includes questions with organizational variables
it may also be defined as exploratory.

Population

The primary population in this study consisted of all law enforcement
dispatchers in Michigan. These dispatchers may be located in central
dispatch centers. individual police departments. sheriff departments.
township police departments. or any of the several other agencies designated
as departments of public safety. The jurisdictions of these departments may
be federal. state. county. or local governmental entities. Jurisdictions may
also include state. regional. or county parks and university departments of
public safety.

The term dispatcher is used synonomously with radio operator. call
receiver. police operator. or other designations that departments may use to
describe those persons who receive and dispatch calls to the law
enforcement agencies for information and services of an emergency and
non-emergency nature.

The population of dispatchers was divided into two groups. The state
police dispatchers. a limited subgroup of the population. as the focal point of
the research. were the only respondents used for the Critical Incident
reports. The broader group included all other dispatchers in Michigan. The
sum of the two groups made up the total population of Michigan's police
dispatchers. Two other populations were utilized to deter mine whether
other ogranizational members within the state police had similar or different

views on dispatcher training. and the personality attributes of effective

121

dispatchers. Those two populations were state police sergeants and state
police troopers. State police sergeants are those officers who function as
shift supervisors and are assigned to any one of the twenty-four locations
throughout the state where state police dispatchers are assigned. State
police troopers are those officers who perform general patrol duties and are
assigned to any one of the twenty- four locations throughout the state where

state police dispatchers are assigned.

Sampling Design

Because of the nature of the methodology used in this research. the
focus of the study is four groups which have been treated as four separte
samples. The state police dispatchers comprise the entire population of that
group and are not a sample.

Group I is the population of all state police dispatchers.

Group II consisted of a sample of the dispatchers from other agencies.

Group III consisted of a sample of state police sergeants.

Group IV consisted of a sample of state police troopers.

The samples drawn from the populations of sergeants and troopers
were sampled to determine if there were perceptual differences that may
exist between sworn officers and dispatchers within the state police. If as
suspected. sworn officers and dispatchers had significant disagreements on
what an effective dispatcher was then support would be added to the
hypothesis that contextual disequilibrium existed.

The sample from the population of all other dispatchers in Michigan was
chosen because it was suspected that dispatchers were very similar in terms

of role perception. duties. and training needs. If they were similar. as

122

suspected. the training program that was developed from the results of the
study might be useful to dispatchers statewide.

A simple random sample was used to choose the samples from groups
II. III. and IV. The entire population of state police dispatchers. comprising
group I. was surveyed. This form of probability sample is defined by Babbie
(1973). This method for selection of the sample should adequately reflect

variations that exist in the population.

Sampling Frames

A sampling frame of the state police dispatchers was obtained from the
state police which listed 76 sampling units by name. work location and
address. No samples were drawn because the entire list was used.

Sampling frames of the state police sergeants and troopers were
assembled using the state police personnel manual. That manual listed those
officers by location of assignment. rank. and name. The state police facilities
having dispatchers was compared with this frame. The sampling frame for
sergeants identified 110 sampling units stationed at locations where
dispatchers were assigned. The sampling frame for troopers identified 525
sampling units stationed at dispatcher locations.

The sampling frame for all other dispatchers was prepared by polling
each public safety agency in the state. State police operations personnel sent
a prepared message by LEIN. that was signed by the Director. to obtain the
sampling frame.

An explanation of the purpose of the request was included. Follow up
phone calls were made to agencies and a second message was sent two

weeks later in order to obtain the maximum number for the sampling frame.

123

This sampling frame identified 1415 sampling units by name. department.
and address. This work is not a stratified sample. Identical surveys were
administered simultaneously to three separate groups. For purposes of this
explanation the dispatchers are viewed as one group that is subdivided.
The jobs of troopers. sergeants. and dispatchers are distinctively
different jobs. The sampling units in each of the samples should know
something about dispatching and should have perceptions of what kind of

training is needed for dispatchers in order to maximize their effectiveness.

Rationale For Sampling

The reason for ad ministering the critical incident technique to the entire
population of state police dispatchers was to obtain the maximum number of
descriptors of effective dispatching. The variables identified from that
process were used to construct the survey instrument. The reason for
ad ministering the survey instrument to the entire population of those
dispatchers was to retest their responses from the critical incidents.
Dispatchers. whether in the state police or other organizations. were believed
to be very similar. The analysis of the responses should confirm or
disconfirm this belief.

The reason for sampling the entire body of other statewide dispatchers
was for practical purposes. As indicated. if there was agreement among
dispatchers statewide on what constitutes an effective dispatcher and what
training elements are important in being effective. then the training program
for state police dispatchers could be useful for other dispatchers as well.

This is the justification for the sample that was drawn from those other

agencies.

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Sampling Error

Dispatchers were believed to be similar across police departments
therefore it was felt that the sampling error would be small. Such a sample
could provide the necessary information. The survey was confined to the
subject of the dispatcher's job about which they have valued perceptions. To
avoid non-sampling errors of response bias the following procedures were
adopted.

The Director of the Michigan State Police sent a prepared letter to all
state police district and post commanders. The letter explained the purpose
of the study and the process that was being used. The procedures to be used
for the critical incident technique and the survey instrument were also
explained in detail. Specifics such as not using formal channels for these
measures were included. In the past. when some study initiatives were
undertaken. under the auspices of headquarters. if the district and post
commanders were not informed of the processes those conducting such
studies met with political resistence.

For both the critical incident technique and the ad ministration of the
survey instruments. explanatory letters accompanied the transmittal letters.

Separate packages were prepared for the sergeants. troopers and the
dispatchers. Those letters explained the rationale for the research and the
reasoning behind choosing those samples. All transmittal letters included
detailed instructions for the respondents.

In order to avoid problems with the individual administrators and to
improve overall response rates. articles were placed in the monthly
publications of the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police (MACP) and the
Michigan Sheriff '3 Association (MSA). The executive directors of each those

125

organizations cooperated and supported this effort. The Director also sent a
letter of explanation and request for cooperation to all police dispatchers in
the State of Michigan. Every department employing dispatchers received
copies of that letter for their dispatchers. The Director of the State Police
insisted on identifying the researcher as a retired member of the State
Police. That procedure may have aided in establishing credibility with the
respondents.
Sample Size

Assuming that proportion p would be about .5 the following formula
was used to estimate the sample size:

N

 

(N-1)B2 + l
where N is the population. where n is the sample size. and where B is the
bound of error estimated. The following sample sizes were computed. The
state police dispatchers for reasons explained represent 100%.
An assumption is made of a normal distribution. A guess at the bound of
errors is .05. Proportion is the primary population parameter of interest.
Table 4.1 -Size

 

 

Group Population Size Sample Size
MSP Dispathers N -73

Other Dispatchers N-1415 n-312
Sergeants N-llo n-86

Troopers 111-525 n-227

 

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Table 4.2 - Response Rate of 4 Groups

 

 

 

Group Sample Size N of Responses Response Rate
MSP Dispathcers ’73 62 85%
Dispatchers in 312 207 66%

Other Departments

MSP Sergeants 86 66 77%

MSP Troopers 227 110. 62%
475

Overall Response Rate - 68%.

* 73 is the populations size.

Departments Represented in Sample

There were two hundred and sixteen police agencies were polled to
develop the sampling frame for the other departmental dispatchers. Two
hundred and five agencies responded. The eleven agencies that did not
respond included ten city agencies and one township agency. All eleven
were located in southeastern Michigan. There were no major police
departments included in this group of nonresponders. State police experts
estimate that no more than twenty-five dispatchers were omitted from the

sampling frame.

127

Table 4.3 - Police Agencies Represented in Sample

 

 

 

Agency Type N Departments represented
Departments of Public Safety 14
Police Departments 80
Sheriff Departments 45
Univeristy Public Safety Departments 6
Federal Department 1
Park Ranger Agencies 2
Township Police Departments 9
Central Dispatch Centers 8
State Police Posts 21
189
Geographical Distribution

Fifty-nine of Michigan's eighty-three counties were represented which
is 71% of the state‘s land area. Seven (47%) of the fifteen counties in the
Upper Penninsula were included and fifty-two (76%) of the sixty-eight
counties in the Lower Penninsula were included. All of the major population

centers were included in the random drawing of the sample.

Confidentiality and Anonymity

A self -addressed stamped envelope was included in the mailing
package sent to dispatchers for the critical incident technique. Because the
CIT was an open-ended survey which asked dispatchers for their opinions
and perceptions of descriptors of effective and non-effictive dispatching. it
was decided to make this portion of the study confidential. This was done so

128

that dispatchers could be recontacted by telephone for clarification if
necessary.

In the second stage of the research. the ad ministration of the survey
instrument. all of the respondents were treated as anonymous. A stamped
post card was used for this purpose so that non—respondents could be
identified for follow up letters. Each respondent was asked to mail the
instrument in the stamped self -addressed envelop provided and then to mail
the post card separately to signify that a questionnaire was mailed. This
method allowed the researcher to know who responded. but connections
could not be made between the post cards received and the questionnaires
that were returned. The instruments did not have any identifying names or

numbers on them. This process was explained in the transmittal letters.

Analysis of Survey Instrument

In order to deter mine which training factors were important for
achieving dispatcher effectiveness. the survey instrument questions were
constructed to deter mine the proportion of dispatchers that chose one factor
over another to describe effectiveness.

Training variables in which 75% or more of the respondents strongly
agreed or agreed will be included in a pre-service training program.
Variables in which 50% or more agreed. but less than 75%. will be considered
for in-service training. Those variables that respondents chose less than 50%
as indicative of effectiveness were disregarded.

Types of Variables Identified
The analysis of the critical incidents revealed variables that could be placed
in three major categories. In order to be included in the category the

129

variable had to be observed in the behavior in several of the critical
incidents. Most were repetitive. Those variables. once identified. were used
to construct the survey instrument.
Training Variables
Forty-two training variables were identified. Questions 1-42 include

variables relating to laws. use of technical equipment. police procedures. and
other training subjects.
Personality and Skills Variables

Twenty three variables were identified. Questions 43-65 include
variables relating to personality attributes of effective dispatchers. and the
skills. attitudes. and abilities possessed by effective dispatchers.
Organizational and Experience Variables

Thirty-four variables were identified. Questions 66-99 include
variables relating to experience. perceptions of others in the organization
perception of self in the organization. and perceptions of the organization
Such variables also relate to a perception of a dispatcher's authority and
responsiblity as well as accuracy of a dispatcher's position description
Demographic Variables

Twelve demographic variables were included in the instrument.

Questions 100—111 are demographic variables.

Open-Ended Questions

Questions 112-114 were used as a measure to capture other variables
that may not have been identified from the critical incident technique.
These questions asked for training factors. personality characteristics. and
preferred structure and recommended length of training. Question 1"115 was

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used for respondent identification by group.

Training Profile

In order to measure the current level of training of the dispatchers.
questions if116 to #146 were constructed. These thirty-one questions were
designed to measure the level of competence that each dispatcher felt he or
she had in thirty-one training areas that were previously identified. If the
respondents indicated that they were Wthose elements would be
considered for a pre—service training program. If the respondents indicated
that they were 11mm with the topic those elements would be considered
for in-service training. If the respondents answered as trained those
elements were excluded from consideration for the training program. The
survey instrument that was mailed to the sergeants and troopers did not

include these last thirty-one questions.

Statistical Analysis

All of the data are nominal or ordinal level so appropriate statistical
tests were used to meet the assumptions of those levels.

Chi Square Test of Independence tests were used to determine if
relationships existed between tested variables by the type of job that
respondents held.

Cramer's V was used as an indication of th strength of the relationship.
Asymetric Lambda was used to reinforce when variables were presented as
dependent/independent. Pearson‘s Product Moment Correlation was simply
used to deter mine if a relationship was positive or negative.

Many of the variables had a wide range of alternatives. consequently in

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cross-tablulating them many cells were generated. Because of this. the
robustisity of the Chi Square test is diminished.
Other Decision Rules

Because the Chi Square test for Independence estimates expected cell
frequencies. as the number of cells increases. the ability to discriminate
between variables is deminished. Thus. with those numbers of cells . there
is a lessened liklihood of finding significant differences. However. intuitively
when viewing percentages of interest in the variable subject matter. there
appears to be strong preferences for certain variables by respondents used
to define effectiveness. Acceptance of these variables for consideration for
training. even though not statistically significant. will be favored when there
is a strong preference across all of the job types. This decision was based on

experience. personal observations. and in consultation with dispatch experts.

Confounding Variables Considered

There are no doubt some confounding variables that. to some degree.
may account for the relationships or lack of relationships found. One
department or another may train their dispatcher staff to a greater or lesser
degree. Dispatchers who have more training may account for a higher
percentage favoring one variable or another as descriptive of effective
dispatching. To avoid this both the type of training and period since last
training were included in the demographic variables.

The selection procedures among departments may differ. Some of the
smaller departments may not be as rigorous as the larger departments in
their selection procedures. Departmental budget size may also be a

confounding variable. This premise is based on the assumption that the

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larger the budget the more opportunity there may be for training. The size
of the agency. individual intelligence levels among dispatchers. and personal
motivation could also be confounding variables. The broad cross section of
sample units may assist in reducing any such confounding. The category
that poses the biggest problem for the presence of confounding variables is
the personality. attitudinal. and abilities category of variables. People are
different and come from diverse backgrounds each having different values
and educational levels. The decision rule to accept only those variables as
reflective of effective dispatching that have at least 75% of respondents
favoring the variable should correct this problem.

Organizational and experience variables may be affected by an
individual supervisor's management style or by the organizational
management philosphy. It is not uncommon in organizational settings to
have training used as the scapegoat for poor. unresponsive. or uninformed

management.

Cost Considerations

An early consideration in the plan for this research was to interview
each of the seventy-three state police dispatchers to obtain the critical
incident reports. After examining the sampling frame and figuring the cost
of travel at .22 per mile it was decided that the cost would be prohibitive. If
the required trips were well planned the mileage alone amounted to 4.770
miles. The cost of mileage was $1,049.40 If meals and lodging were
included the cost of obtaining interviews would amount to over $1,600.00

Mailing a self -ad ministered critical incident forms was less costly even

though there could be some loss of richness. Cost prohibitions were regarded

133

as outweighing the possiblities that some people may lack writing skills or
may not be precise. Because it was decided that the CIT portion of this
research would be confidential telephone follow up to a second mailing was
planned instead.

The cost of mailing a CIT would include two letters. One from the
Director to explain the CIT which consisted of 2 pages and one 6 page
reporting form. The letter cost was estimated to be $70.00 and the 6 page
CIT form was estimated to be $100.00 Reminder letters and follow up post
cards would cost $20.00 for a total cost of $190.00 . The difference between
personal interviews and mailing forms for a CIT would be over $800.00 The
state police agreed to financially support the cost of printing and mailing.

Summary of Major Research Steps

1. Development of Sampling Frames

2. Development of Critical Incident Forms

3. Administration of Critical Incident Technique to MSP dispatchers.

4. Content analysis of the CIT responses by using a form of analytic

induction.

5. Determination of variables to be used in the survey instrument.

6. Design and pilot testing of survey instrument.

10.

II.

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Revision of survey instrument after two pilot tests.
Administration of survey instrument to four samples of respondents.
Analysis of data
Presentation of findings

Conclusions

CHAPTER 5
Analysis of Critical Incidents

Introduction

Because the entire survey instrument rests on the basis of the
analysis of the critical incidents. a view of those findings is presented before
the data analysis of the survey instrument. This chapter contains
descriptive information relative to the nature of the critical incidents. the
relationships of those incidents to safety factors. and summaries of responses
to the open-ended questions posed in the research. Because the critical
incident technique evolved after several discussions with one hundred and
eighty dispatchers. summaries from those discussions are also presented.
Some examples of the incidents are also reported.

The Nature of Reported Critical Incidents

The Critical Incidents were reported in a narrative form by the
dispatchers in response to the directions sent to them. Forms for these
responses were developed so that each dispatcher had a separate page for
reporting each of the six critical incidents that came to mind. The state
police dispatchers were asked to describe three critical incidents that were
examples of effective dispatching and three that were examples of
ineffective dispatching. They were asked to describe in great detail the
occurrence itself. what the dispatcher did in handling the incident. and what
is was that made the dispatcher either effective or ineffective. For the most

part three self -reported paragraphs were written by each of the responding

I35

I36

dispatchers on each of six incidents. All of the critical incidents are based on

the actual experiences the respondents. There were seventy-two different

types of incidents reported to describe effective dispatching and sixty-three

different types incidents reported to describe ineffective dispatching.

Contexts of Reported Critical Incidents

Brief descriptions of the types of critical incidents are listed below.

Effective Dispatching

A family fight involving a shooting
A false report of a stolen car
Robbery Armed (2)

A stolen car and a chase

Multipe car injury accidents (6)

A baby who stopped breathing

A house fire-child left in the house
A mother who stopped breathing
A person threatening suicide

, A man with a gun holding a hostage
A child who stopped breathing

A husband with a heart attack

A larceny and fraud

Murders (3)

A drunk driver

Request for back up from officers
A man menacing others with a gun
An attempted suicide

A suicide attempt by drugs

A robbery. fire and injury accident
A high speed chase

A man with a gun

A shooting and man with a gun

A garbled message from officers
Prowlers (2)

IneffectiveDispatching

A Person with weapon
Robbery armed (2)

Burlary alarm

A traffic stop- felony warrant
A family fight with weapon
Officer requesting backup (4)
A drunk in a car- found dead
A warrant check

A high speed chase

A suicide

An assault in progress

A burglary

Gun shots fired

An investigation of suspect
Blockade: robbery armed (2)
A safe job

A family fight

Injury accidents (6)

A burglary alarm

A man with a gun (2)

A frustrated officer

A kidnapping & robbery (2)
A double murder

Improper LEIN use

A felonious assault

Effective Dispatching

Bank robberies (4)

Shooting of police officer

A report of a hostage

An injury accident-use of CPR

A family fight

A request for directions

A search of a woman

A man holding a rifle on an officer
A stolen car leading and chase

A person on drugs firing a gun

An escaped convict

An arrest of person with weapon
A felonious assault

A burlary in progress (2)

Children locked in a freezer

File check for wanted person

An officers with defective radio
An escaped murderer

A person arrested with false name
An armed robbery and chase

A burglary in progress and suicide
An airline fire

A gasoline storage tank leak

A child hemmoraging

A officer in need of help

A car fire and explosion

A train derailment

A hostage 6: barricaded gunman (3)

A toxic chemical spill

An arrest on a warrant

A request for information

A crib death

An officer injured in an accident
A shooting report

A wife with heart attack

A shooting of a police officer
Use of CPR by dispatcher

137

Ineffective Dispatching
A lazy dispatcher (2)

Mental caller

Hysterical caller

A gun found in a car

A report of a drunk driver

A man shooting a gun

A man carrying a gun

A dead body found

A prowler

A shooting

An officer assaulted

A vehicle check

A dispatcher who left station
Multiple car chase

A high speed chase
Burglaries in progress (3)

A trailer fire

A family fight

Accidents ( 4)

A chase-officer injured
Failing to dispatch

A delayed dispatch of patrol
A hysterical woman

A plane crash

A request for information

A barn fire

Poor information obtained
Failed to get information(3)
Report of a burglary

A man with gun in apartment
Shooting of persons
Improper LEIN use

A felonious assault in progress
Information for other agency
A stakeout

An escaped convict

A request for EMS

138

Effective Dispatching Ineffective Dispatching
A construction accident A request for car- not sent
Blockade: shooting of police officer

A tornado warning

LEIN checks on driver

A capture of a felon

A multiple car accident 6c gasoline fire
A identification of a murder suspect
A robbery armed with a shooting

A homocide

Interviews with Statewide Dispatchers

Several dispatchers were engaged in conversation during the course
of three training sessions. and at several informal meetings. The purpose of
those meetings was to gather the dispatchers' perceptions of their job. their
problems. and their descriptions of effective dispatchers. Twelve recurrent
themes surfaced during those meetings. The majority of dispatchers in
attendance at those training sessions were from other law enforcement
agencies.

1. Serious concern was expressed as to who would train the officers on

the road relative to the complexity of a dispatcher's job and the
value of a dispatcher to police officers.

2. Several dispatchers felt that they were frequently demeaned by
certain officers of their departments.

3. Mention was made that everyone is not capable of being a dispatcher.
The role of dispatching is complicated by the fact that too little time
is devoted to training them on the telephone. They also made it clear
that the job requires a person who has a balanced attitude.
self -control. and who can handle multiple tasks quickly and
accurately.

10.

ll.

12.

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Most dispatchers criticized the selection procedure. They suggested
having senior dispatchers included in the interview process for
applicants.

When asked to describe effectiveness they said that it boiled down
to being an independent thinker and a good decision maker.

Most of them said that the job is presented incorrectly to applicants.
Employers fail to tell them of the responsibilities. job complexity.
stress. and working conditions.

The overriding majority felt that the entrance test for dispatchers is
not job related. The test that most of them took related to someone
who could file and type.

There was some resentment displayed toward police supervisors.
A remark frequently heard was that supervisors feel that "any idiot
could do the job of dispatching".

Many dispatchers expressed the view that the organizations have not
kept pace with the times. The job of dispatching has changed
drastically over the past several years. Police officers and their
supervisors must understand that dispatchers do care and that they
are part of the police team.

Most dispatchers expressed frustration with the organizational
constraint of a lack of upward mobility. The only alternative they
offered in this regard was the insititution of certification. They admit
that certification would not enhance their salaries. but feel it would
raise their status in the organization.

To a person. dispatchers felt that their supervisors should come from
a dispatcher pool.

A sizeable number expressed a desire for training standards and
in-service training. In-service training should utilize role playing.

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Critical Incidents and Safety

In the descriptions used by the state police dispatchers to complete
the critical incident reports there were seventy-two incident examples of
effective dispatching and sixty-three incident examples of ineffective
dispatching. Overall. there were one hundred and thirty-five incidents
reported and described. Several of each category were for similar situations.
Eighty-three separate kinds of incidents were identified. A significant
number of the incidents revolved around the personal safety of an officer or
a citizen. Safety for individual off icers. individual citizens. or a large group
of citizens was an issue in 93% of the reported cases. The incidents were
collapsed into nine major categories. On the following page the nature of the

critical incidents is presented in Table 5.1

Table 5.1 - Nature of Reported Critical Incidents

 

Nature of Incident Number Percentage

 

Felony crimes ’ 40 48%
Injury Accidents 8 10%
Heart Attacks and Breathing 6 7%
Suicide s 3 4%
Children in danger 5 6%
Incidents exposing many 7 8%
Calls for back up 6 7%
Information requests 4 5%
Miscellaneous actions 4_ 51
83 100%

 

‘ Of the 40 felonies reported twelve (30%) involved guns.

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MSP Dispatchers' Responses to Open-Ended Questions

The majority of state police dispatcher's responses were concerned
with the role of the dispatcher and the relationship between the dispatcher
and the officer or the department. Almost all of the respondents indicated
that pre-service training and in-service training should be mandatory. Very
few recommended training subject matter. but most indicated that there was
a lack of understanding of role between dispatchers and the officers. None
of the dispatchers of this group commented on personality attributes. but

confined most of their responses to internal organizational issues.

Training Subjects Needed for Dispatchers

Dispatchers should be police oriented enough so that the patrol
officers respect their judgment. Many just said that they had a lack of
knowledge in police related subjects and had to put callers on hold to find
out the answers. Some felt that they should observe the court procedures to

be able to talk to callers intelligently on the subject.

Type and Length of Training

Pre-service training is viewed as a must by the dispatchers. Several
felt that it should be in increments of classroom. observational. on the job
with a senior dispatcher. and then back to the classroom. Most dispatchers
recommended a longer pre-service training period ranging from one month
to three months. The latter was recommended for the incremental type
training. In-service training should be mandatory and the cycles range from

once a year to once every three years.

. 142

Organizational Issues

Several felt that they answer calls that should not be their
responsibility because the questions pertain to traffic or criminal laws.
They do not know those laws. Those from central dispatch centers felt that
it was important for departments to develop guidelines. because there are
difficulties in determining "good complaints" from "bad complaints". Most
said that dispatchers should be trained before sitting at the consoles. A
common remark was that dispatchers should be debriefed after serious
incidents and dispatchers should be able to discuss problems with other
dispatchers. A small percentage felt that troopers look down on the
dispatcher and perhaps officers should work the desk to understand the
pressures of dispatching. One noted that the test was taken nine years ago
and it was a clerical test with no mention of police work. A few
recommended that dispatchers should be psychologically evaluated prior to
selection Several stated that it is erroneous to think that dispatchers are
constantly supervised. Frequently the situation is well along before a
supervisor gets into it. Those at large centers felt that dispatchers were

treated like second class citizens. were expected to know too much. and had

no training.

Other Dispatcher‘s Responses to Open-Ended Questions

The largest sample responding to the questionnaire was the sample of
other departmental dispatchers. Very few of the respondents from this
sample commented on personality attributes beyond their answers on the

questionnaire. The greater number recommended some form of pre-service

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training as desirable. In most cases they recommended on site in-service
training. Similar to the state police dispatchers. this group reported internal

organizational issues as a problem.

Training Subjects Needed for Dispatchers

Some said that they had no training in police procedures and felt that
it would be helpful because it would nice to know what officers do on the
road. Many from this sample stated a preference for LEIN training on an
annual basis. A common remark was that dispatchers should have police
knowledge before being a dispatcher and that dispatchers should not be in
the office without a supervisor nearby. Others suggested classes in how to
deal with people. Many felt that one must understand the police officer's job
before they can do a good job as a dispatcher. A few dispatchers felt that
the only way to remedy the situation was to have police officers with a

minimum of five years experience as dispatchers.

Type and Length of Training

Very few from this sample commented on the length of training. The
most common period was forty hours of pre-service and forty hours of
in-service. All of them felt that in-service training should be held at the
work location. Pre-service training was viewed as mandatory. When these
dispatchers recommended on the job training they included a provision for
being trained by a mentor-supervisor. Role playing was the most common

recommendation for the form of the training.

144

Organizational Issues .

Many noted that not all supervisors understand the dispatcher‘s job.
They also stated that dispatchers should be able to take charge when
needed. An equal number felt that supervisors should be available to
dispatchers all of the time. Many noted a lack of support from the command
staff and a lack of respect from officers. A majority stated that dispatchers
and officers must work together. therefore the two must be viewed as a
team. A common suggestion was to have dispatchers and officers
interchange jobs once per month. Several respondents report that each shift
is run differently. and uniformity of operation would be preferable. The two
most common remarks were that management was insensitive to the
dispatcher and that in order to be a good dispatcher a person must know the
officer's job.

Troopers' Responses to Open Ended-Questions

The majority of this sample's responses revolved around the role of
the dispatcher in the organization and problems faced by dispatchers.
Almost all of the troopers recommended training for the dispatchers. Very
few commented on the personal qualities needed in dispatching and most
chose to concentrate on dysfunctions they observed. The same four

categories are used to present the consensus of the troopers.

Personality Attributes
Many said that dispatchers need patience. One summed up his view
by saying that to be a dispatcher you have to be a super-person on a salary

of twenty thousand dollars a year.

145

Training Subjects Needed for Dispatchers

Many suggested that dispatchers should ride on patrol with officers
to get to know what goes on on the street. They said that they need to know
what officers do and they must know law enforcement terms. Knowledge in
criminal. civil. and traffic law was stressed. Some also recommended that
officers should know the dispatcher's job. Most indicated that knowledge of
the geographical area was important. Most felt that dispatchers needed the

ability to work under stress and must possess initiative.

Type and Length of Training

Mandatory pre-service training was recommended by the overall
majority of troopers. The length of the training ranged from three to six
weeks. Annual in-service training should be given as needed. Some
recommended a pre-service stress evaluation as part of the pre-service
training. The majority of troopers felt that the training should have practical
application and preferably include role playing.

Organizational Issues

A small percentage of troopers stated that the state police radio
system lacks a uniformity of response. Several commented that the
dispatchers do not have defined responsibilities. and addressing this
problem is long overdue. Many felt that selection problems existed. To
remedy this. officers recommended screening of applicants. Many felt that
there was a lack of respect for dispatchers by management. Several noted
that if the dispatchers are to work alone in the post without a sergeant then

they will need more training. Several commented that the department must

146

clearly define the dispatchers‘ role as it relates to the troopers and sergeants.
Lastly. a common comment was that dispatchers should be included in staff

meetings and accepted as team members.

Sergeants' Responses to Open Ended-Questions

The majority of respondent sergeants took the time to write out their
comments on the three open-ended questions on the questionnaire. Those
responses can be put into four categories. I) personality needed for effective
dispatching. 2) training subjects needed for dispatchers. 3) type and period
of training needed. and 4) organizational issues. All of the comments were

examined and many are repetitive.

Personality Attributes

This sample reports that dispatchers need patience. self ~control. and
a flexibile personality. They need to possess a good deal of common sense.
It is important that they like their work and enjoy doing it. They should also
be composed. mature. organized. and reliable. The sergeants recommend.
that in order to be a good dispatcher. a person must be assertive and
optimistic. Because dispatchers provide the only information the officer has
to make a decision. they must be able to handle stress. They must be caring

people who have a sense a humor.

Training Subjects Needed for Dispatchers
Sergeants suggested that dispatchers should have training in criminal

and civil law. patrol procedures. telephone answering skills. departmental

I47

policy and procedures. as well as training in radio and the other technical
skills for operators of radios and computers.

Stress management training was viewed as most important because
of the many hours spent talking to "weird" people. It is important that they
talk as calmly to the last caller as they did with the first caller. Dispatchers
need listening skills. They also need traffic law training. "We don't want

them to be police officers. but they need more training in law areas".

Type and Length of Training

All of the respondents indicated that training was needed for the
dispatchers. Most felt that pre-service training should be mandatory with
the majority favoring an academy environment. The period recommended
ranged from a low of one to three days to a high of six weeks. The average
recommendation was two weeks of pre-service training. The need for
regular in-service training was stressed by these respondents. It ranged
from once every six months to once every two years. The average
recommendation was once per year for a period of one week. The
respondents cited the changing nature of the work as a primary reason for
training.
Organizational Issues

Some respondents indicated that their answers would have been
different if the sergeants were assigned to the road and the dispatchers were
alone at the posts. Some felt that the disputes that do arise between officers
and dispatchers could be eliminated if officers and dispatchers each
understood the other's role. Some note that they observed a lack of
experience among dispatchers. They indicated that some were hired off the

148

lay-off and recall lists. and some of those people who worked for social
services and had no real desire to be dispatchers in the first place. A
suggestion was made that a six month training period would socialize a
person to fit into the structure of policing. Many sergeants felt that radio
operator and dispatcher duties should be spelled out to all members
involved. Some stated that contracts for the enlisted members of the state
police are bargained for by separate unions with no regard how the new
contracts will relate to each other. A common remark was that the
dispatcher‘s authority should be clearly defined. Others note that the
selection of dispatchers by civil service is not based on a criteria of ability.
A better trained dispatcher could. in the opinion of some sergeants. run the
front desk to free the sergeants for other work.

Others felt that with added training the dispatcher would have a
better idea on what to send a car on. but as it is. they are sent on any call.
Many felt that if the sergeants were taken out of the office the dispatchers
wouldnot be competent to do the job unless they had further training. Some
indicated that dispatchers are often asked to make decisions that should be
made by command officers. Lastly. some noted that dispatchers should be

given other duties to fit into the departmental goals.

Summary of Open-Ended Responses
Clearly there is discord in dispatching and it is not limited to the
Michigan State Police. The perceptions of officers and dispatchers alike
indicate that there is a need for pre-service training. in-service training. and
a need to strengthen dispatcher selection criteria. Overall. respondents

indicated that there is role conflict present. Dispatchers are not sure of

149

where they fit into the organization and neither are their counterparts.
Dispatchers. if they are to be effective. must be trained in police related
subject matter.

The job of being a dispatcher is complex and requires extraordinary
personality attributes not commonly demanded from those in the lower
echelons of organizations. There appears to be a lack of acceptance of the
dispatcher as a team member in police agencies. The authority and
responsiblities of dispatchers are not clearly defined by agencies and this

fact may contribute to the dysfunctions observed.

Examples of Critical Incidents

The critical incidents were reported in the respondents' own writing
on the critical incident forms. The content of those reports was then
reviewed and later transferred to critical incident response forms, for use in
the analysis. After reviewing the reports. the specific actions taken by the
dispatchers . the concepts used. the skills displayed. and the attitudes
observed when handling incidents were noted on the analysis forms.
Observing how dispatchers handled these incidents provided some sense
about their thinking. their training. their talents and skills. and their
attitudes. Examples of the content of some of those reported critical
incidents are provided here. using the reporting format. The wording used
by the respondents has been maintained in these examples. On the critical
incident reporting f arm, the dispatchers were asked three questions: 1) What
was the situation? 2) How did the dispatcher handle it? and 3) Why was the

dispatcher effective or ineffective.

150

In the examples that follow those questions will be numbered in the same

way.

Eli . 11' l .

1. Shooting at a family fight.

2. Sent the only patrol car and an ambulance.

3. Described the location of a rural farm house with a description of cars
parked in the yard. Described the weapon and who currently had the
weapon. and his location in the house. Gave the location of the victim

in the kitchen of the house and the degree of injury. Kept the victim

on the phone.
1. Reported stolen car that was a false report.
2. Took the information from the alleged victim without questioning the

validity of report ( baited the hook).
3. Investigating officer was able to obtain a false statement from the

alleged victim. Victim was arrested for making a false report.

1. Robbery armed of a rural party store and gas station.
2. Got the vehicle. suspect. and weapon information.
3. Dispatcher was calm in the handling of the radio traffic and kept

officers calm during high speed response to the location.

1. 5.1.08. crib death. Mother called the post. hysterical. begging for
help. She had gone to the baby's bedroom to check on infant and
found the child cold. blue. not breathing. She advised she was
holding the baby. but had no idea of what to do.

151

The dispatcher asked for her address. phone number. and her first
name. A Sgt. was working desk at the same time so the dispatcher
was able to hand him the addresss for car dispatch and also an
ambulance. The dispatcher asked about 3 appropriate questions and
determined that the child was probably dead. However. the distance
to the residence would involve approximatley 5 minutes for
emergency first responders so the dispatcher talked the mom
through CPR.

By using her first name and of ten the dispatcher calmed the mom
down enough to get necessary information-address. phone. etc.
Although the information indicated the child was probably dead.

she was able to give the mother something to do to attempt to help
her child. while waiting for the first responders. Dispatcher kept the
mom on the phone until help arrived and gave her a sense of not
going through the tragedy alone. Dispatcher waited until the first
responder talked to her on the phone to make sure someone trained
and responsible was at the scene. She was effective because she is
CPR certified and knew the skill well enough to instruct the mom

over the phone.

6 year old male juvenile was home alone as one parent was going
to work and one parent was coming home from work. He was left
alone for approximately 15 minutes. He started a fire on the stove in
the kitchen and was on the phone with this dispatcher (91 l) and was

hysterical.

152

Calmed juvenile down. got his name. address and tx number. got him
to close the doors safely without locking them and go stand by the
curb and flag down the fire department. Results were the juvenile
was safe. fire was confined to only the stove and part of the kitchen.
with minimal damage to rest of the house.

This dispatcher was just off of probation. and had only 6 months
experience. remained calm and got the necessary information. and got

subject to safety. and the f ire department to the scene in a short time.

Drunk man with a gun was holding a subject hostage in a garage.
Dispatcher kept the friend on the phone who was in the house
observing incident taking place. Dispatcher had the caller
continuously update her as to the goings on in the garage and kept
the caller talking to keep him occupied and not paniking. Dispatcher
continuously updated the cars responding to the scene. When it
appeared the situation was getting out of control and the victim
might be injured. and officers had not arrived at the scene. dispatcher
activated an ambulance and advised them to standby at a safe
distance until officers made contact and got the scene under control.
Dispatcher knew the area and the time it would take for emergency
personnel to arrive at the scene. Dispatcher kept the caller on the
line. getting as much information as possible that might assist

the officers on their arrival. Dispatcher kept the caller calm.
Dispatcher had the ambulance. that was less than a mile away.

respond when the injury was confirmed.

153

I. Report of subject high on drugs shooting rifle inside his house. Wife
was the complainant and there was another male subject in the
house. Phone number was obtained from wife and contact was made
with the suspect.

2. He established contact with suspect and obtained the reason for the
suspect's actions. He kept responding and kept officers abreast of
suspect's actions and attitude. Kept suspect on the phone until the
officers entered the house and apprehended him.

3. He kept suspect on the phone for 28 minutes while trying to calm and
reassure suspect it would be better to put the gun down and
surrender. Dispatcher kept suspect's attention while responding
officers snuck into the house and jumped the suspect. While the

suspect did get off one shot . no one was hurt.

IIE'D' l'

l. Dispatcher received a call of a prowler in the yard.

2. Dispatcher advised they would send police right over and hung up
the phone.

3. Dispatcher should have kept the complainant on the phone. getting
updated information on location of prowler. and keeping cars

informed of £1391. location of prowler at all times until car arrived.

1. Working with obnoxious person on a busy day.
2. Dispatcher walked off the job. Takes a mental health day.
3. Cannot handle the job.

154

Bank alarm and hold up. Turned out to be a good alarm.

Dispatcher did not get all the information. Dispatcher was more
nervous than the person who had been held up.

Information necessary was not obtained. Such as the vehicle
involved. the direction of travel. description of the vehicle. Officer. as
it turned out. had gone past the suspect vehicle while enroute to the

alarm.

Man despondent over loss of girlfriend. started shooting a gun out of
window of house.

Dispatcher sent enough cars. but did not try to cordon off the incident
area, and the Sgt. in charge was pinned down with gunfire in the
ditch out front. When he called for help all the dispatcher said was
"OK clear".

Dispatcher had no control of situation and had no idea of what to do
next when the officer said he was receiving gunfire. The suspect

escaped from the house and original area. but was later apprehended.

911 center received a call on a subject passed out drunk in a car in

a driveway and the car was running. It was a very busy 2nd shift
and the dispatcher was very rude and short with the callers. Several
hours later the car ran out of gas. and the subject froze to death as it
was below zero weather.

Very rude and short with the two callers. Did not dispatch a car to
the incident even later after it was slower paced in the dispatch

center. Did not take down the information and failed to pass it along

155

to the dispatcher or shift supervisor or next shift.
The dispatcher in this incident was very immature and hot

tempered. Easily shook up and not patient with the public.

Stakeout of a business after hours. The cleaning people were
suspected of stealing money.

Dispatcher was briefed. An alarm went off at the business. The
dispatcher called the business and identified self as state police and
asked if everything was ok. Dispatcher never informed the officers
about the alarm going off until after calling the business.
Dispatcher blew the investigation. Did not re member about the
stakeout or the set up. Instead of calling the business. dispatcher
should have radioed officers on the stakeout and told them about

alarm.

Burglar alarm.
Sent the patrol car to the wrong village.
Did not know two neighboring villages had drug stores with the

same names. both on streets with same name. Did not know the area.

Patrol unit had a vehicle stopped. Felony warrant in LEIN for driver.
Dispatcher did not get the location of the traffic stop. and did not read
the LEIN print out properly. Gave the patrol unit back information on
a traffic warrant instead of a felony warrant.

Dispatcher did not follow procedure and was lax in job.

Dispatcher should know where cars are and when they make stops

156

should get their location. Should also read all printouts. Don't just
skim over them. Dispatcher is the only connection to the post that
the patrol officer has. He trusts that the information you are giving

him is correct.

Officer stopped into a convenience store just after an armed robbery
and called into dispatch that the suspect was on foot somewhere in
area and armed with a hand gun.

Not well. Dispatcher acknowledged the officer’s traffic. but did
nothing further. Sent no back up units and didn't hold the air for a
dangerous situation. The more senior back-up dispatcher sat right
there and didn't do anything either.

Dispatcher did not take control and hold the air. send back-up units.
suggest a cannine unit. or try to place cars around the square mile to
contain the suspect. The utmost in a dispatcher's mind should be the
safety of the officer in the field. The more senior back-up dispatcher

was also at fault for not taking control.

Dispatcher received a call of a possible personal injury accident.

Did not get enough informaton from caller and sent patrol unit in the
wrong direction. When patrol unit advised that he could not find the
accident. the dispatcher not wanting to admit a wrong advised the
officers to disregard as it was probably a nuisance call anyway. It
was a valid accident and the driver was pinned in the vehicle for
several hours until help arrived.

Dispatcher was not trained properly and did not know the area.

157

Boyfriend-girlfriend trouble. Shots fired. Lady inside the house
shooting at boyfriend outside the house.

TX operators received calls that a lady was shooting at man from
inside the house. They never bothered to check with the dispatcher
who sent the call out, to see what the situation was. The boyfriend
had left and the lady was shooting at the officer who arrived at the
scene and she still thought that she was shooting at the boyfriend.

It was neglect on both of the operators who took the calls after the
officer was on the scene. Both of them never checked with the city
dispatchers to find out what the situation was. They just told the
people calling (who were inside the house with the lady shooting)
that the police would be there shortly. Never once did they check to
see if it was the officer or to update information. They assumed the
police were not there. As it turned out. the boyfriend had left the
scene and the police parked their car around the block and came on
foot. One officer was standing behind a tree waiting for back-up. The
lady assumed it was the boyfriend and kept shooting. The telephone
dispatcher failed to find out that it was the police there and failed to
inform the people who were calling that it was an officer behind the
tree. This put the officer in an immediate danger zone. which could

have been alleviated if proper procedures were used.

Gas station robbery armed and kidnapping. Victim at a home.
Very poorly handled. Dispatched police units and hung up the phone.
Approximately one year ago the same subject called and said he had

been robbed. when it had been a drive-away without paying for gas.

158

Taking things for granted. Thinking it was another drive-off as in the
past. Police unit arrived at gas station and no one there and the
station was open. I did call the home and talked to the attendant

and got the right inf or mation. car. suspect description. which way the
car left. The only thing I did do right was to get the phone number.
Lesson. Don't take things for granted.

LEIN hit was missed because the dispatcher failed to run a proper
LEIN query.

Did not use proper method of getting all the information available
to the operator.

Had the proper LEIN input been made the subject would have been
apprehended at the time of the stop. The subject was later

apprehended because he became involved in another felony.

Felonious assault in progress. A man chasing a woman down the
street with a knife.

The car was dispatched. but for some reason the new officer was not
sure she could take the route she was taking. so she asked the
dispatcher to check the route and see if it went all the way through.
The dispatcher replied in the affirmative.

Because the dispatcher did not check the maps properly. the officer
was delayed and had to double back a total of four miles. Another
car had to be dispatched. The original officer was called off. It is

possible the injuries to the lady could have been avoided.

159

These are just a few examples of the incidents as they were reported.
Analyzing them and determining what each dispatcher was required to
know in order to be effective under each circumstance provided a rich area
for discovery. Each report was reviewed several times. First the reports
were examined for knowledge variables. Then they were examined for
dispaly of attitudes. The same process was used to tease out skills and
abilities. knowledge of procedures. knowledge of particular laws and other

police related processes.

CHAPTER 6

ANALYSIS OF DATA

Introduction

The data will be presented in three sections. The first section is the
data and summary of the training profile of dispatchers. This profile was
limited to those respondents who were dispatchers. The results will be used
in conjunction with the decision rules to deter mine the scope and content of
the training program, which will be developed at the completion of the
study. The second section is the data from the survey instrument. The tables
and summaries are presented in the Order in which the variables appeared
in the instrument according to three categories. The first category is
composed of training variables. The second category is composed of
personality variables. The third category are composed of organizational and
role variables. Only those variables that were statistically significant appear
in the tables of this section. The analysis of this data is used to make
determinations of whether or not differences in perception exist between
dispatchers and uniformed personnel. and if so. to what degree. The data
are analyzed to either confirm or disconfirm the presence of contextual
disequilibrium. The independent variable is the job of the respondents.

The data presented in the third section are the proportions of
respondents that agree or disagree that a particular variable is descriptive of

an effective dispatcher in terms of the training required for effectiveness.

160

161

The decision rules previously discussed will be applied to this data to
determine which of the variables will be included in a recommendation for
pre-service training. Those variables in which at least 75% of the
respondents agree will be recommended for a pre-service training program.
Those variables in which at least 50%. but less than 75% agree will be
recommended for use in an in-service training program for dispatchers.

The primary interests are the training variables. but the results of
respondents' choices for personality and organizational variables will be also
be reported. Personality data will be used as a basis for development of
selection criteria. Organizational data will be used to identify problems for

the ad ministration of the state police that may have negative effect on
dispatching.

Training Profile of State Dispatchers

The training profile was completed by 269 dispatchers included in the

sample. Three possible answers were provided for the training profile:

1. Trained indicated that the dispatcher had received formal training in
the subject matter and was confident in the subject.

2. Familiar indicated that the dispatcher had not been formally trained.
but either through experience or on-the-job training was familiar with

the subject. but still was uncomfortable in emergency situations.

162

3. Not trained indicated that the dispatcher had had no training at all in
the subject.

- The recommendations for pre-service training will result from the
analyses of the survey instrument and will be determined by using the
75% decision rule. If 75% or more of respondents agreed or strongly agreed
those variables were included in the training recommendations. Where
respondents agreed or strongly agreed more than 50%. but less than 75% of
the time. those variables were included in suggestions for in-service training.

A training profile was included at the end of the survey instrument to
provide a feel for the curfrent level of dispatcher training. Though not
intended for direct use in determining training requirements. none the less it
was useful for understanding the percentages of those already trained. and
those who felt that they needed more training because of a lack of
confidence in a particular subject area.

The thirty-one training elements were collapsed into three categories.
Knowledge variables are those that are needed as a base for decision making.
The process used to collapse the responses involved combining responses of
strongly agree with agree into one category. The same was done with
choices of disagreement. The differences between strongly agree and
disagree are difficult to define and for purposes of acceptance or rejection.
This collapsed process was deemed sufficient.

Training in these matters could be lecture type presentations and could
be tested using objective type examinations. Skill and ability variables also

lend themselves to the lecture method of instruction. Such matters are best

163

tested using role playing techniques utilizing observor check lists.
Procedure variables also require instruction and can be tested by using

a combination of objective tests and role playing techniques that are

appropriate to the specific procedure. Table 6.1 is presented on the next

page.

164

Tabla 6.1 - Knowledge Variables

 

 

Not No Need Some
Variables Trained Familiar Trained Response Training
% No. % No. % No. 7. No. % No.
Law of Arrest 23.4(63) 38.3(103) 35.3(95) 3. (8) 736098)
Search St Seizure 20.1 (54) 30.1 (81) 46.1 (124) 3.7 (10) 76.2 (205)
Abnormal Psych. 13.8 (37) 28.6 (77) 54.3 (146) 3.3 (9) 82.9 (223)
Liability Issues 275 (74) 51.3 (138) 18.2 (49) 3. (8) 69.6 (187)
Crime Scenes 16.4 (44) 34.6 (93) 45.7 (123) 3.3 (9) 80.3 (216)
Civil Disorders 16. (43) 48.5 (130) 31.7 (85) 3.7 (10) 80.2 (215)
Weather Emergency 41.6 (112) 45.7 (123) 8.9 (24) 3.7 (10) 54.6 (147)
Crimdc Civil Law 253 (68) 46.8 (126) 24.2 (65) 3.7 (10) 71. (191)
Use of Force 18.6 (50) 27.5 (74) 49.8 (134) 4.1 (11) 77.3 (208)
High Speed Chases 33.1 (89) 46.5 (125) 16.7 (45) 3.7 (10) 63.2 (170)
General Invest. 17.8 (48) 44.2 (119) 34.2 (92) 3.7 (10) 78.4 (211)

 

The data in Table 6.1 indicate that respondents had training in only

two of the eleven categories at the 30% level. In nine of the eleven

165

categories the training level was less than 30% for the respondents. The
profile indicates that approximately one third of the respondents are trained

one third are familiar. and one third are not trained in these areas.

Table 6.2 - Skill 8: Ability variables

 

 

Not Ne Need Some
Variables Trained Familiar Trained Response Training
% No. % No. 7. No. % No. % No.
LEIN/Radio Use 83.6 (225) 8.9 (24) 4.5 (12) 3. (8) 13406)
CPR aFirstAid 669080) 21.6 (58) 7.8 (21) WHO) 29.4 (79)

TimeManagement 14.9(40) 34.2(92) 46.8(126) 4.1(11) 81. (218)

InterpersonalSkills 19. (51) 46.1(124) 30.9(83) 4.1(11) 77. (207)

StressManagement 24.9(67) 42.(113) 29.7(80) 3.3(9) 71.7(193)

Decision Making 35.7 (96) 46.1 (124) 14.5 (39) 3.7 (10) 60.6 (163)

 

The analysis of the critical incident reports reveals that effective
dispatchers utilize the technical skills of LEIN. radio. and computer and
frequently give advice on CPR and first aid. The data in Table 6.2 show that
over 70% of the respondents are trained in these areas. Both the literature
and the analysis of the critical incidents point to a need for effective
dispatchers to manage their time. possess good interpersonal skills. to

manage stress. and practice good decision making skills. The data in Table

166

6.2 indicate that the level of training in these categories is less than 30%.
Table 6.3 - Procedure Variables

 

 

Not No Need
Variables Trained Familiar Trained Response Training
% No. % No. % No. % No. % No.
Policy 52.8(142) 39. (105) 5.2(14) 3. (8) 44.2(119)
Obtaining Warrant 16.7 (45) 43.1(116) 37.2(100) 3. (8) 80.3 (216)
Criminal Procedure 22.7 (61) 405009) 33.8(91) 3. (8) 74.3 (200)
Court Procedure 19.3 (52) 38.7 (104) 38.7 (104) 3.3 (9) 77.4 (208)
Blockade System 37.9(102) 34.2(92) 24.9 (67) 3. (8) 59.1(159)
Barricaded Gunmen 26.4 (71) 42.8 (115) 27.1 (73) 3.7 (10) 69.9 (188)
Haz. Materials Issues 27.5 (74) 49.8(134) I9. (51) 3.7(10) 68.8(185)
Major Emer. Response 17.8(48) 41.6(112) 36.8 (99) 3.7(10) 78.4 (211)
Bank Alarm Procedure 61.3(165) 29.7 (80) 5.6 (15) 3.3 (9) 35.3(95)
Natural Disasters 25.3 (68) 48. (129) 22.7 (61) 4.1(11) 70.7(190)
Patrol Procedure 34.2 (92) 48.3 (130) 13.8 (37) 3.7 (10) 62.1 (167)
Undercover Issues 9308) 42. (113) 45. (121) 3.7(10) 87. (234)
Gen. Investigation 13.8 (37) 46.5 (12.5) 35.3 (95) 4.5 (12) 81.8 (220)

 

167

The data in Table 6.3 indicate that that respondents were above the
30% level in four of the thirteen categories. Comparing the categories below
the 30% level to the proportion of respondents that indicate a need for
knowledge of such procedures points to a deficit in the training of the

dispatchers in the sample.

Summary of Training Profile

The knowledge category. skills and abilities category. and procedure
category all indicate a much higher level of awareness. when examining the
number of respondents who are familiar with the subject matter. That
awareness may have been gained either from experience while working as a
dispatcher or from on the job training.

Using simple averages, that data indicate that 31% of the respondents
have been trained in these procedures. Forty-one percent of the
respondents indicated a familiarity with the subject matter. but they are not
comfortable with their familiarity in emergency situations. Twenty-eight
percent of the respondents indicated that they have had no training in the
subject matter. Roughly two thirds of the respondents indicate a need for
some kind of training.

The data in Tables 6.1. 6.2. and 6.3 reveal that dispatchers have not
been formally trained in police related matters. policies. and procedures that
they must use on a day to day basis to make critical decisions. As expected.
they have been trained in the technical aspects of the job such as the use of
radio. LEIN. and computers. There are omissions in several areas that form

the basis for their decision making process. The data in the tables also show

168

that though many dispatchers have assimilated useful knowledge through on
the job training or experience. they are not confident in emergencies with
those subjects in which they indicated familiarity. It is concluded from the
training profile that training is needed in all but the most common police
procedures.

This analysis of the training profile indicates that unless appropriate
job relevant training is provided by the departments that have dispatchers.
a potential exists for injuries to officers and citizens alike. Agencies who fail
to train their dispatchers may be vulnerable to vicarious liability suits under
the concepts of "negligent training" or "negligent supervision". The standard
for such suits is generally gross negligence. and the act of the employee must
be the proximate cause of an injury. Once training needs have been
identified and indicated as necessary. such suits could prevail.

The data in the following tables relate to those variables in which the
chi square tests for independence were statistically significant. The
dependent variables are grouped into three categories. Those categories are
training variables. personality variables. and organizational variables. The
independent variable is the job type of the respondents. In those tests that
were statistically significant. sworn officers were more likely to disagree.
The type of job held by the respondent accounted for the level of
significance. The variables described in these tables are labeled only as a

descriptive synthesis of the variable.

169

Table 6.4 Training Variables- Indep.Var - Respondent Type

 

 

Dependent

Variables it2 er sig Lambda v
Policies 6: Procedures 65.992 20 .0000 .104 .186
Mental Disorders 37.372 20 .0106 .015 .140
Blockade System 66.944 20 .0000 .130 .187
Crime Scene Issues 38.972 20 .0067 .059 .143
Rules of Evidence 87.836 20 .0000 .075 .215
Court Procedures 97.128 20 .0000 .075 .215
Community Leaders 49.454 20 .0003 .016 .161
Rode patrol in lastyr. 50.232 20 .0002 .032 .162
Fraud Scams 69.748 20 .0000 .105 .191
Drug Culture Slang 58.437 20 .0000 .022 .175
High Speed Chases 45.460 20 .0010 .011 .154
Limits of Use of Force 40.906 20 .0038 .013 .146
Investigative Proc. 67.905 25 .0000 .086 .169

 

170

The data in Table 6.4 reveal that of the forty-two variables in this
category. troopers and sergeants are more likely to disagree in thirteen of
the forty-two variables. The job type of the respondents accounts for the
level of significance. There are significant differences in perception of what
training factors are required for effective dispatchers between respondent
types. The null hypothesis was rejected for thirteen of the forty-two
variables. Of the thirteen variables that showed statistical significance. four
of them were favored by all respondents at a rate of over 80%. The
remaining nine variables when viewed by the 7 5% decision rule do not

appear at that level.

Table 6.5 Personality Variables Indep. Var - Respondent Type

 

 

Dependent

Variables 12 df sig Lambda V
Have good interpersonal skill 28.974 15 .0162 .027 .142
Adapt quickly to change 39.139 20 .0064 .047 .143
Anticipte problems 51.659 20 .0001 .005 .164
Have excellent retention 37.841 20 .0093 .027 .141
See decision making as critical 111.031 20 .0000 .095 .241

Can prioritize quickly 45.072 15 .0001 .131 .177

 

171

The data in Table 6.5 reveal that of the twenty-three variables in this
category that troopers and sergeants are more likely to disagree on six of the
twenty-three variables. The analysis indicates that the job type of the
respondents does account for the variance in this dependent variable. There
are significant differences in perception of what personality characteristics
effective dispatchers possess by the type of job of respondents. The null
hypothesis was rejected for six of the twenty-three personality variables.

In Table 6.11. the tables indicating proportion of overall responses.
twenty-one of the twenty-three personality variables scored over 75%. The
majority of scores are over 90% in agreement. Five of the six variables in

Table 6.5 scored over 90% in Table 6.11. Table 6.6 is presented on the next
page.

Table 6.6 Organizational Variables. Indep. Var - Respondent Type

 

 

Dependent

Variables x2 or sig Lambda v
Off. understand dispatcher 84.997 20 .0000 .038 .211
Super.understand dispatcher 57.566 25 .0002 .027 .155
Off. should work dispatch 41.271 25 .0215 .038 .131
Disp should ride patrol 58 .571 20 .0000 .114 .175
Disp integral to agency 50.457 25 .0019 .014 .145
Dispmake decisions 72.796 25 .0000 .031 .175
Off. respect dispatchers 32.904 20 .0346 .013 .131
Off. appreciate disp. work 49.037 25 .0028 .010 .143
Dsp/Off. equal in training 46.856 25 .0051 .009 .140
Disp. selection needs change 44.837 20 .0012 .037 .153
Disp. responsibility clear 56.620 20 .0000 .030 .172
Disp. authority clear 37.272 20 .0109 .012 .140
Off. treat disp. as equals 52.950 20 .0001 .004 .166
Job description accurate 102.295 25 .0000 .062 .207
Disp.do not need police training 42.267 20 .0026 .016 .149
Priorities same on each shift 55.028 20 .0000 .074 .170
Dispatching is effective when

disp. part of team 57.474 25 .0002 .237 .155
Off. treat dispatcher same

regardless of gender 60.571 25 .0001 .006 .159

 

The data in Table 6.6 reveal that of the thirty-four variables relating

to organizational issues. troopers and sergeants are more likely to disagree

on eighteen of the thirty-four variables. job type of the respondents does

account for the level of significance. There are significant differences in

173

perception of organizational role. place. and importance of dispatchers in the
agency. The null was rejected for eighteen of the thirty-four organizational

variables.

Summary of Findings

There is significant disagreement between sworn personnel and
civilian dispatchers on what training matter is important in order to be an
effective dispatcher. The job type of trooper and sergeant also accounts for
differences in perception of what personality characteristics effective
dispatchers should possess. The greatest differences were noted in the
variables describing organizational conditions and perceptions. Officers and
dispatchers hold different views on the role of the dispatcher and somewhat
different perceptions on the responsibility and authority of the dispatchers.
“The null hypothesis was rejected for 31% of the training variables. for 26% of
the personality variables. and for 53% of the organizational variables.

These findings indicate that sworn officers do not look upon
dispatchers as peers. They do not feel that the civilian dispatchers need the
in-depth training that the research indicates. This may be due to their lack
of full understanding of the demands of the dispatcher's job. Sworn officers
do not fully recognize the complex and broad personality characteristics that
effective dispatchers are required to demonstrate. Many of the younger
police officers have never worked the desk or dispatcher position and
therefore may be unaware of the complexities of the job or what
characteristics and knowledge sucessful dispatching requires.

The analysis of the organizational variables reveals that sworn

174

officers do not perceive dispatchers as critical in the operation of the police
department. Officers generally do not feel that it is useful for them to work
the dispatch position. Table 6.6 indicates that officers tend to disagree with
dispatchers on most organizational variables. This finding indicates a strong
disagreement between the two job types on dispatcher authority. training.
responsibility. and the organizational importance of the dispatching
function.

The variables were constructed from an analysis of the critical
incidents, and represent descriptions of actual dispatcher behavior while
handling critical incidents. The analysis of the data points out that the
officers that are dispatched do not have a detailed understanding of what
dispatchers do in their daily work. There are some serious differences in
opinion regarding the scope of a dispatcher's job.

Each training variable used in the survey instrument was extracted
from the critical incident reports. Only those descriptions that appeared
repeatedly were included. The behaviors in each reported incident were
evaluated. noted. and tallied. A determination was made of the knowledge
required to perform the particular behavior and what personality
characteristics. skills. or abilities were demonstrated.

The data in Table 6.4 and Table 6.5 indicate that uniform personnel
do not feel as strongly as dispatchers that it is important for a dispatcher to
be well informed on such matters as policy and procedure. dealing with
persons with mental disorders. crisis intervention. or investigative
procedures. When examining the details of the critical incidents and

reviewing the comments from the open-ended questions. it is clear that

175

dispatchers rely on such knowledge and skills to assist the officers as they
respond to citizens“ calls or make requests for support information.

The data in Table 6.6 is probably the most revealing in terms of
identifying perceptual differences between officers and dispatchers. Several
organizational issues surfaced from an examination of this data. From the
data in the tables that follow. comparisons are made between the proportion
of all respondents who agreed or disagreed on these three categories with
the data from these tables.

Conclusions can be reached regarding disparity between the police
and dispatcher context and the content and level of training recommened for
effectiveness. Recommendations for solutions to organizational problems can
also be made.

With the exception of gender. the demographic variables. when used
as the independent variable. showed very few significant differences. When
gender was used as the independent variable the statistical significance
meant that females were more likely to disagree with males Table 6.7

presents the data on gender on the following page.

Table 6.7- Training Variables - Indep. Var - Gender

 

 

Dependent

Variables x2 or sig Lambda v
Policies 8‘ Procedures 26.489 16 .0475 .010 .118
Mental disorders 28.910 16 .0245 .069 .123
Rules of Evidence 54.405 16 .0000 .086 .169
Know community resources 26.656 16 .0455 .020 .118
Court procedures 53.119 16 .0000 .126 .167
Know community leaders 46.934 16 .0001 .004 .157
Can explain CPR/F A to others 27.610 16 .0352 .007 .120
Ridden on patrol 30.552 16 .0153 .007 .126
Fraud Scams 30.701 16 .0147 .004 .127
Drug culture slang 40.370 16 .0007 .038 .145
Know drug effects 43.659 16 .0002 .007 .151
Crisis intervention 46.033 12 .0000 .013 .179

 

The data in Table 6.7 reveal that when gender is used as the
independent variable that females are likely to disagree with males on
twelve of the forty-two training variables. The gender accounts for the level
of significance. There are significant differences in perception of what
training factors are required for effective dispatchers between female and
male respondents. When accounting for gender. the null hypothesis was

rejected on twelve of the forty-two variables. Twenty-nine percent of the

177

time female respondents are likely to disagree with male respondents on the
importance of variables related to effective dispatchers. These findings
suggest that the females may be occupationally socialized differently than
their male counterparts. The findings support an earlier speculation. made
after several interviews with dispatchers. Those speculations were that
female dispatchers display a stronger sense for nurturing and compassion
when dealing with the public and the officers they dispatched. They
appeared to concern themselves more with the overall success of the
incident than the males. As Table 6.8 indicates. the females show a greater
concern for accurate decision making. Coping with stress. evaluating
alternative courses of action. and possessing self -control were common
observations during the interview process. All of these variables deal with
the quality of the dispatcher's overall output and its relation to the success
of the assigned mission.

The data in Table 6.8 indicate that of the twenty-three variables in
this category that females are more likely to disagree with males on thirteen
of the twenty-three variables. Fifty-six percent of the time. female
respondents are likely to disagree with male respondents on the personality
variables that describe effective dispatchers. The gender does account for
the level of significance. When accounting for gender. the null hypothesis

was rejected on thirteen of the twenty-three variables.

Table 6.8 - Personality Variables- Indep. Var - Gender

178

 

 

Dependent

Variables x2 df sig Lambda v
Sense of humor 34.967 20 .0203 .004 .135
Interpersonal skills 31.433 12 .0017 .009 .148
Adapts quickly 37.474 16 .0018 .018 .140
Copes well with events 44.023 16 .0002 .019 .152
Problem solving skills 27.375 16 .0375 .005 .120
Sees decision making as critical 95.097 16 .0000 .109 .223
Sensitive to others' feelings 48.977 12 .0000 .004 .185
Can prioritize quickly 57.989 12 .0000 .084 .201
Copes well with stress 30.710 16 .0140 .006 .127
Ability to acquire new skills 23.952 12 .0206 .092 .129
Evaluates courses of action 76.928 12 .0000 .009 .232
Have good self-control 60.955 16 .0000 .123 .179
Have quick recall 21.890 12 .0388 .087 .123

 

The data in Table 6.9 indicate that that of the thirty-four variables
relating to organizational issues. female respondents are more likely to
disagree with male respondents on ten of the thirty-f our variables. Gender
of the respondents does account for the level of significance. Twenty-nine
percent of the time there are significant differences in perception of
organizational issues between male and female respondents. When

accounting for gender. the null hypothesis was rejected for ten of the

179

thirty-four variables. The data presented in Tables 6.4- 6.9 indicate that

there is disequilibrium between the dispatches and the uniformed officers.

Table 6.9- Organizational Variables - Indep. Var - Gender

 

 

Dependent

Variables x2 df sig Lambda v
Off. understand dispatchers 35.954 16 .0029 .003 .137
Off. should work dispatch 34.353 20 .0238 .041 .134
Dsp. should ride patrol 51.369 16 .0000 .083 .164
Dsp. make critical difference 26.452 12 .0093 .012 .136
Dsp. speak for agency 26.561 16 .0466 .003 .118
Job description accurate 50.688 20 .0002 .006 .163
Dsp. training improves safety 102.911 16 .0000 .037 .232

Dispatching is effective when
dsp. is part of team 68.651 20 .0000 .166 .190

No role conflict between dsp/off. 102.164 20 .0000 .032 .231

Dsp. treated same regardless
of gender of dsp. 35.204 20 .0190 .006 .136

 

180

The dispatchers and officers work in the one context of police
response. That context is bounded on the one side by the call from the
public to the police. These calls start the response cycle. One the other side
it is bounded by the arrival of the officer at the scene and the stabilization of
the incident. It appears. that even though dispatchers and officers work in a
mutually dependent environment. each of them have different views on the
content of the process in regard to each other's role. responsibility. and

criteria for effectiveness.

Determination of Training Program Content

The data presented in the tables that follow will be used to determine
what specific subjects will be recommended for a state police dispatcher
training program. Personality and organizational variables are also
presented because it appears from the analysis of that data that some other
training and organizational initiatives are indicated for others in the
organization. The decision rule that will be applied to the data is that a
particular subject will be adopted for use in pre-service training when 75%
or more of the respondents indicate agreement with the variable that was
used to describe the subject. The responses on the survey instrument were
on a scale of Strongly Agree. Agree. Neutral. Disagree. and Strongly Disagree.

In the tables that follow that scale has been collapsed into Agree.
Neutral. and Disagree. The questions were phrased as: Effective dispatchers
understand. know or are familiar with... Variables in tables are descriptive

syntheses. The collapsing was done as explained on page 162.

181

 

 

Table 6.10 - Training Variables N-475. < 75%

Variables Agree Neutral Disagree No R
% N % N % N % N

Understand Criminal Law 81.4 (385) 12.3 (58) 6.3 (30) .4 (2)

Know Policy 6: Procedure 96.2 (457) 2.9 (14) .8 (4)

Know misdemeanaor/felonies 89.9 (427) 7.8 (37) 2.3 (11)

Understand Mental Disorders 80.6 (383) 14.5 (69) 4.8 (23)

Liability of emergencies 92.2 (438) 5.7 (27) 2.1 (10)

Can utilize LEIN 99.4 (472) .4 (2) .2 (1)

Blockade system 92. (436) 7.4 (35) .6 (3)

Blockade points 81.7 (388) 14.5 (69) 3.8 (18)

Bomb Threat Procedurte 93.7 (445) 5.5 (26) .8 (4)

Barricaded gunmen 91.4 (434) 7.8 (37) .8 (4)

Hazardous material spills 95.8 (455) 3.8 (18) .4 (2)

Airline Accident Procedure 88. (418) 11.2 (53) .8 (4)

Bank Alarm Procedure 98.1 (465) 1.5 (7) .4 (2)

Know Community resources 86.1 (409) 11.8 (56) 2.1 (10)

Radio for undercover off. 89.7 (426) 8.6 (41) 1.7 (8)

Obtain special equipment 79.5 (377) 15.2 (72) 5.2 (25)

Know CPR &F.A. 78.5 (373) 16.8 (80) 4.4 (22) .2 (1)

Can explain CPR &F.A. 75.8 (360) 16.6 (79) 7.5 (36)

Know Local area 94.7 (450) 4.4 (21) .8 (4)

Know local hazards 89.9 (427) 9.1 (43) 1.0 (5)

Patrol procedures 78.9 (375) 17.1 (81) 4.0 (19)

Disaster response 90.5 (430) 7.8 (37) 1.7 (8)

Chases 89.9 (427) 6.1 (29) 4. (19)

 

182

Table 6.11 - Personality Variables N-475. < 75%

 

 

Variables Agree Neutral Disagree No R
% N % N % N

Sense of humor 85.7 (407) 13.7 (65) .6 (3)
ClearSpeaking skill 99.4 (472) .6 (3)

Goodlistener 98.1 (466) 1.9 (9)

Resource specialist 84.2 (400) 13.9 (66) 1.9 (9)
Interpersonalskills 94.7 (450) 5.3 (25)

Adapts quickly 95.4 (453) 4.4 (21) .2 (l)
Coping skills 98.9 (470) .8 (4) .2 (1)
Problem solving skills 92.8 (441) 6.1 (29) 1.1 (5)
Good memory 92.4 (439) 7.2 (34) .4 (2)
Sensitive toothers 78.7 (374) 20. (95) 1.3 (6)
Assertive 80.4 (382) 16. (76) 3.5 (17)
Prioritizes quickly 96. (356) 3.6 (17) .4 (2)
Copeswith stress 98.1 (466) 1.5 (7) .4 (2)

Acquires new skills quickly 95.6 (454) 4.2 (20) .2 (1)

Gets along with peers 94.1 (447) 5.9 (28)

Evaluates courses of action 91.6 (435) 8. (38) .4 (2)
Gets along with people 92.6 (440) 7.2 (34) .2 (1)
Compassionate to caller 82.5 (392) 16.4 (78) 1.1 (5)
Self control 96.8 (460) 2.7 (13) .4 (2)
QUICk recall ability 92.8 (441) 6.9 (33) .2 (1)

Multiple sourcesof information 93.1 (442) 6.5 (31) .4 (2)

 

183

A review of the data in Table 6.11 reveals that respondents scored
75% or greater in agreement in twenty-one of the of the twenty-three
variables. Sixteen of those were over 90% agreement on the personality.
skills. and abilities needed to be an effective dispatcher. The conclusions
reached from the data analysis of Table 6.11 will be incorporated into the
personnel selection criteria for state police dispatchers. As noted in Table
6.6. the sergeants and troopers were likely to disagree on six of these
variables. The respondents showed general agreement on the personality.

skills. and abilities requirements for effective dispachers.

184

Table 6.12 Organizational Variables N-475. < 75%

 

Variables Agree Neutral Disagree No R.
% N % N % N

 

Officershouldworkdispatch 81.9 (389) 10.1 (48) 8. (38)

Goes beyond for patrols 93.3 (443) 4.4 (21) 2.3 (11)

Pro-service trainingneeded 81.9 (389) 14.1 (67) 4. (19)

In controversialrole 76. (361) 17.3 (82) 6.7 (32)

Disp.trainingimprovessafety 86.1 (409) 10.1 (48) 3.8 (18)

Dispatcher effective when

team member 91.8 (436) 6.3 (30) 1.9 (9)
Dispatchers make critical

difference in outcome 97.9 (464) 1.9 (9) .2 (2)
Disp. work ends with call 8.2 (39) 2.9 (14) 88.9 (422)
Police training not necessary 9.0 (43) 9.5 (45) 81.5 (287)

 

The data in Table 6.12 confirms what respondents said in the
open-ended questions on the questionnaire. Overall. respondents agree that
dispatchers need some form of pre-service training and most feel that

training of dispatchers would improve officer safety. Eighty-one and nine

185

tenths percent felt that officers would gain from working the dispatcher's job
from time to time. A majority of the respondents felt that training in police
matters was necessary for effective dispatching. Respondents also recoginize
that the dispatcher is in a controversial role and would be more effective if
viewed as part of the police team. Almost 98% of the respondents agree that
dispatchers make a critical difference in the outcomes of the police
responses.

In Tables 6.13. 6.14. and 6.15 that follow. the tables reflect those
variables in which respondents agree or disagree more than 50% . but less
than 75% of the time. The subject matter that these variables represent
will be used for deter mining the content of future in-service training
programs. Because they score below the 75% decision rule. they will not be

included in the development of pre-service training programs.

Table 6.13 - Training Variables N-475. < 50 % and > 75%

 

 

Variables Agree Neutral Disagree No R.

% N % N % .N % N
Understand civillaw 70.3 (334) 21.1 (100) 7.8 (37) .8 (4)
Understandlaw of arrest 62.7 (298) 25.3 (120) 12 (57)
Arrestwithoutwarrant 64.8 (307) 21.5 (120) 13.7 (65) .2 (1)
Crime scene protection 55.4 (263) 33.7 (160) ll. (52)

Knowswho needstoknow 74.1 (352) 22.5 (107) 3.4 (16)

 

186

Table 6.14 - Personality Variables N-475. < 50% and > 75%

 

 

Variables Agree Neutral Disagree No R.
% N % N % N % N

Inquisitive by nature 70.5 (335) 26.5 (126) 2.9 (14)

Decision Making 74.1 (352) 16. (76) 9.9 (47)

 

Table 6.15 Organizational Variables N-47S. < 50% and > 75%

 

Variables Agree Neutral Disagree No R.
% N % N % N % N

 

Police understand disp.work 59.6 (283) 11.2 (53) 29.2 (139)
Disp. understand police work 68.4 (325) 17.1 (81) 14.6 (69)
Police super.understand disp. 56.6 (269) 24.8 (118) 18.5 (88)
Officersappreciate disp.work 50.1 (238) 22.7 (108) 27.2 (129)
Needto knowofficer's job 66.5 (316) 19.8 (94) 13.7 (65)
Selection method needs change 51.3 (244) 44.2 (210) 4.5 (21)

Speakforagency 54.5 (259) 17.5 (83) 28. (133)
Treated likeequals 16.4 (78) 19.8 (94) 63.8 (303)
Job description accurate 17.1 (81) 26.3 (125) 56.7 (279)
PolicySameallshifts 54.1 (217) 14.5 (69) 31.4 (149)
Recommend certification 68.2 (324) 23.8 (113) 8. (38)

NoRoleConflict 20.4 (97) 17.5 (83) 62.1 (295)

 

187

The data in Table 6.13 reveal . according to the decision rule.
that in-service training is indicated in five additional areas. Table 6.14 data
indicate that many respondents agree that decision making is an important
part of the dispatcher's role. but slightly less than the required 75% required
for use in the training. Decision making will be considered as part of the
selection criteria.

Table 6.15 data show that over 50% of respondents feel that the
dispatcher's job description is not an accurate picture of the job. A higher
percentage. 63.8%. feel that the dispatcher is not accepted as a peer of the
officers. Respondents are divided on whether the dispatcher speaks for the
agency in the absence of a supervisor.

These findings tend to support the contention that a dispatcher's
authority is not clear. Sixty-eight and four tenths percent of the respondents
felt that a dispatcher is more effective if he or she understands police work
in general. and 66.5 % felt that effective dispatchers need to know the
off icer’s job. Almost 60% of the respondents indicated that police officers

and police supervisors did not understand the job of dispatcher.

Respondent Demographics

Overall, there were 15% more males than females among respondents.
When respondent officers were removed though. it appears that dispatching
is a female dominated profession. Among dispatchers. 67.6 % are females
and 30.4% are males.

Almost 80% of the respondents fall in the 26-45 year age group. The

188

most common age group was 36-45 years (41.9%) followed by 26-35 Years
(37.5 %).

Whites made up the majority of the sample with 86.7% followed by
blacks with 7.2% and hispanics with 3.4%. Other respondent races were less
than one percent.

The most common shift worked by respondents at the time of the
survey was the day shift. followed by afternoons and midnights in that
order. Less than 16% of the respondents worked split or other shifts.

All of the respondents have had some form of training ranging from
just OJT to pre-service. In-service training was experienced by 49% of the
respondents. but only 5.5% indicated that they had had pre-service training.
Table 6.16 through Table 6.20 reflect the demographic data.

Table 6.16 Respondent Gender N-475

 

 

Gender % N
Male 56.2 267
Female 41.3 196
No Resp. 2.5. 12

100. 475

 

189

Table 6.17 Respondent Age N-475

 

 

Age % N
> 25 5.9 28
26-35 37.5 178
36-45 41.9 199
46-55 10.9 52
< 56 2.9 14
No Resp. .8. ii
100 475

 

Table 6.18 Respondent Race N-475

 

 

Race % N
Black 7.2 34
Hispanic 3.4 1 6
White 86.7 4 l 2
Indian .8 4
Other .2 1
No Resp. .2 8.

100 475

 

190

Table 6.19 Respondent Work Shift N-475

 

 

Shift % N
Midnight 20.4 97
Days 39.6 188
Afternoon 23.4 I l 1
Other 15.6 74
No Resp. 1. 5.
100 475

 

Table 6.20 - Respondent Training N-27l

 

 

Training % N
Pre-service 5.5 15
OJT 2 1. 56
In-service 49. 131
Refresher l l. 30
OJT only 12. 32
No Resp. 1.5. l
100 271

 

Note: A few respondents were also police officers.

191

Summary

There are significant differences in perceptions between sworn
officers and civilian dispatchers. Those differences exist in their perceptions
of training requirements and personal characeristics that effective
dispatchers possess. There are also significant differences in perceptions
between sworn officers and dispatchers on organizational issues.

When using the respondent job type as the independent variable. the
analysis revealed that officers were more likely to disagree with the
dispatchers on the importance and content of training. personal
characteristics. and organizational issues. Officers disagreed with the
dispatchers on 31% of the training variables. on 26% of the personal
characteristic variables. and on 53% of the organizational variables.

The significant differences in perception among respondents indicates
that contextual disequilibriu m. as defined. does exist. The officers possess a
view of their work world from actual experience and have perceptions
relating to the work world of dispatchers. Likewise. dispatchers have a view
of their work world from actual experience and have perceptions relating to
the off icer's work world. The officer’s view of dispatcher's job is different
than the job as it is and the same holds true for the dispatcher's view of the
officer’s job. Though both groups work on one context. the emergency
response process. each have different views of each other's role. importance.
and job requirements. This is the contextual disequilibrium that exists.

It is contended that training. mutual exchange of ideas and problems.
and organizational initiatives that will provide for dispatcher input. will

reduce this disequilibrium to some degree. Dispatchers and officers must

192

understand one another's role if there is to be equilibrium and reciprocity.

When gender was used as the independent variable females were
likely to disagree with males on 29% of the training and organizational
variables. and 56% of the personality characteristics.

Despite the significant differences in perception among the
respondents .when using the decison rule the 475 respondents pinpointed
areas believed to be related to effective dispatching. There were 23 training
areas that indicated 75% or more agreement among respondents. There
were 21 personal characteristics that indicated 75% or more agreement
among respondents. Nine organizational issues were selected by
respondents with 75% or more agreement which indicated important issues
that need to be addressed in order to have a postive impact on dispatching
effectiveness. In addition to these findings several areas of interest were
found that will be useful for in-service training as depicted in Tables
6.13-6.15.

CHAPTER 7
Conclusions and Recommendations

Introduction

This inquiry consisted of the ad ministration of a critical incident
technique to the population of state police dispatchers. followed by the
ad ministration of a survey instrument to those same dispatchers. and
samples consisting of troopers. sergeants. and dispatchers from one hundred
and sixty-five other law enforcement agencies in Michigan.

The analysis of the data developed in both of these processes was used
to deter mine whether. as hypothesized. there was contextual disequilibrium
between the civilian dispatchers of the Michigan Department of State Police
and the sworn officers of that department. The analysis of data was also
used to determine what training factors were considered as important by all
of the respondents in terms of achieveing dispatcher effectiveness.

In order to address the requests of the State Police the respondents'
perceptions of effective personality factors were also identified for use in the
development of job relevant selection criteria for dispatchers. Because it
was thought that there was a significant degree of disequilibrium between
dispatchers and their officer counterparts. questions in the organizational
context were posed to deter mine whether there were organizational issues
or situations present that hindered dispatcher effectiveness.

Conclusions

Collectively. the analysis of data indicate that there are strong

preferences across respondent job types for certain training variables. These
193

194

preferences indicate the type of training a dispatcher requires in order to be
deemed effective by respondents. Similar preferences were noted for the
personality characteristics of effective dispatchers.

The analysis of data from the survey instrument confirmed the
presence of a moderate degree of contextual disequilibrium between the
dispatchers and the sworn officers. Using the respondent job type as an
independent variable. it was learned that officers are likely to disagree with
dispatchers regarding the importance of specific training variables and
personality variables that are reflective of effective dispatchers. The officers
disagreed with the dispatchers on the role and importance of dispatchers in
the police response process on several organizational variables. A conclusion
reached from the analysis of this data is that officers do not fully understand
the nature of the dispatcher's work. nor do they fully appreciate what
training an effective dispatcher requires. This conclusion confirms earlier
suspicions that the dispatchers do not receive reciprocity from their
counterparts. Much of their frustration can be attributed to a lack of
personal recognition and a lack of appreciation of their contribution to the
overall police response.

As long as there is disequilibrium between dispatchers and officers. in
the emergency response process; and as long as a lack of reciprocity exists.
the conditons are present for the development of serious problems in this
part of policing. Dispatchers will continue to have stress which can lead to
anxiety. That anxiety can lead to ineffective behavior in handling critical
incidents. The results of such behavior can lead to conditions that cause
injuries to officers and misapplied police services.

A dispatcher who is not properly trained may misinterpret the content

195

of a citizen's call for service. This condition could lead to obtaining
inaccurate information for the responding police officer and that situation
could result in under or over reaction by the police. Both of these responses
are inappropriate and could lead to harm to all concerned.

The conclusion is that when there are such differences .the two
elements of the emergency response team- dispatcher and officer- are cash
working and reacting from different sets of assumptions and beliefs when
performing their tasks. Communication between these two crucial police
positions is necessary for effective performance.

A second conclusion reached was that dispatchers do in fact perform
many functions that are police-like in nature. Dispatchers require police
knowledge. yet they are not adequately trained in the police related subject
matter. Dispatchers are required to use a wide latitude of discretionary
decision making while performing their tasks. Many of their decisions
revolve around issues of citizen or officer safety. This is particularly so
when handling critical incidents. In order for dispatchers to be effective.
they must be familiar with a broad range of police related subject matter.
They do not merely answer the public's calls for service. but they must
deter mine what has occurred and the intensity of the call must be
deter mined prior to assigning a priority to the call. Many skills and abilities
are required for a dispatcher to successfully interpret calls and insure that
the information that is transmitted to the responding officer is complete.

A third conclusion pointed out that the personality characteristics,
attitudes. skills. and abilities necessary for effective dispatching are far more

complex than the officers or administrators previously recognized. The

196

Michigan Department of Civil Service has classified the emergency dispatcher
as a Communications Clerk IV. That classification is closely associated with
that of a secretary. The selection criteria for such positions have been
highlighted by emphasizing the need for two years of office work and the
ability of typing 30 words per minute.

The current position description utilized by Civil Service is that of a
Communications Clerk. That document does not accurately describe the true
nature of the work or the consequences of errors while performing the
required tasks. It was concluded that police emergency dispatchers are an
integral part of the police process. particularly in the process of emergency
response. The study results indicate that dispatchers require in depth
training in several police subjects. but the training profile reveals that they
are not so trained. Effective dispatchers require a unique mix of personality
traits and ability. but the current selection criteria does not address these
prerequisites. It was also concluded that many uniformed officers do not
perceive the dispatcher as an important part of the police team.

The dispatchers themselves feel that they are viewed as second class
citizens by some officers. Such officer perceptions may result from
previously held misconceptions regarding civilian employees in the police
department. They may also result from a lack of awareness of the role of
the dispatcher.

When examining the role of the dispatcher and the relationship of that
role to the role of the responding police officer, one can naturally conclude
that the effective use of the two positions requires team work. Dispatchers
and officers are team members. Together they must receive. interpret, and

deter mine what needs of the citizen must be met. They must then apply the

197

appropriate law enforcement services to fulfill that need. Unless dispatchers
and officers view their roles as mutually dependent and supportive.
disequilibrium will continue and dysfunctions will exist. Those dysfunctions
could have negative effects on the overall performance of the agency.

The analysis of the data from this study indicates a need for the
development of job relevant selection criteria based on the job as it is being
performed. A change in the civil service position description for dISpatchers

is also indicated.

Research Questions

Several research questions were posed in Chapter 1. Those questions
dealing with differences in perception among respondent officers and
dispatchers have been answered. There are significant differences in
perception of what training and personality characteristics are required in
order to have effective dispatchers. Specifics answers to these questions are
found in the summary of the analysis of data in Chapter VI .

Twenty-three police related training areas were identified by the
respondents as necessary for achieving dispatcher effectiveness. The list of
those variables is found in Table 6.10 Briefly. the respondents indicate a
need for training in criminal law. civil law, patrol procedures. and a long list
of emergency procedures used by responding police officers.

The results of the study also indicate that effective dispatchers must be
compassionate. sensitive persons who speak clearly. have excellent hearing
and good memories. Effective dispatchers must be able to adapt quickly to
changing conditions and be able to cope with stress. They must also be able

to evaluate between different courses of action. prioritize. make decisions.

198

and be aware of and know how to use multiple sources of information. An
effective dispatcher will have good interpersonal and problem solving skills
and be able to display self -control under trying conditions.

Effective dispatchers will go beyond for the officers they dispatch and
deve10p supportive information to assist the patrols. Dispatchers and
officers view pre-service training as a necessary function of selection. Both
parties view the job of a dispatcher as controversial. The rotation of officers
and dispatchers between jobs could have a positive impact on this problem
and clear up some of the controversy.

The position description currently used by the state police is not an
accurate assessment of the dispatcher's job. Almost 60% of the respondents
felt that the position descriptions in use for dispatchers were inaccurate.

There are policy implications concerning the inaccuracy of position
descriptions. inadequacy of selection criteria, and lack of job relevant
training.

An accurate position description can inform those in the job of what
they are to be held accountable for. and it can provide a bench mark for
supervision. from which to evaluate trainees or probationary employees.
The current position description does not reflect the complexity of the
dispatcher's job or the training required for acceptable performance.

Revised selection criteria can assist the agency and the civil service staff
in choosing persons with the appropriate experience . background.
personal qualifications. and skills to do the job. The use of the current
criteria requires the state police to interview hundreds of applicants in

order to fill a few positions.

199

The majority of the applicants are secretaries and few have any idea of
the nature and scope of a dispatcher's job. The title of Communications Clerk
is a misnomer for the job of dispatcher.

Civil service should consider and decide upon a new position description
and an enhanced selection criteria. If the descriptions and recommendations
of this study are accepted as an accurate protrayal of the job of dispatcher,
there no doubt will be classification changes.

The union that presently represents dispatchers could lose dispatcher
membership if the position is changed from communications clerk to another
classification which is not included in the bargaining unit.

The training recommendations have been submitted to the state police
for development into a dispatcher pre-service training program. Those
organizations who fail to train their subordinates may be vulnerable to
liability suits. This is particularly so if it can be shown that a lack of training
was the proximate cause of a resulting injury. It is conceivable that officers
could bring suit against their own agency if they received an injury that
could be attributed to a lack of training of a dispatcher and that lack of
training was shown to be the proximate cause of an injury.

Reflecting upon the theoretical framework of this study. the goal of
dispatcher effectiveness has provided derivitive rights and duties to others.
The dispatchers have a right to be trained. They also derive a responsibility
to act according to that training. The departmental supervisors have a duty
to provide the training and a duty to insure that their dispatchers perform
according to the training standards.

One major implication from this study. and one that state police

200

management supports. is the recognition of the dispatcher as a civilian police
professional. These persons are entitled to the training that the job requires
and have a right to that training.

Organizational changes are also indicated. There appears to be a need
for a stronger emphasis on recognition of dispatchers as civilian police
professionals. and as integral parts of the police service. Historically. the
police have accepted civilian laboratory personnel as equals. For some
reason they have not accepted. as peers, those that dispatch their cars. Lab
personnel have traditionally been perceived as "doing police work". The
results of this study indicate that dispatchers are also "doing police work".
They interview citizens. press for facts and details. and use investigatory
skills to determine what is happening. These processes require police
knowledge. The recognition of the dispatcher as an important first link in
the police emergency response process will go a long way in reducing many
of dysfunctional attitudes observed. If dispatchers are given the
opportunity to ride on patrol periodically they will be able to obtain an
off icer's perspective. If officers are periodically assigned to work with

disapatchers. they would be able to obtain the dispatcher's perspective.

Recommendations

The recommendations that follow are based on the extensive
interviews with dispatchers. the analysis of the critical incidents. and the
analysis of the data from the survey instrument.
1. It is recommended that the state police adopt the selection criteria that
was prepared for them as a starting point for selection of new dispatchers.

Such criteria should be used in conjunction with an interview process. which

201

should include at least one senior. experienced dispatcher.

2. It is recommended that the Michigan Department of Civil Service
restructure the position description used to classify police emergency
dispatchers by utilizing the revised position description that was prepared.
In adopting the prepared position description. the dispatchers will have a
realistic understanding of the job they are entering and supervisors will
have a benchmark from which to judge dispatcher performance. That
document can assist supervisors in maintaining accountability.

3. It is recommended that the state police institute a pre—service training
program for all newly hired dispatchers. The factors presented in Tables
6.10. 6.11. and 6.12 should be included in the training curricula.

4. It is recommended that state police management take steps to recognize
the importance of emergency dispatchers in their overall operation. The
steps should include the assimilation of dispatchers into the social structure
of the department. The recognition of dispatchers as civilian police
professionals. supported by appropriate job relevant training. should have a
positive impact on the overall performance of the department. Mutual
understanding and respect for each other‘s role. between dispatchers and the
off icers. should reduce the disequilibrium that is present in the police

emergency response system.

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APPENDICES

APPENDIX A

Selection Criteria for State Police Dispatchers

SELECTION CRITERIA FOR STATE POLICE EMERGENCY DISPATCHER

SI 5'1) ..

The subject matter of this report is important to the dispatchers. the
police. and the citizens that call upon the police for diverse services.
Disregarding the constraints of civil service f or mats. this report is presented
in the following manner. First. a general background is presented so that the
reader will understand the context in which dispatchers work. Second. the
rationale for the recommendations is presented. Third. a description of the
knowledge or training factors is presented followed by personality factors
that effective dispatchers require. The latter includes skills. abilities. and

attitudes demonstrated by successful and effective dispatchers.

E | B | | | C [D' I .
Employees in this class perform a full range of emergency dispatch
duties. An emergency dispatcher is probably one of the more misunderstood

duties in policing. In order to appreciate the role of the dispatcher and
relate selection criteria to that role. it is necessary to understand where the
dispatcher fits in the police system.

The police emergency response is the context in which to view
dispatching. This context begins with the reception of a demand for service
from the citizen who calls the police. The call may be a request for simple or

complex information. a report of a suspicious circumstance. the report of a

2)]

crime or disorder. or a request for some service. The intensity of the caller's
report may range from low priority as in the case of information requests. to
high priority as in cases of life threatening situations.

The second step of the response context is the investigation phase. A
dispatcher must determine exactly what is transpiring. This is often difficult
because many excited citizens just wish to call. report. and hang up. A
dispatcher in this phase must be able to actively listen and extract several
propositions. and then be able to determine which of the several
propositions are critical to the police. This is a phase involving investigatory
skills and deductive skills. After analyzing the call. the dispatcher then must
make decisions.

A third phase of the police response involves the dispatcher making a
decision regarding what has occurred. whether it is a crime. and if so. what
kind of police response is warranted. A dispatcher may also be required to
make a decision not to assign a police response to the call. In some cases
referrals are made to other governmental agencies. Dispatchers exercise
discretionary decision making authority in this phase of the police response.
The consequences of error may be extreme if a dispatcher does not assign a
car when one is needed.

The fourth phase of the police response is the assignment or dispatching
of a police unit to the call. This is followed by the fifth phase which is
backup work for the police officer. Depending on the nature of the call. a
dispatcher may be required to immediately obtain other information for the
responding officer. Examples of such follow up include obtaining record

checks on possible suspects. obtaining back up units when appropriate.

making decisions to call supervisors into the matter. and making decisions to

activate a broad list of support services.

0
I. .
on. . o

:1 01:3 0 1011‘s: ..10‘. ".t' :1!

Culminating two years of study of dispatchers supported by univariate
and bivariate analyses. several knowledge. personality. attitudinal. and skill
factors were identified and defined. The following sections. outlining the
knowledge. skill. ability. and personality factors required for effective
dispatchers. were empirically gathered using a three-tiered rigorous
methodology. Both statistical tests and other tests using decision rules were
employed to reach the conclusions that follow.

The starting point for the identification of these factors was the
detailed critical incident as reported by the state police dispatchers. The
knowledge and required behaviors outlined below come from the actual
experiences of dispatchers who work in the dispatch function on a day to
day basis. After a deductive analysis of the incidents. a suvey instrument
was constructed and state police dispatchers were re-tested. In addition. to
assure the data were realistic. a sample of 227 troopers. 86 sergeants. and
312 other agency dispatchers were surveyed. Contrary views of others were
accounted for. The factors that remained are a realistic assembly of the
factors needed to effectively dispatch. Further supporting this effort there
were 180 dispatchers interviewed over the course of the last two years in
order to obtain a conceptual viewpoint. This report is a very brief
explanation. For a detailed review of the empirical work which supports

these contentions. one must review the dissertation from which these

2 I 3
recommendations come. The publication and printing of that document will
not be available until June 1989.

I: | I B . I I D' I
Using a scale of strongly agree. agree. neutral. disagree and strongly
disagree 475 respondents identifed the following areas as necessary for
effective dispatching. The decision rule was that only those categories in
which 75% or more of the combined respondents agreed would be included.
A dispatcher must understand criminal law in order to be able to know
if a crime was committed. One must know and understand departmental
policies and procedures. One must know when reported conditions amount
to misdemeanors or felonies. One must understand persons with mental
disorders because some callers may be mentally disturbed. Frequently
officers must respond to those who are mentally handicapped. One must be
aware of issues revolving around vicarious liability as it relates to police
response. As active participants and representatives of the department.
dispatchers' actions are subject to review and may bring the department into
liability. Dispatchers must be able to understand and use LEIN. radio. and
computers relating to communications. They must know many community
resources and know how to obtain them to support the patrol force.
Dispatchers are required to understand the details of several
procedures such as the blockade system. the blockade points and how to get
to them . bomb threat procedures. barricaded gunmen procedures. hazardous
materials procedures. airline or major utility accident procedures. bank
alarm procedures. and patrol procedures. In the absence of such procedural

knowledge. dispatchers may not be able to make proper decisions on the

214

dispatch of cars or be able to make accurate determinations regarding the
nature of reported incidents. Dispatchers must not only be familiar with
CPR and first aid. but also be able to explain these processes over the phone
to callers who are emotional. Dispatchers must also know and understand
issues involving high speed pursuits by officers. and the appropriate actions
to take in response to disasters.

,_ —..,..° 1““, :-._‘_-..-.-.1'.._ ._

A person in this class must possess a sense of humor and have the
ability to cope with stressful situations. Individually. a dispatcher must be
able to speak clearly and have excellent listening skills. A person in this job
must be able to solve problems and apply solutions in a short period of time.
The dispatcher is required to adapt quickly to changing conditions and must
be able to prioritize complex matters quickly and accurately. A person in
this position will be required to display a good memory and posess quick
recall. while being aware of multiple sources of information. Effective
dispatchers are compassionate to callers. sensitive to the feelings of others.
and practice good interpersonal skills. Effective dispatchers are assertive
and practice self -control. Persons in this position must be able to marshal
their own resources and take control of emotional and complex situations
with callers. in order to obtain the required information for a proper police
response.
S'E'II'ISI'IIB 'I

An employee in this class will be able to read maps. have extensive

knowledge of the Law Enforcement Information Network (LEIN). National

215

Crime Information Network (NCIC). and the Corrections Management System
(CMIS). They must be able to access these systems and interpret outputs
from them. A minimum of 30 wpm typing skill is required of persons in this
position. A person in this position will be using personal computers. alarm
panels. National Air Warning Alert System (NAWAS). and other police

oriented equipment.

E l I D' | l . W I

An emergency dispatcher will be able to take control of incoming calls
to a police facility or a cental dispatch center from emotional or irrational
callers. They will be able to isolate several propositions and be able to
deter mine what. in the reported matter is of critical importance in
formulating a police response. Once obtained. such information must be put
into clear concepts and transmitted to patrols so that the response is
appropriate for the problem.

More often than not a victimized caller is not clear and concise. and
emergency dispatchers must be able to tactftu extract relevant case
information by remaining calm. without losing dialogue with the caller.

In the pressure of this context. the dispatcher must assign patrols.
coordinate multiple responses when required. anticipate and procure needed
resources or support staff for the responding patrols.

After the initial action is taken. the effective dispatcher will make other
inquiries in support of a successful police response.

Emergency dispatchers. possessing the knowledge outlined. must be

able to recognize hazards in reported conditions and act with purpose

216

and accuracy in making critical decisions. The citizen's and officer's safety
often depend on the thinking ability of the emergency dispatcher.

An emergency dispatcher may be receiving. interpreting . or searching
for information prior to involvment in a broad range of emergency
responses. Examples of emergency responses may include hazardous
materials spills. major accidents. blockades. train derailments. natural
disasters. bank robberies. kidnappings. suicide attempts or high speed

pursuits.

El . IE .

Education: High School or greater and capable of successfully

completing an extensive training program.

Experience: Sufficiently broad experience working with people
in the general public to provide the applicant with

maturity to handle the stresses of emergencies.

Ability to grasp the concepts and acquire the knowledge
outlined in this report.

217

Major Lawrence Miller March 8.1989
Commanding Officer. Uniform Division

Department of State Police

714 S. Harrison Rd.

East Lansing. MI 48823

Dear Major Miller:

In partial fulfillment of my agreement with the Department of State
Police I am submitting the State Police Dispatcher Selection Criteria and the
substance for an updated Position Description for that position for your
review and use.

As you are aware. the substance of these submissions has been taken
directly from the data of the state police dispatcher study that I am in the
process of completing. The data analysis portion of the study is completed.
therefore I am able to complete this facet of the sub missions.

Once the dissertation has been completed. defended. and printed I will
be submitting a copy to the Director as agreed.

Within the next week or two I intend to submit the recommended
training program material for use in the development of Dispatcher
Pre-service and In-service training programs.

If you have any questions regarding these sub missions I am available
at my office at 517/ 353-5482 .

Sincerely.

Dennis M. Payne

504 Baker Hall

School of Criminal Justice
Michigan State University
E.Lansing. MI 48824-1118

218

Major Lawrence Miller March 7,1989
Uniform Services Division

Michigan Department of State Police

714 S. Harrison Rd.

East Lansing. MI 48823

Re: Dispatcher Position Description 8: Selection Criteria

Dear Major Miller:

The nature of dispatcher work. as revealed from the analysis of the
critical incidents. and strengthened by the analysis of the survey research.
leads me to conclude that the current position description and selection
criteria for dispatchers are inaccurate.

The dispatcher's job was studied in depth for the past two years. These
conclusions. coupled with the review of related literature. support a major
change in this regard.

I am convinced that the position of dispatcher is a crucial link between
the distressed citizen's call for service and the application of police service to
that call. The first person a citizen speaks to. when calling for help and
making a demand for service. is the dispatcher or call receiver. The
dispatcher must be able to marshal and apply a broad range of knowledge.
ability. and skill. and do so adroitly in order for the citizen to receive a
proper police response.

The consequence of error in this process can be alarming. If dispatchers
do not have the appropriate personality characteristics. knowledge. or skills

they may incorrectly interpret calls which could lead to no car being sent

219

when one is necessary or one being sent when not required. Either way. the
dispatcher has an impact on the use of police resources.

I feel bound to be straightforward and candid in my appraisal of this
matter. It may be significant to note that from the inception of police
communications in 1858 until recent years. the dispatch function was
performed by trained and experienced police officers. Whether the use of
civilian dispatchers resulted from financial need or just natural evolvement
of policing is not material. The fact remains that civilian dispatchers are in
common use nationwide. As you are keenly aware. the demand for police
services is also accelerating.

I propose. given that civilian dispatching is here to stay. that it is
critical that definitive selection criteria be established. accurate position
descriptions be developed. and job relevant training be implemented as soon
as possible.

Training alone will not suffice. It is important that both the selection
criteria and job description reflect the job as it is being performed and as it
is required.

Organizationally. I am not confident that officers have fully accepted the
dispatchers as peers and team members. Further. there are some
organizational changes that can be initiated which could relieve some of the
dysfunctions noted in the study. Removal of unnecessary job stresses and
acceptance and recognition of disaptchers as police professionals can only
increase dispatcher effectiveness. Both the literature and the results of the
research indicate that dispatchers do in fact have an impact on the overall

effectiveness of the police.

220

To this end. I am recommending the acceptance of the content of the
selection criteria and the revised material for a new position description that
is enclosed. You will note that I have not used the particular format that
civil service has provided. That form and its accompanying list of job
descriptors is designed for communications clerks. To provide decision
makers with content. I have chosen to use the position description categories
and added descriptive narrative for the construction of a job relevant

position description.

Sincerely.

Dennis M. Payne

School of Criminal Justice
Michigan State University
East Lansing. MI 48824-1118

APPENDIX B

Revised Position Description

221

B'IE'I'D .I.
W

The following information is presented by item number for the
construction of a State of Michigan. Department of Civil Service. Position
Description- CS. form “2 14.

11911191111199:

4.

5.

ll.
13.
14.
15.
16.

Michigan State Police

Field Services Bureau

Operations

Field Radio Dispatch Section

Radio Operator/ Dispatcher

Sergeant or senior dispatcher

Post Commander .

Rotating Shifts for 24 hour police operation.

Functions as a receiver of citizen calls for police service who must
deter mine the nature of the problem. obtain clarifying detailed
information from emotional citizens. so that a proper police response
can be formulated. Must make accurate decisions regarding the
nature of the call and an appropriate police response.

The purpose of the job is to assure that the correct police response is
provided to the citizen caller. In addition to this primary role of

call reception. interpretation. and transmittal. a person functioning in
this position will be required to provide both emergency and non-
emergency police. fire. and medical related assistance to citizens as
well as other public safety agencies. This position requires that a
dispatcher act as a resource to patrols by anticipating and obtaining
diverse other services. staff . and support equipment as the need

of the situation dictates. This work requires the use of LEIN.

17a.

222

computers. radio. and other technical police equipment including those
innovations for the hearing impaired. Assist in training new workers.

M

Receive telephone call from caller and determine. from the
information that can be obtained. the nature of the call. Make
decisions regarding the applicability of the call for police service. and
if determined to be a police matter. to make a decision in terms of the
response. To interpret concepts of complex calls and convert them to
useful information for the responding patrols. Call may be a request
for criminal justice related information or a call for service. Service
may be civil or criminal in nature. and may involve matters of crime
such as robberies. kidnappings. murders. assaults and several other
crimes or personal matters such as suicides or life threatening
situations like heart attacks. lost children. or mentally handicapped
persons reporting problems.

M

Assignment as either primary or assistant dispatcher. Transmit those
properly constructed messages that inform the patrols of the situation.
location. and when known. the parties involved. Be alert for requests
for further assistance to the patrol and where possible take actions
that will provide the patrols with the required support services or
equipment that the call requires. As dictated by conditions take the
initiative to run record checks and other investigatory actions in
support of the cases officers are working on. Make decisions based

on knowledge of proper priority of calls and services. After
determining the nature of call. to format the information for patrols so
that they will have accurate pictures of the conditions they are

facing. '

9111mm

Operate the LEIN/ NCIC and other system terminals to enter. retrieve.
broadcast and manipulate criminal justice data. As messages are
received from out of state agencies. file check the data in various
categories. Enter new data accurately on stolen vehicles. wanted
persons. and make decisions on whether wanted information should
be broadcasted locally. regionally. or statewide.

223

121.111.41.51.

17.b.

18.

19.

Maintain police records. resource data. and regularly update records
for accuracy and completness. Update wanted records to assure that
information is current to avoid illegal arrests by officers. On a regular
basis validate warrant information by contacting officers on the case
to be sure that the person in the file is still wanted in order to protect
the agency from liability.

Duties 1. 2. 3. and 4. All four duties carry responsibility and have
a high consequence of error.

a. The source of the task is dictated by the calls from the citizens and
the nature of the calls. A citizen's requests for service may be of an
emergency or non-emergency nature. Supervisors may also make
assignments as needed.

b. Source of job assignment is the supervisor which may be a sergeant.
or post commander.

a. Procedures and practices for a wide range of emergency

responses varying from procedures for bank alarms to those for
handling barricaded gunmen. In many cases there are no past
practices. Talking to suicidal callers has no set procedure and must
be handled on a case by case basis. Determining where a young caller
lives who does not know her own address in order to provide a
needed police service is not in a manual. but requires innovative
skills.

b. Policies for predetermined conditions and set plans for action.
c. Requestors' desires. Many of those that call for service do not
state their need in rational terms and details must be determined

by initiative.

d. Personal judgment based on prior experience. training. and
native intelligence.

224

e. Knowledge of supervisor’s viewpoint if conditions permit.

20.

21.

23.

25.

26.

f. Reference manuals and reference lists such as:
1. Departmental Official Orders. 2. LEIN.NCIC. and INLET Manuals.
3. Post and Departmental Policy books. 4. Michigan Vehicle Code.

a. Must use judgment and experience in determining true nature of
call and accurate call content. Must deter mine what is happening
and what crime or disorder is involved. When determined. must

set the priority to be given to each call. Often must make a
judgment of the validity of call content and mental stability of caller.

b. May ask for detail on whether a particular call content amounts
to a felony or misdemeanor or whether it is civil or criminal matter.

Act as telephone answering point for emergency and non-emergency
requests for assistance from the public. The general public in need
of police services may be from any social. economic. or other classes.
In regular contact with officials of other criminal justice agencies.
medical. and fire emergency personnel.

The position requries rotating shift work. working weekends. and
holidays. The nature of the work is stress producing due to a high
volume of work. uncertainties. discretionary decision making in
matters of personal safety for citizens and officers. and the diversity
of calls. The decisions made in this position must be rendered quickly
and accurately in order to achieve effectiveness.

Dispatchers provide emergency and non-emergency police. fire.

and medical related assistance to citizens and public safety
agencies. The context of the work is such that it traverses a wide
range of human problems. often requiring immediate assistance and
frequently presented in complex and discordant ways.

This position is a crucial link in the police response process. acting
as the first contact for citizens in need of police services or reporting
unlawful or problematic conditions.

27.

28.

29.

30.

31.

32.

33.

225

None

A detailed study was performed by an independent researcher. with
the support of the Michigan State Police. to determine what
personality characteristics. skills. abilities. and knowledge were
required to perform the dispatch function effectively.

Departmental concern.

a. High School education

b. Minimum of two years experience working with the public.
c. None

d. None

Must be able to understand criminal law in order to determine if a
crime was committed or if a matter was civil. Must know and
understand the thinking behind departmental policy and procedures.
Must be able to understand persons with mental handicaps. Must be
able to tactf u11y control the caller‘s pace so that salient information
can be assembled in order to determine the police response. Must
know a myriad of emergency procedures. Must be sensitive.
compassionate. and have a clear speaking voice with excellent
listening skills and hearing. Must be able to prioritize complex
matters quickly and apply knowledge to situations in order to reach
sound decisions rapidly. Must be able to work in a stressful
environment and be able to cope with rapidly changing conditions
which are often emotionally charged.

Newly hired dispatchers will be required to participate and graduate
from a new Pre-service training program and participate in scheduled
in-service training programs designed to test skills and abilities.

Upon assignment employees are assigned to experienced personnel

for relevant on-the-job training.

Six months to one year. Following successful completion of a 6 month
probationary period. employees receive permanent status.

APPENDIX C

Training Program

Training Recommendations
for
Michigan State Police Dispatchers

Content from a Study
of

Contextual Disequilibrium:
A Study of Dispatchers' Perceptions of
Job Related Training Factors

by

Dennis M. Payne
1989

226

Int:o_d99119n

The recomendations that are made in this report were taken from the
analysis of data from the study performed for the Michigan State Police. The
recommendations that are made are for the subjects deemed necessary for
effective dispatching. Preliminary work for the study was done in the
summer of 1987. During that period 180 dispatchers were interviewed
throughout the course of three separate training programs sponsored by the
state police.

Beginning in June of 1988 further work was begun. Since that time the
entire population of state police dispatchers completed a self -reported
critical incident technique. That process provided data that explained what
dispatchers were doing in their jobs and how they were doing it. when
handling critical incidents. The criticality of the incidents was determined
by the dispatchers. Thus. the basis of the study dervives from the actual
experiences of those working in the position of dispatcher.

Hundreds of reports were received and analyzed. By examining the
narratives of the critical incidents the author was able to extract the type of
knowledge. the personality characteristics. the attitudes. skills. and abilities
that the dispatchers reflected when performing their tasks. The context of
the critical incidents was effective dispatching.

Those elements extracted from the critical incident reports were
restructured into a survey questionnaire. The originial state police
dispatchers were re-tested by completing the questionniare. In addition. a
sample of troopers and sergeants. who worked in the same areas as the

dispatchers. were also administered the survey questionnaire. To get a

227

broader picture and because it was felt that other dispatchers in other
agencies were similar. over three hundred other dispatchers were also
surveyed. The result was that the preferences for training subject matter
reflect not only state police dispatcher perceptions. but the perceptions of
the officers who work with them and the perceptions of several hundred

other dispatchers.

11.. RI

The respondents were asked to indicate agreement or disagreement on
a Lickert type scale. The answer choices were Strongly Agree, Agree.
Neutral. Disagree. and Strongly Disagree. For purposes of clarity. agreement
and disagreement were collapsed into one answer each. It was decided that
if W01 the respondents agreed that a particular variable was
reflective of required training for effective dispatching. then that subject
would be included in recommendations for a Pre-Service Training Program.

If WM agreed on the importance of a
particular training variable, that subject would be recommended for use in
an In-Service Training Program. The tables from the study are enclosed
with this report for reference.

Not all of the variables were specific training variables. Many were
classified as personality characteristics. abilities. and skills. The same
decision rule was applied to those variables and the tables for personality
variables are also included with this report for reference. The tables
developed in the study and the survey instrument used are located in the
appendix of this report. Details for development of training scenarios can be

developed from the content of the critical incident reports. The author

228

will be available to assist the training professionals in this regard. but those
reports were confidential therefore they are not submitted. Identification of
the individual dispatchers cannot be made and connections can not be made
to work locations. However. because those critical incidents were completed
in the dispatchers' own handwriting. the author stands ready to assist by
outling cases as needed. and will assist in preparation of case scenarios if
desired. but the actual reports will be kept confidential. These controls are

deemed necessary in order to preserve the integrity of the process.

I"E

The actual format and delivery method of training must be left to those
in the state police who will prepare the actual training program. Due to
insights obtained by completing this study. certain recommendations are
made regarding the method of training.

5 .I. I: I I

Certain subject matter lends itself to the lecture method of training.
Dispatchers can be tested in these areas by using objective tests such as true
and f alse. multiple choice. and matching answers. Where appropriate.
recomendations are made for this type of training. The ultimate choice of
course is left with the department.

WW

Several areas of preference include detailed procedures. Dispatchers
can be tested in these areas by using either the objective test or role playing
exercises. The latter should include detailed check offs to insure that each

important element of the particular procedure is demonstrated. Testing this

229

type of subject matter could include the use of prepared scenarios with
desired actions on a check off list. The dispatcher in the role playing
environment can read the scenario and take the appropriate action. Instant
feedback can be provided to the dispatcher using this method to enhance
understanding. For purposes of reality it is suggested that a mock up radio
room or telephone answering point utilizing telephones be used. Setting up
conditions as close to the actual practice will provide the trainee with real
world stresses and conditions. Scenarios may be prerecorded or other actors

may be used as the citizen caller.

Sl'll IEI'I'I'
Where a particular skill is required the dispatcher can be tested in
demonstration method. Use of LEIN. radio. telephone are examples of skills.

These examples provide the trainer with the opportunity to observe

speaking skills and listening skills.

I"D'

The purpose of this report is not to provide the actual training design.
but rather the relevant training content. however some suggestions are

included for review by the professional trainer.

111'” [El' |I"B'

It is recommended that a comparison be made of the skills and

knowledge required for competent job performance with the personnel

230

available to fill the jobs. In this regard the selection criteria and revised
position description may be useful to the trainer. The difference between
job performance requirements and the overall abilities of the population that
are to do the job defines the training requirements. In the context of this
study this could be the difference between effective and ineffective
dispatchers. A review of the training profile in the appendix may be helpful.
31 . . I I

Each dispatcher to be trained should be provided statements of
behavior the student is expected to demonstrate as a result of the training.
This should include the conditions under which performance is expected.
such as the work site. It should also include standards of acceptable
performance. The objectives should be supportive of the performance
requirements. Once the training objectives are solidified. a test to measure
the student's ability to perform the desired behavior should be developed.
As indicated. those tests may be objective. role training. or situational in
nature.

El . I E I . C . I .

Once the instruction strategy has been selected the sequence of
instruction should be determined. Next the trainers will no doubt deter mine
what facilities and equipment are needed. After class size and make up is
determined. a determination should be made of what training is needed by
the instructors. Evaluation procedures are always necessary. The nature of
dispatcher training lends itself to external field evalaution by supervisors.
who are in a position to observe activities and behaviors for adherence to

standards.

231

I"C E II
E-S 'I"

The first section of this category are those areas where more than 756
of the respondents indicated a need for training. The information is taken
from the training profile of dispatchers. The second section includes those
areas that all the respondents favored for training at the 75% level or higher.
There may be some overlap in these training categories. A third section will
provide those areas that were favored more than 50%. but less than 75% and
it is recommended that these subject areas be considered for future
in-service training. The recommendations for the time alotted to the
training areas are only a suggestions. which are based on comparisons with
trooper training and other training programs. Methods of delivery. expertise
of individual trainers. and cost considerations will likely require adjustments

in the time alotted for training in any one particular area.

11 . IE I . . E ['1 1! I . 1
E II . l -5 . I . .

W

W W

Search 81 Seizure 1 hr.

Abnormal Psychology 2 hrs.

Crime Scene Issues 2 hrs.

232

Civil Disorder Issues
Use of Force by Police Officers

General Investigation Issues

51'" I 11 TI

Time Management

Interpersonal Relations

Russians

How Warrants Obtained
General Court Procedures
Major Emergency Responses
(fire. airplanes. tornados)
Undercover Officer Issues
Investigation Procedures

(who.what.when.where.etc.)

The previous topics were taken from the training profile and are submitted
for an overview to be used in conjunction with the following materials.
Subject matter from the training profile provides the basis for in-service

training. The following recommendation is the actual training content that is

2 hrs.
1 hr.
2 hrs.

2 hrs.
2 hrs.

1 hr.

2 hrs.

4 hrs.

1hr.

2 hrs.

recommended for minimal standards of effectiveness.

233

B |°[!lE-5'I"

1.. II'II

Criminal Law
Dept.Policy/Procedure
Misd./Felonies Differences
Common Mental Disrorders
Liability of Emergencies
LEIN Training

Blockade System

I" 11'”

Blockade Points (what is done)
Bomb Threat Procedures
Barricaded Gunmen Procedures
Hazardous Material Incidents
Airline.Train Accident Procedures
Bank Alarm Procedures

Radio Procedures for U.Cover Off.
Special Equipment

(what it is. how to obtain it)
CPR.& First Aid

Patrol Procedures

Disaster Response Procedures

Issues in High Speed Chases

LAKE!!! W
81.4 3 hrs.

96.2 5 hrs.

89.9 2 hrs.

80.6 2 hrs.

92.2 2 hrs.

99.4 To be determined
92. 1 hr.
um 111111113111.
81.7 1 hr.

93.7 2 hrs.

91.4 4 hrs.

95.8 4 hrs.

88. 2 hrs.

98.1 2 hrs.

89.7 1 hr.

79.5 1 hr.

78.5 established
78.9 3 hrs.

90.5 4 hrs.

89.9 2 hrs.

234

We: named HLs._9LIns_tr_.
Speaking Skills 99.4 2 hrs.
Active Listening 99.4 3 hrs.
Interpersonal Relations 94.7 2 hrs.
Stress Coping Techniques 98.9 2 hrs.
Decision Making( problem solving) 92.8 4 hrs.

The recommendations include 54 hours of instruction for pre-service
training. These hours do not include LEIN or radio training and only assume
four hours for first aid and cpr. A two week 80 hr. block of instruction
appears to be the minimum required for effective pre-service training of
dispatchers.

Administrative matters. testing. and other time consuming necessities
of training will no doubt require greater than the 80 hours recommended.
Time for graduation ceremonies. group photographs, general orientation. and
personnel matters will of course impact on the overall time required to
implement a training program. A minimum of 8 hours should be added for
this purpose. If role playing and use of scenarios is chosen as a training
method the hours recommended must be adjusted to include the extra time
required.

In the study there is ample support for pre-service and in-service
training for dispatchers. Troopers .sergeants. and dispatchers all recommend
pre-service training as a minimum requirement for effective dispatchers.

A complete review of the study. by those who will be preparing the
dispatcher training program. will provide the developers with added

information and support for various facets of this program recommendation.

APPENDIX 1)

Critical Incident Transmittal Letters

TO

FROM

235
FILE: 14 1988

O
.
o’e.o ' e a. _.g .‘sa
9 O
J

STATE OF MICHIGAN
IJIBI’JKIICPBdIBTMCP (>1? Eilflhfifli E’CDILJECDIB
DATE : July 25. 1988

: District and Post Commanders

: Colonel R. T. Davis. Director] I

SUBJECT : Departnental Dispatcher Study

The department is in the process of conducting a study of

‘ the dispatcher’s Job in order to determine the most relevant
training factors for use in dispatcher training and to
identify appropriate selection criteria for those positions.
The basis of this study will be the Job according to the
perceptions of the dispatchers. The developmental portion-of
the study is currently underway.at Michigan State University.
Early this summer the researcher will be conducting surveys
in order to gather relevant data for the study.

Lt. Col. Dennis M. Payne. retired from this department, is
coapleting work on his doctoral degree from Michigan State
University's, School of Criminal Justice. In fulfillment of
the requirements for the degree, Colonel Payne has agreed to
perform this study for the department. A brief outline of the
steps involved in this research is being provided to you. If
you have questions regarding this study you may contact Sgt.
John Wolf for further details. Sergeant wolf is the
departsent’s liaison with Colonel Payne.

This study and its results are important to the depart-ant.
and your cooperation in this endeavor is appreciated. The
study design is such that it will cause a minimum of
interruption of day-to-day work; however. there are some
coamitaents that must be met in order to produce the desired
results. Both the new-S-l-l legislation and the ”Role of
Shift Coamander” study make this study timely.

All of the dispatchers of this department will receive a lettr
outlining the purpose of the study. They will be asked to
describe in detail, in the context of actual critical incident
those factors they believe describe effective and ineffective
dispatchers. This portion of the study is confidential and t;
dispatchers will be nailing their responses directly to the
researcher. After evaluation of those.reports. a questionnai:
will be developed. That questionnaire will be sent back to t1
dispatchers as a retest. It will also be sent to a selected
sample of troopers and sergeants in the same geographical are.
to see how much agreement exists between them and the
dispatchers as a group.

236

The questionnaire will also be sent to a random sample of othe:
police department dispatchers statewide. The purpose of this
step is to determine whether or not the results can be
generalized to other agency dispatchers.

After the questionnaires have been completed and analyzed. a
training program for dispatchers will be developed by Colonel
Payne and submitted to the department. It should be noted the
the first segment. the Critical Incident Report, will be
confidential. Therefore, the dispatchers will be returning
their reports directly to Colonel Payne and sending him post
cards to show that they have submitted the report. Names are
not being used on the questionnaires. For the remaining
portions of the study. those completing the questionnaires are
given anonymity. The returned questionnaires will have no
individual identifiers on them and they, too. will be mailed
directly to Colonel Payne.

The questionnaires, as well as the critical incident reports,
must be sent directly to the dispatchers and the officers
involved. This effort is an important undertaking and we must
protect the integrity of the process if we are to obtain a
quality product. For.these reasons. the responses are not to
be sent via departmental mail or through channels. but will be
mailed back by the respondents in return stamped envelopes.
Your cooperation in this regard is critical}

Involvement in the study is voluntary. I encourage all members
of the department to participate if asked to do so. The study
.depends on the forthright answers of the respondents.

Upon the completion of the study. an executive summary of the
.results will be made available to those involved in the study
and to other interested members. The recommendations for the
training program, that results from the study, will also be
available to other agencies in Michigan.

237

MEMORANDUM

TO

FROM

SUBJECT :

STATE or nrcnxeau
DEPARTMENT or STAIE'POLICE
pars : July 27. 1988

All State Police Dispatchers
Colonel R. T. Davis. Director
State Police Dispatcher Study: Critical Incident Reports

The department has requested a study of the dispatching
function in order to develop a training program for
dispatchers that is Job relevant. The focus of the study

is the selection and training of dispatchers in the Michigan'
State Police. It is my desire that the best and most
appropriate training be administered to our dispatchers

and that relevant selection criteria be identified.

 

You are being asked to participate in this study. Your
participation in this study is voluntary. You may choose
not to participate or to discontinue participation at any
time without penalty. I also urge each of you to assist

in this study as your answers are very important since they
are based on your actual experiences. .

The study will be conducted by Lt. Col. Dennis M. Payne from
the School of Criminal Justice at Michigan State University.
Colonel Payne is a retired deputy director of this
department and a doctoral candidate in Criminal Justice at
Michigan State_University.

The field portion of the study will be divided into two
parts. First. you are being asked to complete the enclosed
Critical Incident Reports and mail them directly to

Colonel Payne. Approximately five weeks later. you will be
asked to complete a questionnaire that will be constructed
from the data obtained from these Critical Incident Reports.
The questionnaire will be mailed to you with completion and
mailing instructions.

Participation in completing the Critical Incident Reports
and the questionnaires is voluntary. Your completion and
mailing of those instruments, per the instructions, is
indicative of your agreement to participate.

The critical incident portion of the study is totally
confidential and only Colonel Payne will know the identity
of the individual dispatcher. This is being done so the
resssgcher can recontact a dispatcher for clarification if
nee e .

238

The questionnaire portion of the study is anonymous.
Anonymity will be explained in detail in the instructions
that accompany the questionnaire. There will be no way to
connect your responses with who you are.

Later in the study the questionnaire will be administered to
a sample of officers of this department and dispatchers from
other police agencies.

239

STATE POLICE DISPATCRRR STUDY
Critigal Incidegg Repozt

Gener Inetru t one:

This is a self-administered report. You are being asked to
describe, in your own words, the context of six actual
incidents that you can recall regarding an effective dispatcher
and an ineffective dispatcher. A number has been assigned to
your report so do not pgt you; gang on the geport. If the
researcher needs further clarification he will contact you.

For this reason this portion of the study is confidential.

No one else will know who you are.

We ask that you be as candid and descriptive as you can.

You may wish to think of three incidents in which a dispatcher
performed effectively and then describe your thinking of why
he or she was effective. Do the same thing to describe
ineffective dispatching. Do not u the i tio .

Please state what the dispatcher did that made him or her
effective or ineffective. We are interested in your personal
views based on actual experiences. In other words. what did
they do that made them effective? How did they do it? What
talents or traits did they demonstrate? What knowledge or
skills did they demonstrate, etc.?

Me in

After you have written three descriptions for effective
dispatchers and three descriptions for ineffective dispatchers.
place your descriptions into the stamped envelope that has been
provided and return them to Mr. Dennis M. Payne. Room 504 Baker
Rall. Michigan State University, East Lansing. Michigan
48824-1118. If you have any questions, or need further
explanation, feel free to call (517) 353-5482. Please complete
these reports and return by August 6, 1988.

This study is voluntary and you may choose not to participate
without penalty. I will interpret your submission of these
Critical Incident Reports as indicative of your agreement to
voluntarily participate.

240

CR T CA INC D N ORM

The following forms deal with the experience you personally
have had with dispatching.

Threw of the forms deal with a description of an effective
dispatcher and three deal with an ineffective dispatcher.

In completing the forms. use an actual person and an incident
that together provide a base of behavioral data.

. In order for this research to be meaningful. it is necessary
for the research team to have as much detailed information as
is possible for you to provide.

You are in a unique position due to your experience with
dispatching. with other dispatchers. and with officersr I hope
you can provide me with the information that will be used for
developing a relevant training program for dispatchers. Such
programs may not only enhance your effectiveness. but may aid
you in the resolution of problems that you encounter in
dispatching.

There are six blank pages attached to these instructions.

Three pages are designated Effective Dispatchers and three
pages are designated Ineffective Dispatchers. Feel free to use
additional pages if necessary. If you do add pages. please be
sure to staple them to the proper description.

Your code number is at the upper right corner of the page.

Place this number on any additional pages you may use. If
needed. you may use both sides of the incident report forms.

Next Page Please

242

Ineffective Dispatcher #1

1. What was the situation?

2. How did the dispatcher handle it?

3. Why was the dispatcher ineffective?

No.

APPENDIX E

Survey Instrument

243

MEMORANDUM

TO

FROM

SUBJECT

STATE OF MICHIGAN
[Jigl’lilifrbdlilqir ()1? ESUPIKUPIB I’CDIQJICIE:

DATE : November 7. 1988

All State Police Dispatchers
Colonel R. T. Davis. Director

State Police Dispatcher Study

The department has requested a study of the dispatching
function so that a training program for dispatchers can be
developed that is job relevant. You are being asked to
participate in this study. The focus of the study is the
selection and training of dispatchers in the Michigan State
Police. It is my desire that the best and most appropriate
training be administered to our dispatchers and that the most
relevant selection procedures be identified.

Your participation in this study is voluntary. You may choose
not to participate in the study without penalty. I also urge
each of you to assist in this study as your answers are very
important since they are based upon actual experiences.

The survey will be administered by Lt. Col. Dennis M. Payne
from the School of Criminal Justice at Michigan State
University. Colonel Payne is a retired deputy director of
this department and a doctoral candidate in Criminal Justice
at Michigan State University. Colonel Payne will explain. in
more detail. the purpose of the study. If there are things
that you do not understand as you complete the survey. please
ask for his help. If you decide to participate it is
important that you complete the entire survey and respond to
each question or statement as frankly as you can. It is also
important that you select the answer that you think comes
closest to fitting your case. even though no one answer may
fit exactly. '

The identification of appropriate training factors depends
largely on your answers. Experience has shown that it should
take no longer than 30 minutes to complete the questionnaire.
You may be assured that the answers you give will be
anonymous. The department is interested in overall patterns
and your perceptions. not in any particular individual. I
appreciate your cooperation in this research endeavor and I
believe that the outcome can only enhance your work and the
professionalism of our department.

244

STATE POLICE DISPATCHER STUDY

 

QUESTIONNAIRE INSTRUCTIONS

BACKGROUND:

This research is undertaken to assist the Michigan State
Police in the development of a dispatcher training program
and to identify job relevant selection criteria. Because it
was felt that dispatchers knew their jobs better than anyone
else. the dispatchers were recently asked to provide data.
by means of the Critical Incident Reports. That open-ended
survey was used to determine the training factors according
to a dispatcher's perspective. This survey is an outgrowth
of that open-ended survey that you completed earlier.

Please DO NOT PUT YOUR NAME on the questionnaire. Your
answers are completely anonymous and cannot be linked to
your name or any departmental records in any way. When you
have completed the questionnaire. please mail it directly

to Mr. Dennis M. Payne. Room 504 Baker Hall. Michigan State
University. East Lansing. Michigan 48824-1118. no later than
November 17. 1988. A stamped envelope has been provided.

We also ask that you mail the enclosed post card separately
aftg; you have completed the questionnaire so that the
researcher will know that you have completed the questionnaire.
Keep in mind that the researcher will not know which question-
naire you have completed. only that you have completed one.

Please do not compare your answers with other dispatchers or
converse during the survey. If you have any questions. please
feel free to contact Colonel Payne. His office telephone
number is (517) 353-5482. You do not have to give him your
name. merely identify yourself as one of the dispatchers. The
answers you provide will be completely anonymous. You indicate

your voluntary agreement to participate bx completing ang
returning the Questionnaire.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING SURV Y
When you mark your answers. please do the following:

* Circle the number directly on the questionnaire indicating
your choice.

* Circle only one number for each statement or question.

* Feel free to use pen. marker. or pencil to mark your
response.

24S

MEMORANDUM

TO

FROM

SUBJECT :

STATE OP MICHIGAN
IJIIIPJLIITPBGIIIIUP (>1? EBTPAKTEIE I’CDILJECSIB
DATE : November 7. 1988

Sample of Troopers and Sergeants£>
Colonel R. T. Davis. Directodqf’

State Police Dispatcher Study

The department has requested a study of the dispatching
function so that a training program for dispatchers can be
developed that is Job relevant. You are being asked to
participate in this study. Your name was chosen at random and
cannot be associated in any way with your responses on this
questionnaire. Your participation in this study is voluntary
and you may choose not to participate. I also urge each of
you to assist in this study as your answers are very important
since they are based upon actual experiences.

The focus of the study is the selection and training of
dispatchers in the Michigan State Police. It is my desire
that the best and most appropriate training be administered to
our dispatchers and that the most relevant selection
procedures be identified.

The study is being administered by Lt. Col. Dennis M. Payne
from the School of Criminal Justice at Michigan State
University. Colonel Payne is a retired member of this
department and a doctoral candidate in Criminal Justice at
Michigan State University. If there are things that you do
not understand as you complete the questionnaire. please ask
for his help.

If you decide to participate. it is important that you
complete the entire questionnaire and respond to each question
or statement as frankly as you can. It is also important that
you select the answer that you think comes closest to fitting
your case. even though no one answer may fit exactly.

The identification of appropriate training factors depends
largely on your answers. Experience has shown that it should
take no longer than 30 minutes to complete the questionnaire.

You may be assured that the answers you give will be
anonymous. The department is interested in overall patterns
and your perceptions. not in any particular individual. I
appreciate your cooperation in this research endeavor and I
believe that the outcome can only enhance your work and the
professionalism of our department.

246

STA P C DI ATCH R UDY
~ QUESTIONNAIRE INSTRUCTIONS

CRGROUN :'

This research is undertaken to assist the Michigan State
Police in the development of a dispatcher training program and
to identify Job relevant selection criteria. Because it was
felt that dispatchers knew their Jobs better than anyone else.
the dispatchers were recently asked to provide data by means
of the Critical Incident Reports. That open-ended survey was
used to determine the training factors according to a
dispatcher’s perspective.

This questionnaire is an outgrowth of that open-ended survey
that the departmental dispatchers completed earlier. We ask
that you complete the questionnaire and return it in the
enclosed stamped envelope to Mr. Dennis M. Payne. Room 504
Baker Hall. Michigan State University. East Lansing. Michigan
48824-1118. no later than November 17. 1988. He may be
reached at (517) 353-5482.

Please DO NOT PUT YOUR NAME on the questionnaire. Your
answers are completely anonymous and cannot be linked to your
name or any departmental records in any way. We also ask that
you mail the enclosed post card separately after you have
completed the questionnaire so that the researcher will know
that you have completed it. Keep in mind that the researcher
will not know which questionnaire you have completed. only
that you have completed one.

The answers you provide will be completely anonymous.

You
indicate your voluntary agreement to participate by completing
and returning the Questionnaire.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING SURVEY

M

When you mark your answers. please do the following:

a Circle the number directly on the questionnaire indicating
your choice.

t Circle only one number for each statement or question.

a Feel free to use a pen. marker. or pencil to mark your
responses.

247
sure or MICHIGAN

IQ)?

JAMESJ. BLANCMARD. GOVERNOR

DEPARTMENT OF STATE POLICE
m sourn 1111111115011 9010,2113? LANSING. mcmcxu 4882:
CO. 11'. DAVIS. DIRECTOR

November 7. 1988

TO: Police Dispatchers. State of Michigan

The department has requested a study of the dispatching function
so that a training program for dispatchers can be developed that
is Job relevant. You are being asked to participate in this
study. Your name was chosen at random from a list of all
dispatchers statewide and cannot be associated in any way with
your responses on this questionnaire. Your participation in this
study is voluntary and you may choose not to participate. I am
asking you to assist in this study as your answers are very
important since they are based upon actual experiences.

The primary focus of the study is the selection and training of
dispatchers in the Michigan State Police. It is my desire that
the most appropriate training be administered to dispatchers.
The majority of dispatchers are not found in the State Police.
but are located in agencies across the state. such as your
agency. Therefore. we wish to have your input so that the
training program that eventually is developed will be useful to
all dispatchers.

The study is being administered by Lt. Col. Dennis M. Payne from
the School of Criminal Justice at Michigan State University.
Colonel Payne is a retired member of this department and a doctoral
candidate in Criminal Justice at Michigan State University. If
there are things that you do not understand as you complete the
questionnaire. please ask for his help.

If you decide to participate. it is important that you complete
the entire questionnaire and respond to each question or
statement as frankly as you can. It is also important that you
select the answer that you think comes closest to fitting your
case. even though no one answer may fit exactly.

The identification of appropriate training factors depends
largely on your answers. Experience has shown that it should
take no longer than 30 minutes to complete the questionnaire.

You may be assured that the answers you give will be anonymous.
The department is interested in overall patterns and your
perceptions. not in any particular individual. I appreciate
your cooperation in this research endeavor.

prescrop

248

STATE POLICE DISPATCRER STUDY
QUESTIONNAIRE INSTRUCTIONS

BAC GROUND:

This research is undertaken to assist the Michigan State
Police in the development of a dispatcher training program
that can be used by the State Police. as well as others.
Because it was felt that dispatchers knew their Jobs better
than anyone else. dispatchers were recently asked to provide
data by means of the Criticai Incident Repopts. That
open-ended survey was used to determine the training factors
according to a dispatcher’s perspective.

This questionnaire is an outgrowth of that open-ended survey.
We ask that you complete the questionnaire and return it in
the enclosed stamped envelope to Mr. Dennis M. Payne. Room 504
Baker Ball. Michigan State University. East Lansing. Michigan
48824-1118. no later than November 17. 1988. He may be
reached at (517) 353-5482.

Please DO NOT PUT YOUR NAME on the questionnaire. Your
answers are completely anonymous and cannot be linked to your
name or any departmental records in any way. We also ask that
you mail the enclosed post card separately after you have
completed the questionnaire so that the researcher will know
that you have completed it. Keep in mind that the researcher
will not know which questionnaire you have completed. only
that you have completed one.

The answers you provide will be completely anonymous. You

indicate your voluntary agreement to participate by completipg
and returning the Questionnaire.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING SURVEY
When you mark your answers. please do the following:

3 Circle the number directly on the questionnaire indicating
your choice.

3 Circle only one number for each statement or question.

a Feel free to use a pen. marker. or pencil to mark your
responses.

249
xxxonaunun

STATE OF MICHIGAN

IJIBE’AKIICPDGIEIWUP ()1? ESCPASIPIE I’CDILJZCIE:

’DATE: August 22. 1988

TO: State Police Dispatchers
FROM: Col. R. T. Davis. Director
SUBJECT: Follow-up Request - State Police Dispatcher Study

This follow-up letter. with the attached forms. is being sent to you
as a reminder of the importance of the State Police dispatcher study
and the importance of your response to that study.

The focus of the study. as explained in the original cover letter. is
on the development of realistic training for dispatchers. as well as
the development of accurate position descriptions and selection
criteria. Such a study can be a real benefit to the dispatchers. in
particular. and the department as a whole.

Because of the season. many dispatchers may have been on vacation. on
leave for other reasons. felt that it was too late past a due date. or
that their opinions and experiences were not important enough to
complete the critical incident reports.

Your views. based on your personal experiences. ape impoptap . The
information from the Critical Incident Reports is the basic foundation
of the study. Unless a sufficient number of departmental dispatchers
decide to participate. very little else can be accomplished in this
regard. Though voluntary on your part. I again urge each of you who
have not done so to complete the forms and submit them as indicated in
the original instructions.

If you need further guidance or help. please contact Mr. Dennis M.
Payne at (517) 353-5482. If you are in doubt as to what is desired.
he will be most helpful. The researcher has advised that the
responses. thus far. have been very well done and contain rich
information. You are free not to respond. but this project can not
move forward without your assistance and cooperation.

250

DISPATCHER QUESTIONNAIRE
First we would like some general Information on the training you feel is
important for dispatchers. We want your Opinion on those subjects that you
feel are important in being or becoming an effective dispatcher.

19511211911995;

The statements below describe training and other factors relative to
effective dispatching. There are no right or wrong answers, only opinions.
Please express your feeling about each statement by indicating whether you
Strongly Agree-(SA), Agree-(A). Are Neutral-(N). Disagree-(D). or Strongly
Disagree-(SD). Circle the number that best describes your feeling. Please
answer every statement.

W 95 A 111 D. SD.
i. understand criminallsw. l 2 3 4 S
2. unarstsndclvlllsw. l 2 3 4 S
3. understand lowsoferrest l 2 3 4 5

4. know when otfimrs con arrest someone without a
warrant i 2 3 4 S

S. unmrsiand departmental policies and procedures. 1 2 3 4 S

6. know the difference between misdemeanors

and felonies. ' l 2 3 4 S
7. have knowledge in handling people Wllh mental disorders. 1 2 3 4 S
8. uncmrstond liability relating to emermnw response. 1 2 3 4 S

Nexl‘Pa Please

251

fvih

9 can effectively utilize LEIN. NCIC, and Radio.

IO. are familiar with I‘lichigan Blockade System.

i I. are familiar with crime scene protection procedure.

I2. know their departmental blockade points and how
to get there

13. know proper procedures for handling bomb threats.

I4. know barricaad gunmen response procedures.

I5. know what to do with a report of hazardous
materials spills or accidents.

16. know proper procedures for airline accident response.

l7. unarstand issues involved in bank alarm response.

I 8. are familiar with the rules of evidence.

l9. know community social resources and know how
to obtain their services.

20 are familiar with court procedures.
2 i. know their community leaders.
22. understand radio procedures for undercover officers.

23. know where to obtain special equipment.

Next Pa; Pieese

‘0

h)

252

24. know CPR and First Aid

25. can explain CPR and First Aid to others

26. know local geographical area very well.
27. know alternate routesto given locations.

28. are aware of special hazards and construction
sites in jurisdiction.

29. have ridden on patrol 8 hours in the past year.

30.. are familiar with basic patrol procedures

3 I. have a general knowladm of fraud scams.

32. have had training in abnormal pwchology.

33. understand the (rug culture slang

34. know the effects of different controlled substanm.
35. know the elements of a wide variety of common crimes.
36. know radio procedures for undercover officers.

37. know how to handle high speed chases.

33, know the legal limitations of the use of deadly force

‘Iext Page Please

f0

253

I IV I l g A a Q §Q
39. understand basic issues of crisis intervention. I 2 3 ~ 4 s
40. know when to initiate radio silence. I 2 3 4 S

4 I understand parent organizational structure and
who “needs to know“. I 2 3 4 S

42. have basic understanding of investigative prwedures. l 2 3 4 s

PERSONALITY, SKILLS. AND ATTITUDES
Next we would like your perception of personality factors. attitudes. and skills that you feel
effective dispatchers possess. Please continue to circle the answer that represents your
choice of either, Strongly Agree. Agree. Neutral. Disagree. or Strongly Disagree.

W ea a M I2 50.
43. have a sense of humor. I 2 3 4 S
44. have clear speaking voices. I 2 3 4 5
45. are good listeners i 2 3 4 5
46. perceive their role as resource specialists. I 2 3 4 S
47. have good interpersonal Skills. I 2 3 4 S
48. can adapt quickly to change. i 2 3 4 S
49. can cope well with unanticipated events. I 2 3 4 ‘5
SO. anticipate problems and quick Iy apply solutions. 1 2 3 4 5

Next Page Please

254

S i. see controlling as a major part of their job.

52. see decision making as a major part of their job.

53. are sensitive to the feelings of others.

54. manage their time well.

55. can prioritize complex matters quickly.

'56. cope well with stress.

57. have the ability to acquire new skills.

58. get along with officers and peers.

59. can evaluate between alternative courses of action.

60. get along well with people in general.

6 I. are wm pathetic to callers.

62. have good self-control.

63. are good at public relations.

64. are inquisitive by nature.

65. Can think of several ways to obtain information.

Next Page Please

ORGANIZATIONAL AND EXPERIENLE FACTORS . ‘ . ‘
Next we would like your opinion on questions dealing with your relationships with others in the
work place Plus: continue to think in terms of effective and ineffective dispatchers when you
answer. Continue with the same method of marking your answers.

66. Effective dispatchers have police experience I 2 3 4 S

67. Police officers understand dispatch work. l 2 3 4 S
68. Dispatchers understand police officer's work. i 2 3 4 S
69. Police supervisors understand the dispatcher's Job. i 2 3 4 S

70. Civilian supervisors understand the dispatcher's job. I 2 3 4 S
7 l. Officers should periodically work the dispatch job. I 2 3 4 S
72. Dispatchers should periodically ride on patrol. I 2 3 4 S

73. Other departmental persons regard the dispatcher
as an intregal part of the department I 2 3 4 S

74. A dispatcher can make the critical difference
in the outcome of a police response I 2 3 4 5

7S. Effecth dispatching is finished when the officer
receives the call from the dispatcher. l 2 3 4 S

76. Dispatchers decide what to pass on to the patrol. l 2 3 4 S

77. Effective dispatchers “go beyond“ to obtain
information for patrols. l 2 3 4 5

Next Page Please

256

78. Host officers respect dispatchers.

79. Host officers appreciate the work of dispatchers

80. An effective dispatcher has to know a great dal about
the patrol officer's job to do a mod job.

8 I. in terms of training emphasis. dispatchers and line

officers are on an equal plane.

82 Selection methods for dispatchers should be changed

83. Pro-service dispatcher training should be mandatory.

84. Dispatchers often find themselves in controversial roles.
85. Prior to arrival of police dispatchers act as controllers
86. In the absence of supervisors. dispatchers speak for agency.

87. The organization has clearly outlined dispatcher's
responsibilities.

88. The organization has clarified dispatcher's authority.
89. Dispatchers are treated like equals by officers.

90. .4 dispatcher job description is an accurate picture of
what a dispatcher does.

9 I. A dispatcher is a technician and therefore does not have
to have training in police subjects.

Next Page Please

‘

f0

0H7-

AID

"‘l‘d}

257

92. Officer sasfety can be improved with pre-service
dispatcher training I 2 3 4 S

93. On the job training with accessich in-service training
is sufficient to provide for effective dispatching l 2 3 4 S

94. Policies of the department are the same regardless of the
shift a dispatcher is working I 2 3 4 S

95. Priorities given to calls are the same across all shifts. l 2 3 4 S
96. Certification of dispatctms would improve dispatching i 2 3 4 S

97. Dispatching is most effective where the dispatcher is
viewed as an integral part of the police team. I 2 3 4 S

98. There is no role conflict between dispatchers and officers I 2 3 4 S

99. Officerstreatdispatchers thesame remrdless ofgender. l 2 3 4 s

N F I
Before concluding the survey we would like to ask you a few questions about yourself. The answers
to these questions will help us interpret the results of this study. W
W we are only interested in statistical trends Please circle the answer that matches
your choice -

100. What BMW?

I I'Iale
2 Female

IOI. What is your present age?

Less than 25
26-35
36- 45
46-55
'56 or more.

(flbU‘Nd

Next Pap Please

102.

l 03.

104.

105.

l06.

107.

258

What race are you?

I Black

2 Hispanic

3 White

4 NativeAmericah
5 Oriental

What is your current shift assignment?

I First
2 Second
3 Third
4 Other

Have you participated in dispatcher training?

lYes
2N0

If you have had training . circle the type of trainingyou have had

i Orientation only.

2 On the job training with senior dispatcher.
3 On the job training - self taught

4 Formal training program.

If you have attenmd formal training. please choose the answer that best devices the length
of the training program. Inclutb the total of all formal training received

I Lessthanlday

2 lto3mys

3 lweek

4 Zweeks.

5 r‘lorethanZweeks.

When was the last time you attended a training prmram?

In the past year

in the past two years

I n the past three years.
More than three years ago

AWN-

Next Page Please

259

lOO. Have you worked as a dispatcher in any other criminal justice agencies?

iYes
2N0

lO9. How many years have you been a dispatCher?

l lessthanlyear
2 l-Zyears
3 Z-Syears
4 6-l0years

5 Over lOyears

Pigsgm QMEEHI §£QTIQ§
This last section deals with what Mwould be appropriate training resuired to become an
effective dispatcher. Your answers should be based on W. This section
also includes room for you to comment on what attitudes or personality characteristics bat
describe effective dispatchers. Please feel free to be candid as this questionnaire is anonymous.

l to. What subjects do you think should be included in the training of dispatchers?

Next Page Please

260

l l i. What attitudes do you feel best describe effective dispatchers?

i 12. What personality characteristics do you think effective dispatchers should m?

Next Page Please

261

1 13. Please circle the appropriate number that describes your position.
1 Dispatcher with Sheriff , Township or City Police.

State Police Dispatcher.

. MSP Trooper

2
3 Dispatcher with other agency.
4
S. MSP Serwant

SPECIFIC TRAINING PROFILE
In determining what subjects should be included in a training program it is important to know what
specific training Wand what you feel is your level of competence in the subject
In this last section of the questionnaire please indicate your response by circling the answer that
best fits your particular level of training
The choices are: l. Traineit ( have a working knowledge of the subject). 2. Familiar ( have had
some training in the subject or picked it up through experience. but feel you need more to be
competent) . and 3. Not Trained ( you have not had any formal training in the subject matter).

114. Criminal Law . l .

2 3
1 15. Civil Law 1 2 3
l 16. Law of Arrest l 2 3
1 17. Search 8: Seizure 1 2 3
1 18. Departmental Policy & Procedures 1 2 3
1 l9. Obtaining warrants 1 2 3
104. Criminal Procedure 1 2 3
120. Court Procedures 1 2 3
12 l. Abnormal Psychology 1 2 3
122. Police Liability 1 2 3
123. LEIN/Radio Operation and Uses. i 2 3
124. i‘lichigan Blockade System i 2 3

N811 P33 Please

262

125. Crime SceneProtection 1 2
126. Bomb Threat and Bomb Disposal Issues 1 2
127. Civil Disarcbrs ‘ 1 2
128. Barricaded Gunmen Responses of Police 1 2
129. Hazardous Materials Handling 1 2
130. Weather Related Emergencies I 2
131. Major Emu-w Responses(Air.Train) I 2
132. Bank Alarm Procedures 1 2
133. Natural Disester Response Issues. 1 2
134. CPR. a First Aid 1 2
135. Patrol Procedures 1 2
136. Him 5pm Pursuit Issues 1 2
137. Common Fraud Scams . l 2
138. Undercover Operation issues 1 2
139. CmstraintsmtheUseofForce l 2
140. Crisis Intervention I 2
141. Stress Management 1 2
142. Decision Making 1 2
143. General Investigative Processes I 2
144. Interpersonal Relations 1 2
145. Time Management 1 2

THANKYOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION AND ASSISTANCE
Please return this questionnaire in the envelop provided to:
Dennis 1‘1 Payne, Rm, 504 Baker Hall_Schw1ofCri'rninaIJusii'x
Mum-gar. State university. E231 Lansing, MI 48824-1 l 18

MMMMMMMMM“MWO¢HMMMMMMM

APPENDIX 1'

Act 32. Public Acts of 1986

263

PUBLIC ACT 32 OF 1986

ENACTED MARCH 16, 1986

arms or MICHIGAN
esno LEGISLATURE
REGULAR SESSION or 1986

Introduced by Senators Ehlers. Binsfeld. Faxon. McCoIIough. A. Cropsey. Sederburg. Geake. Dih'ello.
Kelly. Vaughn. Arthurhultz. H. Cropaey. Shinkle. Nichols. Cast. Poathumua. Barcia and Conroy

ENROLLED SENATE BILL No. 303

AN ACT to provide for the establishment of universal emergency telephone districts: to provide for the
installation. operation. modification. and maintenance of universal emergency telephone systems: to provide for
the imposition and collection of charges associated therewith: to provide the powers and duties of certain state
agencies. local units of government. public officers. telephone service suppliers. and others: to create an
emergency telephone service committee: to provide remedies: to provide penalties: and to repeal certain acts
and parts of acts on specific dates.

77"- Pcnplr a] the Stair of M i'rln'gan mart:
CHAPTER 1 ‘
Sec. 101. This act shall be known and may be cited as the “emergency telephone service enabling act”.

Sec. me As used in this act:

Ia) “Automatic location identification" or “ALI” means a 9.1-1 service feature in which the service supplier
automatically forwards the name or address. or both. associated with the calling party's telephone number as
identified by automatic number identification. to the public safety answering point.

lbI "Automatic number identification” or "ANI" means a 9-1-1 service feature in which the service .-upplier
automatically forwards the calling party's billing telephone number to the public safety answering point for
display.

lcl “Direct dispatch method” means the method of responding to a telephone request for emergency service
whereby the person receiving the call at the public safety answering point decides on the proper acz'on to be
taken and dispatches the appropriate available emergency service unit located closest to the request for
emergency service.

tdl “Emergency telephone charge” means a charge for the network start-up costs. customer noiification
costs. billing costs including an allowance for uncolIectibles. and network nonrecurring and -ct-urring
installation. maintenance. service. and equipment network charges of a service supplier providing 9-1-1 service
pursuant to this act.

264

(el “Exchange access facility” means the access from a particular service user's premises to the telephone
system. Exchange access facilities include service supplier provided access lines. I’BX trunks. and centre: line
trunlt equivalents. all as defined by tariffs of the service suppliers its npprnvrd hy the public service
commission. Exchange access facilities do not include service supplier owned and operated telephone pay
station lines. or WATS. FX. or incoming only lines.

(fl “Final 9.1-1 service plan" means a tentative 9-1-1 service plan that has been modified only to reflect
necessary changes resulting from any exclusions of public agencies from the 9-1-1 service district of the
tentative 9-1-1 service plan pursuant to section 306 and any failure of public safety agencies to be designated as
PSAPs or secondary PSAP: pursuant to section 307.

(g) “Person" means any individual: firm: partnership: joint venture: association: cooperative organization:
corporation. whether or not organized for profit: municipal corporation: state or other governmental entity:
agency: body: department: commission: board: bureau: fraternal organization: nonprofit organization: estate:
trust: business or common law trust: receiver: assignee for the benefit of creditors: trustee: or trustee in
bankruptcy.

(hl ”Private safety entity" means a private entity which provides emergency fire. ambulance. or medical
services.

fil “Public agency" means any village. township. charter township. or city within the state. and any special
purpose district located in whole or in part within the state. which provides or has authority to provide fire
fighting. law enforcement. ambulance. medical. or other emergency services.

0) “Public safety agency“ means a functional division of a public agency. county. or the state of Michigan.
which provides fire fighting. law enforcement. ambulance. medical. or other emergency services.

(it) “Public safety answering point” or “PSA 1" means a communications facility operated or answered on a
24-hour basis. assigned responsibility by a public agency or county to receive 9-1-1 calls and. as appropriate. to
directly dispatch emergency response services. or to transfer or relay emergency 9-1-1 calls to other public
safety agencies. it is the first point of reception by a public safety agency of a 9-1-1 call. and serves the
jurisdictions in which it is located and other participating jurisdictions. if any.

(fl “Relay method“ means the method of responding to a telephone request for emergency service whereby a
PSAP notes pertinent information and relays it by telephone. radio. or private line to the appropriate public
safety agency or other provider of emergency services that has an available emergency service unit located
closest to the request for emergency service for dispatch of an emergency service unit.

(ml ‘Secondary public safety answering point” or “secondary PSAP” means a communications facility of a
public safety agency or private safety entity which receives 9-lcl calls by the transfer method only and
generally serves as a centralized location for a particular type of emergency call.

in) “Service supplier“ means any person providing telephone services to a service user in this state.

to) “Service user” means any exchange access facility customer of a service supplier within a 9-1-1 system.

(pl ”Tariff rate" means the rate approved by the public service commission for 9-1-1 service provided by a
particular service supplier.

to) "Tentative 9-1-1 service plan“ means a plan for implementing a 9-1-1 system in a specified 9.1-1 service
district. after consultation with the director of the department of state police or his or her designated
representative. which complies with chapter ll. and which addresses the following system considerations:

til Technical considerations of the service supplier including system equipment for facilities that would be
used in providing emergency telephone service.

tii'l Operational considerations including the designation of PSAPs and secondary PSAPs and the manner in
which 9.1-1 calls would be processed. dispatch functions performed. and information systems utilized.

fi'a'i'l Managerial considerations including the organizational form and agreements which would control
technical. operational. and fiscal aspects of the emergency telephone service.

. lirl Fiscal considerations including projected nonrecurring and reculring costs with a financial plan for
implementing and operating the system.

lrl The tentative 9-1-1 service plan shall require each public agency and county operating a PSAP under the
9’14 53'3“!“ to pay directly for all installation and recurring charges for terminal equipment. including
WWW"? NEW-32$ Nuipmcnt. associated with the public agench or the county's PSA P. and may require each
PUbliC 319M." Hid COW“? operating a PSAP under the 9.1-1 system to pay directly to the service supplier all
insullfllm "1d "CWT“! charges for all 9-1-1 exchange and tie lines associated with the public agency": or the
caunty's PSAP.

lrl "Transfer method" means the method of responding to a telephone request for emergency service
“hereby is PSAP transfers the call directly to the appropriate public safety agency or other provider of

265

emergency service that has an available emergency service unit located closest to the request for emergency
service for dispatch of an emergency service unit.

(a) “Unlversal emergency number service" or “ll-l-l service" means public telephone service which prtiviilcs
service users with the ability to reach a public safety answering point by dialing the digits “9.1-l“.

it) “Universal emergency number service district” or “9-1-1 service district” means the area in which Sol-l
“Wit! ‘3 provided 0? is planned to be provided to service users under a 9-1-1 system implemented pursuant to
this act.

in) “Universal emergency number service system" or “9-l-l system" means a system for providing Sol-l
service pursuant to this act.

CHAPTER ll '

Sec. 201. A 9-1-l system shall not be implemented pursuant to this act unless a 9-1-1 tariff rate exists for
each service supplier designated by the final 9-1-1 service plan to provide 9-1-1 service in the 9+1 system.

See. 202. A public agency which is excluded from a 9-1-1 service district in a 9+! system implemented
pursuant to this act. but which is operating an existing emergency telephone service at the time the 9.1-l
system is implemented. shall permit any technical modifications to its existing system which are necessary for
compatibility with the 9.1-l system. Any cost of the service supplier associated with such modifications shall not
be the responsibility of the excluded public agency but shall be included as part of the costs collected from
service users in the 9-1-1 service district pursuant to section 401.

Sec. 203. The digits 9.1-l shall be the primary emergency telephone number within every 9-l-l system
established pursuant to this act. A public safety agency whose services are available through a 9-1-1 system
implemented pursuant to this set may maintain a separate secondary bacltup number for emergencies. and
shall maintain a separate number for nonemergency telephone calls.

Sec. 204. (l) A 901-! system implemented pursuant to this act shall be designed to meet the individual
circumstances of each county and the public agencies participating in the 9-l-l system. and shall be within the
service limitations of service suppliers providing the 944 service in the 9-1-1 system. System designs shall
include provision for expansion of the system to include capabilities not required in initial implementation.
including the addition of PSAP: and secondary PSAPs.

(2) Every 9-1-1 system shall be designed so that a 9-1-1 call is processed by means of either th.- direct
dispatch method. the relay method. or the transfer method. At least 2 of the specified methods shall be available
fogrhse by thtenPSAP receiving the call. The PSAP may handle nonemergency calls by referring the caller to
an er num r.

Sec. 205. (1) A 9-l-l system established pursuant to this act shall be capable of transmitting requests for law
enforcement. fire fighting. and emergency medical and ambulance services to l or more public safety agencies
which provide the requested service to the place where the call originates.

(2) A 9~l~l system shall process all 9«l~l calls originating from telephones served by the central office
serving the receiving PSAP. whether or not the calling telephone is situated within the geogiaphical
boundaries of the 9-l-l service district.

(3) A 9:14 system may provide for transmittal of requests for other emergency services. such as poison
control. suicide prevention. and civil defense. Conferencing capability with counseling. aid to handicapped. and
other services as considered necessary for emergency response determination may be provided by i're 9-l-l
system.

Sec. 206. A PSAP may transmit emergency response requests to private safety entities under a 9-l-l system.

Sec. 207. The installation of automatic intrusion alarms and other automatic alerting devices which cause
the number 9-l-l to be dialed shall be prohibited in a 9-l-l system.

CHAPTER lll

Sec. 3m. ill The board of commissioners of a county may establish an emergency telephone district within

all or part of the county and may cause 9-l-l service to be implemented within such emergency telephone
district pursuant to this act.

‘2’ The board 0' COMWWOMH 0' I €00an all or part of it hich is operating an existing emergency telephone
service may modify the existing emergency telephone service or may alter the scope or method of financing of 9.

266

H service within eII or pert of the county by esteblishing en emergency telephone district end ceusing 9.1-I
service to be implemented within such emergency telephone district pursuent to this sci.

Sec. 302. Two or more county bosrds of commissioners mey jointly esteblish en emergency telephone district
within ell or pert of the counties end mey ceuse 9-I-l service to be implemented within such emergency
telephone district pursuent to this set. If 2 or more county boerds of commissioners wish to jointly estsblish en
emergency telephone district pursuent to this set. then ell ections required or permitted to be teken by e county
or its officiels pursuent to this sct shell be teken by esch county or the officisls of esch county. end ell notices
required or permitted to be given to e county or its officiels pursuent to this sct shell be given to sub county or
the officiels of esch county.

Sec. 303. To estsblish en emergency telephone district end to ceuse 9-1-I.service to be implemented within
such emergency telephone district. the bosrd of commissioners of s county shell first edopt s tentetive 9.1-I
service plen by resolution. A tentetive 9-I-l service plen mey specify whether telecommunicetion equipment for
the deef or severely heering impsired is being considered end which 9-1-1 service feetures. including AN I end
ALI. ere being considered for the emergency telephone district.

Sec. 304. A resolution edopting e tentetive 9-l-I service plen pursuent to section 303 shell specify s time.
dete. end piece for the public hesring to be held on the finel 9-1-1 service plen pursuent to section 309. which
dete shell be not less then 90 deys efter the dete of the edoption of the resolution euthorized by this section.

Sec. 305. Within 5 deys efter the edoption of e resolution euthorieed in section 303. the county clerk shell
forwsrd e copy of such resolution. together with e copy of the tentetive 9-1-1 service plen. by certified meil.
return receipt requested. to the clerk or other eppropriete officiel of esch public egency loceted within the 9-I-I
district of the tentetive 9.1-I service plen.

Sec. 306. (1) Unless s public egency files with the county clerk s notice of exclusion from 9-1-1 service
district pursuent to this section within 45 deys efter receipt of e copy of the resolution end s copy of the
tentetive 9-IoI service plen edopted pursuent to section 303. the entire jurisdiction of the public egency or. if
less then the entire jurisdiction of the public egency is included within the 9-1-1 service district of the tentetive
9—Iol service plen. then such portion of the jurisdiction of the public egency included within the 9-l-lservice
district of the tentetive 9-1-1 service plen shell be included within the 9.1-I district of the finel 9-1-1 service
plen. A public egency msy exclude less then the entire portion of its jurisdiction included in the 9.1-I service
district of the tentetive 9-1-1 service plen. Eech public egency. ell or pert of which is included within the 9-1-1
service district of the finel 9-1-1 service plen. shell essist the perticuler county in the preperetion of the finel 9.
1-1 service plen.

(2) If the entire jurisdiction of e public egency is to be excluded from the 9-l-I service district pursuent to
subsection (1). then the notice of exclusion from 9-l-I service district shell be in substsntielly the following
orm:

NOTICE OF EXCLUSION
FROM 9.1-l SERVICE DISTRICT

Pursuent to section 306 of the emergency telephone service enebling set. the

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

of hereby notifies the bosrd of commissioners of the county of
thet the of is excluded from the
9-1~I service district estsblished by the tentetive 9.1-I service plen edopted by the bosrd of commissioners on
I9.._.
(Clerk)
(Acknowledgment)

(3) If less then the entire jurisdiction of e public egency is to be excluded from the 9-l-l service district
pursuent to subseCtion (I). then the notice of exclusion from 9-l-l service district shell be in substantielly the
following form: ’

NOTICE OF EXCLUSION I
FROM 9~l-l SERVICE DISTRICT

Pursuent to section 306 of the emergency telephone service enebling sct. the

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

of hereby notifies the bosrd of commissioners of the county of
thet the portion of the of described on the
stteched msp is excluded from the 9-l-l service district established by the tentetive 9-l-l service plen adopted
by the bosrd of commissioners on 19
lClerkl

(Acknowledgment!

267

(4) A notice of exclusion from 9-l-l service district shell be signed by the clerk of the public egency or. if the
public egency hes no clerk. by eny other eppropriete officiel of the public egency.

Sec. 301(1) Any public ssfety egency designeted in the tentetive 9~l~l service plen to function es s PSAP or
secondery PSAP shell be so designeted under the finel 9-1-1 service plen if the public ssfety egency files with
the county clerk e notice of intent to function es s PSAP or secondery PSAP within 45 deys efter the public
egency which the public ssfety egency hes been designeted to serve by the tentetive 9.1.1 service pi“ new.” ‘
copy of the resolution end the tentetive 9+1 service plen edopted pursuent to section 303, The notice of in...“ to
function es s PSAP or secondery PSAP shell be in substentielly the following form:

NOTICE OF INTENT TO FUNCTION
AS A PSAP OR SECONDARY PSAP

Pursuent to section 307 of the emergency telephone service enebling ect. shell
function es s (check one) __ PSAP __ Secondery PSAP within the 9.1-l service district of the
tentetive 9-1-1 service plen edopted by resolution of the bosrd of commissioners for the county of

on 19

 

 

 

 

(Acknowledgment)

(2) If e public ssfety egency designeted es s PSAP or secondery PSAP in the tentetive 9401 service plen
feils to file e notice of intent to function es s PSAP or secondery PSAP within the time period soecified in
subsection (1). the public ssfety egency shell not be designeted es s PSAP or secondery PSAP in the finel 9-1-1
service plen. .

Sec. 308. The clerk of esch county which hes edopted e tentetive 9-1-1 service plen pursuent to section 303
shell give notice by publicetion of the heering on the finel 9-1-1 service plen to be held pursuent to section 309.
The notice shell be published twice in s newspeper of generel circulstion within the county. the first publicetion
of the notice occurring et leest 30 deys prior to the dete of the heering. The notice shell stete ell of the following:

(e) The time. dete. end piece of the heering.

(b) A description of the bounderies of the 9—1-1 service district of the finel 9-1-1 service plen es determined st
the expirstion of the time for filing e. notice of exclusion from 914 service district pursuent to section 306.

(c) Thst if the bosrd of commissioners of the county. efter e heering. edopts tlfe finel 9-1-1 service plen
pursuent to this est. en emergency telephone cherge shell be collected on e uniform besis from ell service use
within the 9-1-1 service district. , '

Sec. 309. The bosrd of commissioners shell conduct e heering on the finel 9.1-l service plen st the time.
piece. end dete specified in the notice published pursuent to section 308. All persons ettending the meeting shell
be efforded e reesoneble opportunity to be heerd.

Sec. 310. After conducting the heering on the finel 9.1-l service plen pursuent to this ect. the bosrd of
commissioners of the effected county msy edopt by resolution the finel 9-1-1 service plen. Upon edop-ion of the
resolution. the county. on behelf of public egencies loceted within the 9+1 service district. shell epply in
writing to the service supplier or suppliers designeted to provide 9-I-l service within the 9-1-1 service district
under the finel 9-1-1 service plen. °

Sec. 311. (I) As soon es feesible efter receipt of e written epplicetion from s county requesting 9-‘.-I service
within e 9.1-I service district described in e finel 9-I-l service plen edopted pursuent to this ect. esch service
supplier designeted in the finel 9-I~I service plen shell implement 9-1-1 service within the 9-l-l service district
in eccordence with the finel 9-1-1 service plen.

(2) Upon implementation of 9-1-1 service in e 9-l-l service district] pursuent to subsection (1). esch public
ssfety egency designeted es s PSAP or secondery PSAP in the finel 9-l-I service plen shell begin to function es
s PSAP or secondery PSA P.

(3) The costs of the service supplier for equipment instelletion or system mod ificetion. or both. nt-cessery for
s public ssfety egency to function es s PSAP or secondery PSAP pursuent to this section shell be paid directly
by the public ssfety egency end shell not be collected from service users within the 9-1-1 service district.

. Sec. 312. After e finel 9-l-l service plan hes been adopted pursuent to section 310. e county msy emend the
finel 9-l-l service plen only by complying with the procedures described in sections 301 to 310. L'pon edoption
of en amended finel 9-1-1 service plen by the county board of commissioners. the county shell forwerd the
emended finel 9-I-l servi 'c plen to the service supplier or suppliers designated to provide 9-I-l service within

268

the 9'“ “"5" district as "“"ldd- I390" receipt of the amended final 9-1-1 service plan. each designated
service supplier shell implement as soon as feasible the amendments to the final 9+1 service plan in the 9-1-1
service district as amended.

Sec. 313. A 9-1-1 system implemented pursuant to this act shell be terminated only if each public agency. all
or part of which was included within the 9-1-1 service district of the final 9-1-1 service plan. withdraws its
entire jurisdiction from the 9-1-1 service district pursuant to section 505.

Sec. 314. (1) At the time that a 9-1-1 system becomes operational or as soon as feasible thereefter. each
service supplier or other owner or lessee of a pay stetion telephone to be operated within the 9-1-1 service
district shell do both of the following:

(a) Convert or cause to be converted each such telephone to permit a caller to dial 9.1-1 without first
inserting a coin or paying any other cherge.

(b1 Prominentiy display on each such telephone a notice edvising callers to dial 91-1 in an emergency end
that deposit of a coin is not required.

(2) After commencement of 9.1.1 service in s 9.1-i service district. a person shell not install. cause to be
installed. or offer for use within the 9-1-1 district a pay station telephone. whether on public or private
premises. unless the telephone is capable of accepting a 9-1-1 cell without prior insertion of a coin or payment of
any other cherge. end displays the notice described in subsection ( ll.

(3) All costs of a service supplier associated with converting pay stetion telephones end maintaining the
required notices under this section shell be borne by the service users within the 9ol~1 district,

Sec. 315. If the 9.1-l system does not provide ALI. each service supplier. owner. or lessee of a pay station
telephone shell prominently display on each telephone or telephone pey station the address of the telephone at
the time that a 9-1-1 system becomes operational or as soon as feasible thereefter.

Sec. 316. if ALI is not offered by the service supplier with the 9-1-1 system end the 9-1-1 system requires
such information. a service supplier shell provide current customer telephone numbers end service addresses to
each PSAP and secondary PSAP within the 9-1-1 system end shell periodically update customer telephone
numbers end service eddresses end provide such information to each PSAP end secondary PSAP within the 9-
1-1 system. The 9-1-1 service district shell determine the period within ‘which the service supplier shell update
customer telephone numbers end service addresses. Expenses incurred in providing this information shell be
included in the price of the system. Private listing service customers in a 9~1~1 service district shell waive the
privacy afforded by nonlisted end nonpublished numbers to the extent that the name end address associated
with the telephone number may be furnished to the 9-1-1 system.

See. 317. Name. address. and telephone number information provided to e 9.1-l system by a service supplier
shell be used only for the purpose of identifying the telephone location or identity. .or both. of a person calling
the 9-1-1 emergency telephone number end shall not be used or disclosed by the 91-1 system agencies. their
agents. or their employees for any other purpose. unless such information is used or disclosed pursuant to a
court order. A person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Sec. 318. A county or public agency may enter into an agreement with a public safety agency of another
county or public agency. or of the state. to serve as a PSAP or secondary PSAP for such county or public agency
in a 9.1-l system implemented pursuant to this act.

CHAPTER IV

Sec. 401. (1) As soon es feasible after installation and commencement of operation of a 9-1-1 system in a 9-1-1
service district. the service supplier shall provide a billing and coliectio service for an emergency telephone
charge from ell service users of the service supplier within the 9-1-1 servrice district. The emergency telephone
charge shell be uniform per each exchange access facility within the 9-1-1 service district. The portion of the
emergency telephone charge which represents start-up costs. nonrecurring billing. installation. service. and
equipment charges of the service supplier. including the costs of updating equipment necessary for conversion
to 9-1-1 service. shall be amortized over a period not to exceed 5 years. as approved by the public service
commission. and shall be billed and collected from all service users only until such amounts are fully recouped
by the service supplier. Recurring costs and charges included in the emergency telephone charge shall continue
to be billed to the service user. Subject to the limitation provided by subsection (2). the amount of the emergency
t9'91300')! charge to be billed to the service user shall be computed by dividing the total emergency telephone
Chile by the number of exchange access facilities within the 9-1-1 service district.

‘2) The "MUM 0‘ "MFR”? telephone charge payable monthly by a service user for recurring (‘thl‘ :iml

269

charges shall not exceed 2'!- of the highest monthly base rate charged by the service supplier for l-party
unlimited “fling within the 9-1-1 service district. The amount of emergency telephone cherge payable monthly
by a service user for nonrecurring costs and charges shall not exceed an additional like amount. The difference.
if any. between the amount of the emergency telephone cherge computed under subsection (1) and the
maximum permitted under this subsection shall be paid by the county from funds available to the county or
through cooperative arrangements with public agencies within the 9-1-1 service district.

(3) The emergency telephone charge shall be collected in accordance with the regular billings of the service
supplier. The emergency telephone charge payable by service users pursuant to this act shall be added to and
may be stated separately in the billings to service users.

Sec. 402. Each billed service user shall be liable for any emergency telephone charge imposed on the service
user pursuant to this act.

Sec. 403. Each service supplier shall be solely responsible for the collection of the emergency telephone
charge and may take any legal action to collect these charges. The county implementing 9-1-1 service pursuant
to this act and public agencies all or part of which are included within the 9-1-1 service district shall not be
liable for the collection of emergency telephone charges imposed on service users pursuant to this act.

Sec. 404. After commencement of collection of the emergency telephone charge within a particular 9-1-1
service district. a service supplier providing or designated to provide 9-1-1 service pursuant to this act shall not
alter the emergency telephone charge collected from service users within the 9-1-1 service district pursuant to
this act except as follows:

(a) As provided in section 405.

(bl Subject to the limitations provided by section 401(2). if additions or withdrawals of PSAPs or secondary
PSAPs are made to the 9.1-1 service within a 9-1-1 service district pursuant to this act. the emergency
telephone charge shall be increased or decreased in an amount such that the total emergency telephone charges
to be collected in such billing period and in each billing period thereafter shall equal the total cost of providing
9-1-1 service within the 9-1-1 service district based on the rates and charges of the service supplier.

(c) Subject to the limitations provided by section 401(2). if a public agency is added to or withdraws from a 9-
1-1 service district pursuant to this act. the emergency telephone charge shall be increased or decreased within
the jurisdiction of the particular public agency in an amount such that the total emergency telephone charges to
be collected in such billing period and in each billing period thereafter shall equal the total cost of providing 9-
1-1 service within the modified 9-1-1 service district based on the rates and charges of the service suppiier.

Sec. 405. (1) Within 90 days after the first day of the calendar year following the year in which a service
supplier commenced collection of the emergency telephone charge pursuant to section 401. and within 90 days
after the first day of every calendar year thereafter. a service supplier providing 9.1-l service pursuant to this
act shall make an annual accounting to the 9.1-1 service district of the total emergency telephone charges
collected during such preceding calendar year.

(2) If an annual accounting made pursuant to subsection (1) discloses that the total emergency telephone
charges collected during the preceding calendar year exceeded the total cost of installing and providing 9-1-1
service within the 9-1-1 service district for the preceding calendar year according to the rates and charges of
the service supplier. the service supplier shall credit the emergency telephone charge collected from service
users in the 9-1-1 service district in an amount computed pursuant to this section. The amount of the credit shall
be computed by dividing such excess by the number of exchange access facilities within the 9-i-1 service
district as such district existed for the billing period immediately following the annual accounting. Costs of the
service supplier associated with making credit under this subsection as part of the billing and collection service
shall be deducted from the amount to be credited.

(3) if the annual accounting discloses that the total emergency telephone charges collected during the
calendar year are less than the total cost of installing and providing 9-1-1 service within the 911 service
district for such preceding calendar year according to the costs and qates of the service supplier. the service
supplier shell collect an additional charge from service users in the 9-1-1 service district in an amount
computed pursuant to this section. Subject to the limitations provided by section 401(2). the amount of the
additional charge shall be computed by dividing the amount by which such total cost exceeded the total
emergency telephone charges collected during the preceding calendar year by the number of exchange access

facilities within the 9-1-1 service district as such district existed for the billing period immediately following
the annual accounting.

CHAPTER V

“Sec. 501. (1) After installation and commencement of operation of a 9-1-1 system implemented pursuant to
this act. a public safety agency serving a public agency or county within the 911 service district msy be added

270

to u“ 9.1.1 ”gum as a PSAP or a secondary PSAP by living written notice of intent to function.“ a PSAP or
secondary PSAP as provided in section 307 to the county clerk. Within 5 days of receipt of the notice. the county
clerk shall forward the written notice to the service supplier. The public safety agency shall commence to
function as a PSAP or secondary PSAP as soon as feasible after giving the written notice.

(2) The costs of equipment installation or system modification. or both. necessary for a public safety agency
to function as a PSAP or secondary PSAP pursuant to subsection (1) shall be paid directly by the public safety
agency and shall not be collected from service users in the Sol-1 service district. ‘

Sec. 502. (1) After installation and commencement of operation of a 9-1-1 system implemented pursuant to
this set. a public safety agency serving a public agency or county within the 931-1 service district shall cease to
function as s PSAP or a secondary PSAP 60 days after giving written notice thereof to the county clerk. Within
5 days after receipt of the notice. the county clerk shall forward the written noticeto the service supplier.

(2) Notwithstanding any provision of this act to the contrary. any costs incurred by a service supplier for
equipment removal or system modification necessary for a public safety agency to cease functioning as a PSAP
or secondary PSAP pursuant to subsection (1) shall be paid directly by the public safety agency and shall not be
collected from service users in the 9-1-1 service district.

Sec. 503. After installation and commencement of operation of a 9«1-l system implemented pursuant to this
act. all or part of the jurisdiction of a public agency within the county shall be added to the 9-1-1 service district
pursuant to section 504 if both of the following occur:

(a) The legislative body of the public agency adopts a resolution including all or part of the public agency
within the 9—1-1 service district.

(bl A certified copy of the resolution adopted by the legislative body of the public agency is forwarded by
certified mail. return receipt requested. to the county clerk.

Sec. 504. Within 5 days after receipt of a certified copy of a resolution adopted by a public agency pursuant
to section 503. the county clerk shall forward the certified copy of the resolution to the service supplier by
certified mail. return receipt requested. Within a reasonable time after the service supplier receives the
certified copy of the resolution. the service supplier shall commence 9.1-I service to all or part of the
jurisdiction of the public agency. as the case may be. and after commencement of such service shall commence
the collection of the emergency telephone charge. in accordance with this act. from service users within all or '
part of the jurisdiction of the public agency added to the 9.1-1 service district. -

Sec. 505. After installation and commencement of operation of a 9.1-1 system implemented pursuant to this
act. a public agency all or part of which is included within a 9-1-1 service district may withdraw all or part of
its jurisdiction from a 9-1-1 service district effective January 1 of the following year if all of the following occur:

(a) The public agency. after giving notice required in subdivisions (b) and (c). conducts a public hearing on
the withdrawal at which all persons attending are afforded a reasonable opportunity to be heard.

(b) Written notice of the time. date. and place of the public hearing conducted by the public agency is given
to the county clerk and the clerk of each public agency within the 9-1-1 service district. at least 30 days prior to
the date of the hearing. -

(c) Notice of the time. date. place. and purpose of the public hearing is published twice in a newspaper of
general circulation within the public agency. the first publication of the notice occurring at least 30 days prior
to the date of the heering..

(d) After the public hearing on withdrawal but prior to 90 days before the end of the calendar year. the
legislative body of the public agency adopts a resolution withdrawing all or part of the area of the public agency
from the 9-1-1 service district. Such resolution shall describe the area of the public agency withdrawing from
the 9-1-1 service district. The resolution shall also state the emergency telephone number to be used within the
jurisdiction of the public agency following withdrawal from the 9-1-1 servic district.

(e) Within 5 days after adoption of the resolution by the legislative body of the public agency. the cierk or
other appropriate official of the public agency shall forward such resolution by certified mail. return receipt
requested. to the county clerk. Within 5 days of receipt of a certified copy of the resolution adopted pursuant to
this section. the county clerk shall forward such resolution by certified mail. return receipt requested. to the
serVice suppliers providing or designated to provide 9-1-1 service to the area of the public agency withdrawing
from the 9-1-1 service district.

. Sec. 506. Subject to the service limitations of the service supplier. a service supplier shall cease 9.1-l service
"1 theme 0' A public Item‘s withdrawing from the 9-1-1 service district on the first day of the calendar year
following the year in which the service supplier received a copy of the resolution adopted pursuant to section

271

505. The service supplier shall continue to collect the emernm‘y telephone charge from I" "”5" 0"" who
continue to have 9-1-1 service. but the service supplier shall not collect the emergency telephone charge from
service users within the area of the public agency Withdrawing from the 9+1 service district who do not
continue to have 9.1.1 service after the billing period in which the first day of the calendar year is included. The
service ””11”, using the calculations provided in section 405. shall credit or collect any additional charge
from service users within the public agency withdrawing from the 911 service district.

Sec. 507. This act shall not be construed to prohibit s public agency or a county from contracting with s
service supplier for 9-1-1 service within all or part of the jurisdiction of the public agency or county and paying
for such service directly from the funds of the public ngency or county.

CHAPTER V]

See. 601. The public service commission. upon request by a service supplier. county. public agency. or public
service agency. shall provide. to the extent possible. technical assistance regarding the formulation or
implementation or both of a 9-1-1 service plan.

Sec. 602. A dispute between or among 1 or more service suppliers. counties. public agencies. public service
agencies. or any combination thereof regarding their respective rights and duties under this act shall be heard
as a contested case before the public service commission as provided in the administrative procedures act of
1969. Act No. 306 of the Public Acts of 1969. being sections 24.201 to 24.328 of the Michigan Compiled Laws.

Sec. 603. The public service commission shall review and make findings regarding the implementation of 9-
1-1 emergency service in this state pursuant to this act and shall. not later than 3 years after the effective date
of this act. report its findings and any recommendations for improving the procedures under this act to each
house of the legislature. =

Sec. 604. Other than for pro rata charges for the service during a period when the service may be fully or
partially inoperative. a service supplier. public agency. PSAP. or an officer. agent. or employee of any service
supplier. public agency. or PSAP. or an owner or lessee of a pay station telephone shall not be liable for civil
damages to any person as a result of an act or omission on the part of the service supplier. public agency. PSA P.
or an officer. agent. or employee of any service supplier. public agency. or PSAP. or an owner or lessee in
complying with any provision of this act. unless the act or omission amounts to gross negligence or willful and
wanton misconduct.

CHAPTER V}!

See. 701. As used in this chapter. ”committee” means the emergency telephone service committee created in
section 702.

Sec. 702. An emergency telephone service committee is created within the department of management and
budgetto develop statewide standards and model system considerations and make other recommendations for
emergency telephone serVices.

Sec. 703. ii) The committee shall consist of 13 members as follows:

(a) The director of the department of state police or his or her designated representative.

l bl The director of public health or his or her designated representative.

(cl The chair of the Michigan public service commission or his or her designated representative.

id) The president of the Michigan sheriff s association or his or her designated representative.

lel The president of the Michigan association of chiefs of police or his or her designated representative.
(fl The president of the Michigan fire chiefs association or his or her designated representative.

lgl The executive director of the Michigan association of counties or his or her designated representative.
il'tl The director of the office of criminal justice or his or her designated representative.

til Three members of the general public. 1 member to be appointed by the governor. 1 member to be
appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives. and 1 member to be appointed by the majority leader
of the senate. The 3 members of the general public shall have expertise relating to emergency radio

communications. dispatching. and services or to telephone systems. The members of the general public shall
serve for terms of 2 years.

U) The executive director of the Michigan fraternal order of police or his or her designated representative.

272

(kl The president of the Michigan state police troopers association or his or her designated representative.
(2) The committee shall elect 1 of its members to serve as chairperson. The chairperson of the committee
shall serve for a term of 1 year.

(3l.Members of the committee shall serve without compensation. but shall be entitled to actual and necessary
expenses incurred in the performance of official duties under this chapter.

Sec. 704. The committee shall do all of the following:

(al Organize and adopt standards governing the committee's formal and informal procedures.
(bl Meet at a place and time specified by the chairperson.

(cl Keep a record of the proceedings and activities of the committee.

. (dl Provide recommendations to public safety answering points and secondary public safety answering
points on statewide technical and operational standards for PSA 1’: and secondary PSA Pa.

(el Provide recommendations to public agencies concerning model systems to be considered in preparing a 9.
1-1 service plan. .

(0 Research and make recommendations to the legislature no later than March 31. 1993 on coordination and
establishment of a statewide emergency telephone service.

(gl Research and make recommendations to the legislature and the department of management and budget
' on providing statewide staff assistance to 9—1-1 service districts.

Sec. 705. The business which the committee may perform shall be conducted at a public meeting of the
committee held in compliance with the open meetings act. Act No. 267 of the Public Acts of 1976. being sections
15.261 to 15.275 of the Michigan Compiled Laws. Public notice of the time. date. and place of the meeting shall
be given in the manner required by Act No. 267 of the Public Acts of 1976.

See. 706. A writing prepared. owned. used. in the possession of. or retained by the committee in the
performance of an official function shall be made available to the public in compliance with the freedom of

information act. Act No. 442 of the Public Acts of 1976. being sections 15.231 to 15.246 of the Michigan
Compiled Laws.

Sec. 707. This chapter is repealed effective March 31. 1993.

%% (7%

Secretary of the Senate.

Maxi—.3...

Clerk of the House of Representatives.

This act is ordered to take immediate effect.

 

A pproved .......... . .......... . ..............

 

uuuuuuuuu

............................................................

 

Governor.

APPENDIX 6

Newsletter Announcement

 

ill [‘1‘ |l|lljlil {I

'MIO'lIGANl POLICE CHIEFS hEh'SLEI'I'ER: Juno

general public using toilet ’Itlittigg on... gr. 153‘.
ten: titlTOE‘ ¢9§‘°=$ir has a core reasonao‘e aipettaticn
0’ Pfilitia' ££;iii§ ‘3 £5 £3509Ws'6. 3.. concurring:.

:n the iritart case. :I’ensan: .1; .n;.;,g in .;g-.g.
ties reacily ctsariat'e :y tryahg .izgring tne rest roan.
70:3! =tl¢3- i”¢‘U€i"$ 553;:‘0. unitn nave ucnaid trs
privacy interest of an iflC't':;.l (.113. 1 rest .33:

tall do oat control tn‘s :ase. Evan is a. gon:pgg
that defendant had a su:fe:t‘ve sa:g;:g:i°n :4 39.1.:y
d6 5?! unwiiiing to :pngigzg :51; 1g.‘ “:,=:‘:1=n £‘
00. 5°=€.:’ 1‘ a”:‘-"‘ .a: '9:.‘;'.'::. 3‘ .9‘15507-0530.’
Defencant was engaged in casual Iztiatgigg in 1 :1.;,
readily accessible and open to lnyan. hggcin; to 9,, tne
9252 '00.. 10:705lfls c.tia'en. An gypgggggigg ‘f Off.
"‘1 in such a setting is unreasonagtg, Tun“... a.
‘encant‘s constitutional ri;nts are not here inpii:atgd,
See Seitn at 25.

we therefore reverse tne orcer suppressing tne video
tape evidence and tne testicony of the notice oiiiggog
and resend this case 4or ‘u'tnsr proceecings consistent
actn this opinion.
ls/ Elicaoetn a. weaver
is! John H. Sneonerc
is/ irantis D. irouitletta

DISPATBHEBS TO BE STUDIED

Dennis M. Payne of the School of :rininal Justice
at Michigan State university is completing his wore on
a doctoral degree in :rieinal Justice. In ‘uiiillaan:
of his reouirelents for a sh.D.. Hr. Payne has a read to
perfor: a study of dispat-.ars for tne hicnican .' to
Police in order to develop a Job relevant training pro-
graa for dispatchers. Though state police dispatchers
are the original focus of the study. Hr. Payne would
also like to include dispatchers froe.a1l Michigan pc-
-lice agencies. 1f the study shows that there is sini-
larity along dispatchers stateside. regardless of the
depart-ants they work for. then the results of the study
should have practical significance for all police dis-
patching functions. 1

The results of the study should provide those inter-
ested with a profile of as effective dispatcher. a train-
ing prograe for dispatchers based on the perceptions of
the dispatchers. and criteria for selection of dispatchers.

The work on this original research is in the early
stages of developeant. Hr. Payne will be contacting
sheriffs and chiefs of police in Michigan to the ggig
f aonths in hopes of enlisting their cooperat on n
5%; aiiiy. The critical role of dispatching and the in.

tance of the dispatcher's function is key among his
interests. Your cooperation with Mr. Payne is requested.
Hr. Payne. a retired polite otficer fro- nichigan. eishes
the work to have acne practical value for the police field
as veil as be a scholarly work. The responses iron your
dispatchers. if chosen is the saeoltng. are nest important
to the success of this study. Iotential respondents
should know that resporses on any questionnaire will be
anonyi-ous.

Prisoner overf low now
gluts county jails
in Michigan

. 9y tassel ieync'cs
.ne .etrt‘t %avs tariing tu‘aau

. 1"‘i'i ' '"t tit't't-t"$ crisis that t'asues "cti-
S‘“ ‘ 5"535 Irritt has i;°i‘ec tier ~rtc cru'2y :t“:.
“‘°"‘”3 1° 1"! "éf‘il' Ensr"’s' izsot'at'or.

deputy clrector c‘ tne assoc‘ation.

stration.
the jurisdiction of the state Departnent of Corrections. A
bill creating an autonolous jail council has passed the Son-

1988

‘m-gocegggin; {g g 535:“: gratin: SI“ :3... 3277's
'It doesn't scat ex-

‘st in or‘sors. out sign in :ails. It's an sit—sing

trend.“

to Vitnigan :atfs has
three years. In :55‘.
551‘. coats-es to more

The pusher c! 39:57. confined
inc-eased :y 50.035 over tne Tait
aoout 135.335 people were sent t
tnan 23:.030 last year.

There are aoout $.30: jail beds in hicnican. Tour-
ties have increased in oed space by 35 percert cver tne
past three years. out t Jail population nas crown by
£5 percent - so there are stiil sore incates than secs.

The state's prison systes. meanwhile. has :3.330 in-
nates. Tnat is :5 percent over its listed capacity of
9

O .2 .0

’risons are at ta-‘unded institutions designed to
nouse serious and long-tern ielons. dai°s are county-
run ’aciiities housing people convicted of =‘icspaanors.
suspects awaiting trial and ‘eions sentence: to one
year or Teas.

:avis said tnat feT-ons one should to doing tips in
state institutions are increasingly being iercencec to
county jaiis oecausa there is no roo- ’or that in or‘sors.

The nunoer of ‘aiors housed in county :ai's nas cout-

Ted in the past three years and now totais core tnan to
percent of the

countiea' insatea. ccortint to tne report.

There are 79 :aiis and three lockups - tesoorary hold-

ing facilities - in Michigan's 53 edunties.

The Sherifis' Associ tion report. cased on a survey of

sheriffs. jail adainistrators and county couisaioners.
suggests changes to ease the :ail overcro-cing crisis:

a An independent :ail council to oversed’jail adenoi-
Currently. :aiis are funded locally out are under

te and is now before the house Corrections Coleittee.
a State financial support to bring :aifs into coupliance

with state standards and to sate necessary inorcve-ents. 2n

the neat eight years. an additions] $250 sillion will he
needed for physical isproveeents in :ails. the report stated.

‘ 1 a State couponsstioo for counties housing sentenced
.e ons.

 

taut: scientists? ttszxzntgfgg,0?=ltir§

The Vicnigan Departnent of State =tfice announced
recently the a-ard of a $£3.030 ‘ede'al nigr-ay sa’ety
grant to train county Shariiis' deputies anc total 'ev
en’orteoent officers in :mrtial carr'er en’orcenent.

The grant. 'unded by the v.5. Desa'tnert c‘ Trars-
osrtatiun and administered by the tirite ti h‘cr-ay
Sa’ety Panning, atil give aiogr anoa'ecge sf truci. er-
forteeent to apprciinately :55 officers.

. i'tifins .111 se conducted at Searos-n ’Jt‘y :t-itl.
:;:?¢ ithfcs .kugtst 9-223. and Jactaor Sattazoar :2-15).
.4. cars interested in applying ’or trait n: are encour-
site 10 :srtact ‘rtjec: :i-egzpr L‘ogzonan: Eti‘y %anr

:- the State iciite Inter :arr-ar D'v's'pr at .ELT)
237-£152 in Lariing.

 

APPENDIX B

Tentative 911 Service Plan

274
A rsnrarlvn all seRVIcn nnan

rnnraca
Be it resolved that:

Public Act 32 of 1986 establishes the energency telephone service
enabling act. This act allows the board of comaissinners of a county to
establish an energency telvphnne district within all or part at n runniy
and any cause 9]] service to be implemented within such emergency
telephone district. To establish a energoncy telephone district and to
cause 911 service to he iapleaented within such an emergency telephone
district. the board of conaissioners of a county shgll first «day! a
tentative 911 service plan by resolution.

Article I

This tentative 911 service plan is a plan for inpleaenting a 911 system
in a specified 911 service district. The director or the Departnnnt nr
Stats Police/or his or her designated representative has been

consulted as required. This tentative plan addresses thn following
systea considerations:

I. Technical considerations
II. Operational considerations
III. Managerial considerations
IV. Fiscal considerations

V. Payment plan for installation and reoccurring charges
The Final 9-l-l service plan is exactly the sass as the tentative 9~l-l
service plan with two exceptions. First. tho exclusion of public

agencies who have chosen to be reaoved fro- tha plan. Second. the
exclusion of PSAP’s who failed to respond as required by Section 307.

Article 11

u r :
"Technical considerations of the service supplier including systca
oqulpnent for facilities that would be used in providing energency
telephone service." [Sec. 102(q)(i)]
t n C n d on

This requires ln-depth discussion with the county's service supplier and

written language which aeets statutory require-ants of tho tentative
plan.

The 911 system within the county may include the service featurws of:
r ‘Selectinn routing
> Automatic nunber identification (ANA)

r Automatic location identification (ALI)

275

"ii; service suppliers for the county exchanges will provide technical .
considerations with respect to the design. installation. and maintenance
of the network in accordance with the Michigan Public Service Commission
tariff rates. rules and regulationS. which must be included in the
tentative plan and the appropriate system equipment for facilities that
would be used in providing emergency telephone service.

Article III

R u m n
"Operational considerations including designation of PSAP’s and secondary
PSAP’s and the manner in which 9~l-l calls would be processed. dispatch
functions performed. and information systems utilized." lSec. lOZ(q)(ii)J

o t n

Each "public agency" in the county. who has decided to participate in the
911 service district. has designated a public safety answering point as
their service center. The designated PSAP’s have structured their

method of delivery of service so that a 911 call is processed by means
of.either direct dispatch method. the relay method. or the transfer
method. .

The following lists the primary PSAP(s). secondary PSAP(s). and public
agencies who have decided to participate in the 911 service district.
Additionally. the suggested method of delivery of 911 service which each
PSAP proposes is provided. -

Tentative 911 Service Plan for the County:

T e o erv' D ch Method
D-Dispatch R-Relay TnTransfer
Secondary
P§A£ .ESAE Public Agency Police [ice Medicpt
Agency Name Agency Agency service a 0 7

provided for

3”Final 9-1-1 service plan" means a tentative 9-l-l service plan
that has been modified only to reflect decessary changes resulting
from any exclusions of public agencies from the 9-1-1 service
'district of the tentative 9-1-1 service plan pursuant to section
306 and any failure of public safety agencies to be designated as
PSAP; or secondary PSAPs pursuant to section 307.

276

...

Additionally. the PSAP shall publish their procedure to provide for the
available emergency unit located closest to the request for emergency
services to be dispatched to the need of such service. The nothnd or
dispatch and the closest car concept aust be approved by the public
agency utilising the PSAP's servirne.

Pursuant to this act. each public agency has 45 days after neceipt or
this tentative 911 service plan to file with the County clerk a notice of
exclusion iron the 9ll service district.

Each public agency has 45 days after receipt of. this tentative 9ll
service plan to file with the county clerk a notice of intent to
function as a PSAP or secondary PSAP. When a public agency files

as a PSAP or secondary PSAP. they shall file a service plan listing
the public agencies {or which they will provide 911 service and aethod
of dispatch and plan for incurring ”the closest car concept.”

Should any public agency fail to file a notice of intent to function as n
PSAP or secondary PSAP. the designation becomes the decision of the
county board of coamissioners. -

Article IV

”Managerial considerations including the organisational torn and
agreeaents which would control technical. operational. and fiscal aspects
of the energency telephone service." (See. lOZ(q)(iii)l

o o t

A public agency which decides to operate a PSAP in responsible .or the
aanegeaent of the on-lins public safety dispatch center' a operations.
such responsibility will be in the area of operational configur.:tion.
equipment needs. personnel needs. etc. However. the tentative plan
should establish a procedure by which the public agencies whict utilize
the PSAP are afforded the review capabilities of the level of service and
adherence to the plan the PSAP is providing.

The county. through the board of commissioners in consultation with the
designated representative of the Department of State Police will

be responsible. consistent with the eaergency telephone enabling :ict. to
ensure an appropriate and t.iaely implementation and naintenance of count)
911 service. Such activities any include. but are not necessarily
liaited ‘0: system wide planning. coordination. information liaison. and
approval of payaent for the counties portion of system charges.

277
Article V

”Fiscal conniderntiona including projected non-recurring and recurring

cost with a financial plan for implementing and operating the system.”
(Sec. l02(q)(iv)].

ed 0 a C n t on

This requires in-depth discussion with the county’s service supplier and
written language which meets statutory requirements of the tentative
plan. .

Public agencies who request to be PSAP’e must provide detailed cost
projections for the structuring of the center to their users. These
cost projections should include:

a PSAP Equipment Costs - The act requires each public agency
operating a PSAP to pay for:

0 All terminal equipment installation and annual reoccurring
charges.

0 Any additional PSAP equipment and/or program features as
determined by the public agency such as secondary PSAP's and
numbers of incoming lines above the deteraination by the
tariff.

0 Equipment costs for AM! and ALI displays. and ALI master and
auxiliary controllers. if these services are included in the
plan.

AN! and ALI displays show ANI or ALI information at the PSAP.
The displays may be purchased from various vendors or leased
from Michigan Bell Telephone Company.

0 Installation. and maintenance of ANI and/or ALI displays within
' the PSAP.
0 Any personnel costs needed to operate the center.
e Estimated network cost:
0 The county board shall be responsible for filing the

necessary reports to the Michigan Public Service Commission so
that the service supplier may seek a tariff increase as
provided by the Act.

0 The act makes provisions for netwodk installation and annnnl

. recurring costs be paid for by the telephone substriber up to a
23 cap as computed by a formula contained in the art. Network
costs for the individual homeowner and resident of the county
will be paid by the 2% tariff issued by the Michigan Public
Service Commission.

278

Article Vi

gtgtutgf R I i

"The tentative 9-l-l service plan shall require each public agency and
county operating a PSAP under the 9-l-l system to pay directly for all
installation and recurring charges for terminal equipment. including
customer preaises equipment. associated with the public agency’s or the
county's PSAP. and lay require each public agency and county operating a
PSAP under the 9-l-l system to pay directly to the service supplier all
installation and recurring charges for all 9-1- -l exchange and tie lines
associated with the public agency' a or the county’ s PSAP." [Sec.
102(q)(v)]

Sggggstgg Opeggtional gongjdggations:

Under Article VI. the PSAP in agreement with the public agencies who are
going to use the PSAP services may agree to a billing cost to the public
agency for the services and equipment provided. This billing procedure
will be filed with the county clerk by the PSAP with its notice to
function as a PSAP.

The PSAP shall be responsible for payment of all equipment CUSito and
service fees to the service supplier regardless of the billing proceduies
established between the PSAP and public agencies who use the PSAP
services.

"ITillllllllllllllllllll