Henrico Police seeking communications officers

Citizens ready to answer the call can now apply to be public safety dispatchers for the Henrico County Divison of Police, which opened applications for the role April 2.

Public safety dispatchers, known as communications officers in the division, are the critical link between people in need of emergency services and people who provide it, according to the Henrico Police website.

The division held a recruitment session on April 1 that was hosted by Officer Kyle Morrison and included Officer Randy Dailey, Lt. Col. Barbara West, Sgt. Jermaine Alley, Hiring Process Coordinator Kristie Walkuw and Training Coordinator Jessica Boster as panelists.

Henrico Police recruiters typically would host sessions on college campuses, military bases, community events and career fairs, but due to COVID-19 the recent recruitment process has been virtual, according to the info session listing.

Communications officers should possess a variety of skills, including multitasking and quick thinking in high-pressure situations, Walkuw said.

“There’s no one thing that makes someone a great dispatcher,” she said. “All of our dispatchers come from different backgrounds.”

Communications officers come from multiple career paths, and Walkuw noted that a number of communications officers come from careers in food service. Walkuw and Boster were waitresses before they began working on the team, Boster said.

Prior experience in police work or dispatching is not required for people interested in applying to the communications officer position, Boster said People as young as 18 who possess a high school diploma or GED equivalent can apply for the position.

Dailey also discussed the role that communications officers play in the public safety infrastructure, specifically the vital relationship between communications officers and emergency services officials.

“We can’t do our jobs without them,” he said. “I mean that from the bottom of my heart.”

Alley agreed, citing a recent story when a senior communications officer assisted law enforcement by establishing a scene perimeter when officers, including Alley, were engaged in a full pursuit of multiple suspects.

The skills that communications officers employ are mastered during an almost year-long training process, which begins in a 9-week Basic Communications Academy, Boster said.

Communications officers also receive technical training in police, fire and emergency medical services radio, computerized typing and Teletype, a system that allows police to communicate with jails, sheriff’s offices or other law enforcement agencies, Boster said.

When recommended for solo release in the Emergency Communications Center, communications officers operate in an assigned channel, which include phones, police radios, fire, emergency medical services and Teletype, according to the Henrico Division’s website.

Once a communications officer is hired and begins the training process, he or she receives full benefits – including paid training, tuition reimbursements, insurance and retirement benefits through the Virginia Retirement System – from the first day on the job, the panelists said.

The starting salary for a communications officer with the Henrico Division is $38,414, and officers are assigned to one of three fixed shifts: day, evening or midnight, according to the website. Henrico Police has a 4-step career development program for communications officers, according to the website.

Boster said a primary component in the training process for communications officers is focus.
Communications officers demonstrate a mastery of processing more than what is being said in a call to assist the police and the public in their roles, Dailey said.

Providing assistance to law enforcement and members of emergency services can be challenging, he said, because dispatchers cannot see what is happening at the scene. Dailey compared it to standing outside of a room where a movie is playing and having to infer what is going on from the sound alone.

Communications officers create close relationships with police officers, firefighters and emergency services officials despite the fact that they usually do not interact face-to-face, the panelists said.

Despite the benefits of the job, Boster recognized that mental preparation is necessary for communications officers to be able to face stressful or troubling calls.

“Every time the phone rings it is something different,” she said. “Our every day is someone’s worst day.”

Communications officers provide vital assistance to people who call 911 while help is on the way, Boster said. Although communications officers may face challenges in the calls they receive, there is a reward that comes from successfully helping someone give CPR or deliver a baby over the phone, she said.

The Henrico Division will offer another virtual panel April 8 at 6 p.m. Communications officer applications will be active through May 3, Dailey said.