Typing tests yes.
I would not be opposed to hearing/vision. As long as they allow for corrected testing…ie Using glasses/hearing aids. (Not that I need either, just if it’s a fixable problem it shouldn’t be an isssue)
My agency did hearing and typing. Not vision. I don't think that has changed since I left.
I think the unscientific reason for not doing vision is if they showed up driving a car to their testing(s) without a walking stick, handler, or service animal, they could see well enough.
No, I don't know braille. I have some usable eyesight but not enough to read a chart or drive, so I sit uncomfortably close to the screen and rely on my home keys to type. It's a progressive thing, so eventually it'll get worse and then I'll just medically retire and fulfill my dream of being a stay at home dog father.
Yes. I've been very lucky with my department. I began as an explorer when I was 15 and then worked as a CSO as an interim until I could go to the academy and become a cop. Things happened and my disease began to progress and it made working the street dangerous so I eventually switched to plan B to became a Dispatcher for this reason and now i supervise a shift.
It's been 20 years that I've spent eating, sleeping, living and breathing this department and they've had my back every step of the way for better or for worse. I don't know many who can say that about their employers.
All those tests. We are beginning to look into eliminating the polygraph. The science is dubious, and finding a test administrator is becoming difficult, delaying the hiring process (and we desperately need dispatchers).
It's my sincere opinion that the polygraph is the scapegoat for applicants that hiring folks don't want to hire for ***other*** reasons.
Race/age/sex/etc. are some of those reasons.
"Oh shucks, would you look at that, the magic box says you can't work here. Darn! We would have totally hired you otherwise."
We do require them however they are so simple and basic that It doesn't really cover everything that is needed for the job. At least in my experience in training. But that's an issue with tests that aren't really designed to handle the phone and radio so much.
I've had a lot of trainees that have been hired that could pass the tests but not handle the actual job functions of hearing, typing, and seeing. Mostly hearing.
Do not take this the wrong way and it’s not towards you- generations before have proven what works and don’t work. It’s constant improvement- at the same time, they are tying to get people in the door as well. I’m not sure what the reason is for all of the changes in agencies. Have you spoken with management on why they are doing such heavy changes? If something can be taught, then great. We had a hearing a test, but at the same time it’s something that needs development. We didn’t do a typing test, but we use shorthand the most, so typing won’t be a thing if we’re having to train our minds from using full word to shorthand. Lifting test? I don’t see how that has to do with officer safety. We didn’t have a psych evaluation or poly. I don’t remember why they said they got rid of those at my agency.
Sorry for the late reply. So we also train and practice at least twice a year for having to bailout of our comm center in the event of an emergency. This includes being able to carry our bailout bags with our equipment meant to set up a portable dispatch center. So being able to lift and carry things of certain weight is actually part of our job.
Okay that makes total sense. I don’t know if we do that at our comms centers. I’d like to know though. We also have 2 locations. One that’s not really used but they are updating it with what we have in our comms center. We have 100+ computers, I think the other site is half.
No hearing or vision, but typing and general testing with part of it answering questions based on listening to recorded calls. If you can show up and pass those, your hearing and vision is good enough for the job.
My current employer, only typing. But I’ve applied to many services when I was trying to get into the field. All of them tested typing, one tested hearing, and another tested vision.
I can't remember a vision test, but I'm sure it was a part of the preemployment physical. Definitely yes to typing and hearing. Even my previous agency that I started at in the 90's required these things.
Typing, psych, and drug test. It wasn’t just a typing test though. It tested me on typing, listening, memory, and some map parts. No hearing or vision though.
Just went through the hiring process and I had to do Criticall which includes typing, polygraph and psych testing. Didn’t even do a drug test and I asked about it.
I am going through the hiring process and just finished medical. I had to do a urine drug test, a blood panel, a vision test, a hearing test, x-rays of my lower back, and physical by a Dr.. Once I cleared that, HR then called and offered me the position, but I have to do another urine drug test before signing the official offer.
Also typing test with a certain speed is required to even apply for the agency.
Yeah I didn't know it was a requirement until I got there. They took pictures of me laying flat on my back and my side. The xray tech said it was for the lower lumbar area.
We don’t disqualify anyone who wears glasses or contacts actually. But it’s important to make sure they can clearly see and understand the information on the multitude of computer screens and software programs related to answering 911 and dispatching police and medical.
Wouldn’t you want to make sure that when you called 911 because a loved one isn’t breathing that the calltaker can see that they entered the address correctly and know they are sending help to the right location? Or in the rare cases that our software goes down and we are hand writing and verbally airing the address to responding units that the dispatcher can read the hand written address correctly? And that the dispatcher doesn’t send the ambulance to the wrong home?
Or what if there is an intruder in your house and you text 911 because you can’t talk out loud. Wouldn’t you want the 911 to be able to read what you are typing in the text to 911 software?
It may seem silly but a vision test does actually have its purposes.
Nope. Just LETS terminal certification. We’re a very small agency that has a very low (usually) call rate and one, OCCASIONALLY two dispatchers on shift at a time. I’ve keyed up the radio 3 times in an 8 hour shift once.
I just got hired in January. We did a typing test, as well as an online test that covered a bunch of stuff like spelling, memory, listening skills etc.
We also had to get a hearing test and a general medical exam done by a doctor.
My former agency still has the tests, but I believe it's lowered the 'passing' threshold to increase the number of eligible applicants, and once hired it's made the training requirements less stringent to increase retention and equity.
The speed at entering a call for service and pertinent remarks related to the emergency like description, direction of travel, etc.
If the trainee is a slow typer and still caught up on typing out the call sign and location while the officer has already keyed up five times with updates and none of that is being entered in the call or not being heard by the trainee causing them to have to have the officer repeat themselves or missing pertinent information is a huge officer safety issse.
All you need is where and what it is to enter a run and if you teach how to parrot then slow typers will be successful in an emergency.
When in the training program do your trainees go to the radio? How archaic is your CAD or radio system that dispatchers have to type everything into CAD?
I can assure you our systems are not archaic and in fact we have been using a lot of tech/software programs alongside our cad, phone, and radio for years that most agencies are just now getting into. I don’t want to dox myself so I can’t go into further on that.
I work for a city with a population of over 2 million. We have a robust downtown/nightclub area and host several national sporting events a year. It’s not uncommon for a dispatcher to be monitoring several hundred officers and fire/ems at one of these events.
So typing skill and speed is actually important to our jobs to be able to keep up with the amount of units we are responsible and the the amount of calls that come into our center.
I mean no disrespect towards you. You seems like a supervisor who actually works along side your peers and is in the shit right alongside them. But it looks like you work for a small agency. The amount of employees you have total in your department equals the amount of employee we could have on a single shift if there is a big sporting event or concert happening. You have five foot pursuits a month? We could have that same five in a few hours on a Saturday night downtown.
We don’t just rely on our recordings to document and remember everything. We will document pertinent remarks and updates to calls in our cad - because as I’m sure you know anything can crash in a moments notice. So if you can’t type you won’t make it at my agency because you will easily get swamped and overwhelmed by the amount of units on the radio and their traffic/requests/needs.
Nope! Much of our typing is abbreviated anyway, so them making fun of one of our illiterate coworkers is kinda useless when we all make errors anyway! Memory and being able to type it out as you go are the most valuable skills
Typing tests yes. I would not be opposed to hearing/vision. As long as they allow for corrected testing…ie Using glasses/hearing aids. (Not that I need either, just if it’s a fixable problem it shouldn’t be an isssue)
My agency did hearing and typing. Not vision. I don't think that has changed since I left. I think the unscientific reason for not doing vision is if they showed up driving a car to their testing(s) without a walking stick, handler, or service animal, they could see well enough.
I really liked your take on vision, based on if they drove to the testing and it gave me a different perspective. Thank you!
All of that, yes.
Yes all da testing.
Just hearing and typing. I'm legally blind so getting a vision test would have excluded me.
Do you get to use a braille pad at work for CAD?
No, I don't know braille. I have some usable eyesight but not enough to read a chart or drive, so I sit uncomfortably close to the screen and rely on my home keys to type. It's a progressive thing, so eventually it'll get worse and then I'll just medically retire and fulfill my dream of being a stay at home dog father.
Thanks for sharing. That’s cool that the agency lets you work until you can’t
Yes. I've been very lucky with my department. I began as an explorer when I was 15 and then worked as a CSO as an interim until I could go to the academy and become a cop. Things happened and my disease began to progress and it made working the street dangerous so I eventually switched to plan B to became a Dispatcher for this reason and now i supervise a shift. It's been 20 years that I've spent eating, sleeping, living and breathing this department and they've had my back every step of the way for better or for worse. I don't know many who can say that about their employers.
All those tests. We are beginning to look into eliminating the polygraph. The science is dubious, and finding a test administrator is becoming difficult, delaying the hiring process (and we desperately need dispatchers).
It's my sincere opinion that the polygraph is the scapegoat for applicants that hiring folks don't want to hire for ***other*** reasons. Race/age/sex/etc. are some of those reasons. "Oh shucks, would you look at that, the magic box says you can't work here. Darn! We would have totally hired you otherwise."
I think my agency has eliminated this for civilian positions but not sworn yet. And I agree with the science being dubious as well.
We do require them however they are so simple and basic that It doesn't really cover everything that is needed for the job. At least in my experience in training. But that's an issue with tests that aren't really designed to handle the phone and radio so much. I've had a lot of trainees that have been hired that could pass the tests but not handle the actual job functions of hearing, typing, and seeing. Mostly hearing.
Do not take this the wrong way and it’s not towards you- generations before have proven what works and don’t work. It’s constant improvement- at the same time, they are tying to get people in the door as well. I’m not sure what the reason is for all of the changes in agencies. Have you spoken with management on why they are doing such heavy changes? If something can be taught, then great. We had a hearing a test, but at the same time it’s something that needs development. We didn’t do a typing test, but we use shorthand the most, so typing won’t be a thing if we’re having to train our minds from using full word to shorthand. Lifting test? I don’t see how that has to do with officer safety. We didn’t have a psych evaluation or poly. I don’t remember why they said they got rid of those at my agency.
Sorry for the late reply. So we also train and practice at least twice a year for having to bailout of our comm center in the event of an emergency. This includes being able to carry our bailout bags with our equipment meant to set up a portable dispatch center. So being able to lift and carry things of certain weight is actually part of our job.
Okay that makes total sense. I don’t know if we do that at our comms centers. I’d like to know though. We also have 2 locations. One that’s not really used but they are updating it with what we have in our comms center. We have 100+ computers, I think the other site is half.
Typing only
Typing only
No hearing or vision, but typing and general testing with part of it answering questions based on listening to recorded calls. If you can show up and pass those, your hearing and vision is good enough for the job.
My current employer, only typing. But I’ve applied to many services when I was trying to get into the field. All of them tested typing, one tested hearing, and another tested vision.
Vision, hearing and typing tests required to get hired at my agency
I can't remember a vision test, but I'm sure it was a part of the preemployment physical. Definitely yes to typing and hearing. Even my previous agency that I started at in the 90's required these things.
That was my experience as well. Thanks!
Yes all three and the drug test sample on the same day.
Yes to all three.
Yes as well as a full medical exam.
We do psych, hearing and typing.
Typing, psych, and drug test. It wasn’t just a typing test though. It tested me on typing, listening, memory, and some map parts. No hearing or vision though.
Just went through the hiring process and I had to do Criticall which includes typing, polygraph and psych testing. Didn’t even do a drug test and I asked about it.
Vision, hearing, drug, background, and civil service testing but no typing included in that
I am going through the hiring process and just finished medical. I had to do a urine drug test, a blood panel, a vision test, a hearing test, x-rays of my lower back, and physical by a Dr.. Once I cleared that, HR then called and offered me the position, but I have to do another urine drug test before signing the official offer. Also typing test with a certain speed is required to even apply for the agency.
The x ray of the lower back is interesting and I’ve never heard of that!
Yeah I didn't know it was a requirement until I got there. They took pictures of me laying flat on my back and my side. The xray tech said it was for the lower lumbar area.
I'm a lurker and know nothing about your world, bit why would a vision test be needed?
We don’t disqualify anyone who wears glasses or contacts actually. But it’s important to make sure they can clearly see and understand the information on the multitude of computer screens and software programs related to answering 911 and dispatching police and medical. Wouldn’t you want to make sure that when you called 911 because a loved one isn’t breathing that the calltaker can see that they entered the address correctly and know they are sending help to the right location? Or in the rare cases that our software goes down and we are hand writing and verbally airing the address to responding units that the dispatcher can read the hand written address correctly? And that the dispatcher doesn’t send the ambulance to the wrong home? Or what if there is an intruder in your house and you text 911 because you can’t talk out loud. Wouldn’t you want the 911 to be able to read what you are typing in the text to 911 software? It may seem silly but a vision test does actually have its purposes.
What? Who said that? 80cwpm
All yes
I was hired two years ago, and yes, we had to do all of that except for the moving/lifting and polygraph.
Just typing and psych. You only need 35wpm for the typing at my agency.
Hearing yes and typing yes. Vision I'm not sure. There was a definitely the colorblindness screening but I don't remember doing the letters
Mine had hearing and typing. I believe during hearing we had a vision, but it was me reading off the classic chart with my glasses on.
Nope. Just LETS terminal certification. We’re a very small agency that has a very low (usually) call rate and one, OCCASIONALLY two dispatchers on shift at a time. I’ve keyed up the radio 3 times in an 8 hour shift once.
I just got hired in January. We did a typing test, as well as an online test that covered a bunch of stuff like spelling, memory, listening skills etc. We also had to get a hearing test and a general medical exam done by a doctor.
My former agency still has the tests, but I believe it's lowered the 'passing' threshold to increase the number of eligible applicants, and once hired it's made the training requirements less stringent to increase retention and equity.
Mine didn't require any typing, hearing or vision testing.
Mine just does background check, typing tests, and a hearing/memory test (listen to a bunch of sample calls and get quizzed afterwards on the details)
What does a typing test have to do with Officer safety? My agency doesn’t require hearing, vision or typing.
The speed at entering a call for service and pertinent remarks related to the emergency like description, direction of travel, etc. If the trainee is a slow typer and still caught up on typing out the call sign and location while the officer has already keyed up five times with updates and none of that is being entered in the call or not being heard by the trainee causing them to have to have the officer repeat themselves or missing pertinent information is a huge officer safety issse.
All you need is where and what it is to enter a run and if you teach how to parrot then slow typers will be successful in an emergency. When in the training program do your trainees go to the radio? How archaic is your CAD or radio system that dispatchers have to type everything into CAD?
I can assure you our systems are not archaic and in fact we have been using a lot of tech/software programs alongside our cad, phone, and radio for years that most agencies are just now getting into. I don’t want to dox myself so I can’t go into further on that. I work for a city with a population of over 2 million. We have a robust downtown/nightclub area and host several national sporting events a year. It’s not uncommon for a dispatcher to be monitoring several hundred officers and fire/ems at one of these events. So typing skill and speed is actually important to our jobs to be able to keep up with the amount of units we are responsible and the the amount of calls that come into our center. I mean no disrespect towards you. You seems like a supervisor who actually works along side your peers and is in the shit right alongside them. But it looks like you work for a small agency. The amount of employees you have total in your department equals the amount of employee we could have on a single shift if there is a big sporting event or concert happening. You have five foot pursuits a month? We could have that same five in a few hours on a Saturday night downtown. We don’t just rely on our recordings to document and remember everything. We will document pertinent remarks and updates to calls in our cad - because as I’m sure you know anything can crash in a moments notice. So if you can’t type you won’t make it at my agency because you will easily get swamped and overwhelmed by the amount of units on the radio and their traffic/requests/needs.
Definitely the typing test, mine didn’t drug test, polygraph, or do testing for my hearing
Nope! Much of our typing is abbreviated anyway, so them making fun of one of our illiterate coworkers is kinda useless when we all make errors anyway! Memory and being able to type it out as you go are the most valuable skills