CA POST Dispatcher common mistakes
CA POST Dispatcher · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Ending the call before reading back the address and call-back number to the caller.
Time pressure and the urge to get the call into dispatch cause the dispatcher to skip the read-back, especially when the caller sounds urgent or is giving a long narrative.
What to do instead
Use a scripted close: 'Let me read that back to you - [address], phone number [number]. Is that correct?' Do not type the final address until the caller confirms it.
Accepting a vague problem description such as 'there's a fight' without asking about weapons, injuries, and where the involved parties are now.
The dispatcher focuses on capturing the narrative and worries that repeated questions will frustrate the caller, so safety-critical details are never gathered.
What to do instead
Apply a mandatory safety question set on every call: weapons, injuries, suspect location/direction, and whether anyone is in immediate danger. Ask them in the same order every time.
Transmitting long, multi-sentence radio updates without pausing for the unit to acknowledge.
Nervousness and the desire to convey all information at once lead to run-on transmissions that units cannot absorb or copy.
What to do instead
Use a structured format: unit, location, nature, key details - then pause for acknowledgment. Keep to one unit, one task, one acknowledgment per transmission.
Assuming a unit has gone en route, arrived, or cleared without hearing an explicit status and entering it in CAD.
Multitasking and a heavy radio load cause the dispatcher to infer status from context rather than confirmation, producing a stale resource picture.
What to do instead
Require verbal status confirmation and enter it in CAD immediately. If status is unclear, ask directly: '[Unit], confirm your status.'
Dispatching calls in the order they were received rather than by priority.
A queue mentality and discomfort with making triage decisions lead the dispatcher to treat a cold report and an in-progress violent call the same.
What to do instead
Apply the agency priority matrix at intake and assign a priority before dispatch. Document the rationale for any call held or reordered.
Failing to upgrade a call's priority when new information arrives, such as a weapon, an injury, or a child involved.
Anchoring on the initial call type keeps the dispatcher from reassessing when the situation changes.
What to do instead
Maintain an upgrade-trigger checklist and reassess priority at every significant update. Broadcast the upgraded priority to responding units.
Speaking over an upset caller or matching the caller's hostile tone.
Stress and time pressure trigger a defensive response, which escalates the caller and prolongs the call.
What to do instead
Allow a brief vent, then use the caller's name, an empathy statement, and a slower rate. Use closed-loop questions to regain structure.
Using agency jargon, codes, or abbreviations with members of the public or outside agencies.
Habit and daily use of internal shorthand make the dispatcher forget that the listener does not share the vocabulary.
What to do instead
Use plain language unless a code is standard for the receiving party. Confirm understanding by asking the listener to repeat the key information.
Writing conclusion-style narratives such as 'caller was uncooperative' without recording the observable behavior or direct quotes.
Efficiency and assumption lead the dispatcher to summarize impressions instead of documenting facts.
What to do instead
Record observable facts and quotes: 'Caller stated, "I'm not telling you that," and hung up.' Avoid characterizations that cannot be verified.
Omitting essential narrative elements such as time stamps, cross streets, units assigned, disposition, and follow-up needs.
Rushing to close the call at the end of shift or during high volume leaves the CAD record incomplete.
What to do instead
Review against a standard narrative template before clearing: times, location details, units, actions taken, disposition, and follow-up.