A highway patrol dispatcher is responsible for a variety of tasks, including dispatching patrol vehicles to required locations and monitoring the status and positions of highway officers. The highway patrol dispatcher is one of the most important positions on the force, as he or she serves as the patrol team’s eyes and ears while performing the dangerous duties that come with the job. The highway patrol dispatcher keeps a written record of the calls, the officer sent, and the times the officer arrived and left the scene in addition to maintaining radio communication with every patrolman or woman on duty. If a dispatcher notices that a patrolman has been dispatched to a scene but has not returned within a reasonable amount of time, the dispatcher will attempt to contact the officer via radio and, if necessary, dispatch a backup patrol to ensure the officer’s safety.
The highway patrol dispatcher’s job is a complicated and crucial part of the patrol force. Taking incoming calls, determining which patrol is closest to respond, and dispatching that patrol to the scene necessitates a high level of attention to detail and multitasking. The highway patrol dispatcher must have a good memory in order to keep track of all patrols at all times. When a patrol calls out of service at any location, the dispatcher will respond with a time that the officer can use in his or her own duty log as an official arrival time.
The dispatcher also takes note of this time and records it in a log or file. Every type of response should take around the same amount of time. When the deadline approaches and the dispatcher has not received radio communication from the officer, the highway patrol dispatcher will make an attempt to contact the officer via radio. If no response is received, or if the response is incorrect, the dispatcher will recognize that something is wrong and will send backup patrols to assist the original officer. Many patrol officers can perform their duties with the confidence that they are not truly alone on any given call because of this knowledge.
The majority of highway patrol dispatchers are aware of the importance of their job and take it very seriously. This makes it much more difficult for the dispatcher in the event that something goes wrong with a call and the patrol officer is injured or killed. The highway patrol dispatcher and those on patrol frequently form a strong bond. In order to communicate clearly with fellow officers, the dispatcher must remain calm in a variety of stressful and tense situations.