1. (a) The purpose of these regulations is to set forth the minimum public safety dispatcher selection standards as authorized by California Penal Code section 13510(c). Public safety dispatcher training requirements are addressed separately in Commission Regulation 1018(c). All POST documents and forms mentioned in these regulations are available on the POST website (www.post.ca.gov).

   1. (1) Every department and/or independent communications agency (hereinafter referred to as “department”) that participates in the POST Public Safety Dispatcher Program shall ensure that every “public safety dispatcher candidate” as defined in subsection 1956(b) satisfies all minimum selection requirements specified in the following regulations:

      • Verbal, Reasoning, Memory, and Perceptual Abilities Assessment (Commission Regulation 1957)

      • Oral Communication Assessment (Commission Regulation 1958)

      • Background Investigation (Commission Regulation 1959)

      • Medical Evaluation (Commission Regulation 1960)

   2. (2) All requirements specified in these regulations shall be satisfied prior to the date of appointment as a public safety dispatcher.

2. (b) Public Safety Dispatcher Candidate Definition

   For purposes of these regulations, a “public safety dispatcher candidate” is any individual who applies for a full-time or part-time position that involves receiving emergency calls for law enforcement service and/ or dispatching law enforcement personnel. This includes any individual who applies for a public safety dispatcher position with a POST-participating department regardless of the individual's prior public safety dispatcher experience either at that department or a different department within the same city, county, state or district.

3. (c) Exceptions

   1. (1) The department has sole responsibility for determining what, if any, assessments are necessary for a public safety dispatcher who:

      1. (A) Is employed by a department that, through reorganization, is merged with another department within the same city, county, state or district, if documentation is available for inspection verifying that the dispatcher was hired in accordance with the POST requirements in effect at the time of hire.
      2. (B) Is reappointed to the same POST-participating department within 180 days of voluntary separation.

   2. (2) For a public safety dispatcher who has been mandatorily reinstated to the department, the department shall:

      1. (A) Report the reinstatement to POST through the submittal of a Notice of Appointment/Termination, POST 2-114, indicating a correction to record, together with a copy of the official reinstatement documentation [refer to Commission Regulation 1003(b)(2)];
      2. (B) Resubmit the dispatcher's fingerprints to the California Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to obtain criminal record results. Fingerprints do not need to be resubmitted if the dispatcher was never removed from the department's personnel files of the DOJ or FBI.
   3. (3) A peace officer who is assigned to dispatcher duties.

   For purposes of these regulations, individuals described in this section are not considered “public safety dispatcher candidates” and are therefore exempted from Commission Regulations 1957-1960.

4. (d) Adoption of Additional Requirements and/or Higher Standards The requirements described herein serve as minimum selection requirements. Per Penal Code section 13510(d), the adoption of more rigorous requirements, higher standards, additional assessments, and/or more in-depth evaluations than those stated in these regulations is at the discretion of the employing department.

Note: Authority cited: Sections 13503, 13506 and 13510, Penal Code. Reference: Section 13510, Penal Code.

History

1. Change without regulatory effect renumbering and amending former section 9056 to new section 1956 filed 11-26-2012 pursuant to section 100, title 1, California Code of Regulations (Register 2012, No. 48).

2. Change without regulatory effect amending subsections (a), (c)(2)(A) and (d) filed 12-9-2015 pursuant to section 100, title 1, California Code of Regulations (Register 2015, No. 50).

3. Amendment of subsection (c)(1) and new subsections (c)(1)(A)-(B) filed 2-27-2018; operative 4-1-2018 (Register 2018, No. 9).

4. Amendment of subsections (a)(1) and (c) filed 10-15-2021; operative 1-1-2022 (Register 2021, No. 42). Filing deadline specified in Government Code section 11349.3(a) extended 60 calendar days pursuant to Executive Order N-40-20 and an additional 60 calendar days pursuant to Executive Order N-71-20.