Operate radio, telephone, or computer equipment at emergency response centers. Receive reports from the public of crimes, disturbances, fires, and medical or police emergencies. Relay information to law enforcement and emergency response personnel. May maintain contact with caller until responders arrive.
U.S. Workers
101,140
Median Salary
$50,730
10-Year Growth
+3.5%
Annual Openings
10,700
Typical entry: High school diploma or equivalent
17 of 18 tasks have some AI capability
Exposure Trend
This score reflects estimated AI technical capability for tasks in this occupation. It does not predict employment changes, and it does not account for company-specific constraints, regulation, or adoption barriers.
Record details of calls, dispatches, and messages.
AI: Fully automatable - Recording and logging call and dispatch details can be fully automated using transcription, structured logging, and record-keeping systems available today.
Scan status charts and computer screens, and contact emergency response field units to determine emergency units available for dispatch.
AI: Fully automatable - Modern CAD systems integrated with AVL and automated messaging can scan status screens and contact units automatically, so AI can fully perform this task given system integration.
Enter, update, and retrieve information from teletype networks and computerized data systems regarding such things as wanted persons, stolen property, vehicle registration, and stolen vehicles.
AI: Fully automatable - Interacting with teletype-like networks and computerized databases for queries and updates is routine for integrated software agents and AI automation.
Relay information and messages to and from emergency sites, to law enforcement agencies, and to all other individuals or groups requiring notification.
AI: Fully automatable - Automated routing, messaging systems, and radio gateways allow AI to reliably relay information between sites and agencies when connected to comms infrastructure.
Observe alarm registers and scan maps to determine whether a specific emergency is in the dispatch service area.
AI: Fully automatable - Geofencing, map matching, and automated alarm-register checks are well within current AI and GIS capabilities to determine service-area applicability.
Monitor various radio frequencies such as those used by public works departments, school security, and civil defense to keep apprised of developing situations.
AI: Fully automatable - AI can continuously monitor, transcribe, and flag events across multiple radio frequencies at scale, providing comparable situational awareness to human monitors.
Read and effectively interpret small-scale maps and information from a computer screen to determine locations and provide directions.
AI: Fully automatable - AI and geospatial tools can read maps, interpret screen information, geocode locations, and provide directions reliably for dispatch purposes.
Maintain files of information relating to emergency calls, such as personnel rosters, and emergency call-out and pager files.
AI: Fully automatable - Maintaining and updating personnel rosters and call-out files is a standard data-management task that can be fully automated by software and AI workflows.
Answer routine inquiries, and refer calls not requiring dispatches to appropriate departments and agencies.
AI: Fully automatable - Integrated IVR/LLM systems and directory/data integrations can handle routine inquiries and automatically route or refer non-dispatch calls.
Monitor alarm systems to detect emergencies, such as fires and illegal entry into establishments.
AI: Fully automatable - AI excels at continuous sensor and alarm-data analysis and can detect anomalies (fires, break‑ins) and generate alerts with high accuracy when integrated with systems.
Question callers to determine their locations, and the nature of their problems to determine type of response needed.
AI: Partial - AI can perform initial triage and capture location/problem details, but full reliable judgement, nuance, and empathy required for emergency questioning still requires human dispatchers in most systems.
Determine response requirements and relative priorities of situations, and dispatch units in accordance with established procedures.
AI: Partial - AI can recommend priorities and in some cases auto-dispatch per rules, but full autonomous determination and dispatching across complex, high-stakes scenarios is not yet universally trusted or deployed.
Provide emergency medical instructions to callers.
AI: Partial - AI can deliver standardized, protocolized emergency medical instructions and assist dispatchers, but lacks universally approved reliability and legal accountability to fully replace human oversight in all emergencies as of 2025.
Receive incoming telephone or alarm system calls regarding emergency and non-emergency police and fire service, emergency ambulance service, information, and after-hours calls for departments within a city.
AI: Partial - AI can handle and triage many incoming calls and alarms with speech recognition and IVR, but nuanced emergency call-taking and empathetic judgement still typically require human oversight.
Maintain access to, and security of, highly sensitive materials.
AI: Partial - AI can fully manage and monitor digital access controls and audit logs, but maintaining physical custody and the human trust/responsibility aspects of highly sensitive materials remains only partially automatable.
Learn material and pass required tests for certification.
AI: Partial - AI models can learn material and pass many certification-style tests, but proctoring, credentialing, and some performance-based certification elements limit full automation of the certification process.
Test and adjust communication and alarm systems, and report malfunctions to maintenance units.
AI: Partial - AI can run remote diagnostics and report malfunctions but cannot perform the physical testing or hardware adjustments required on-site.
Operate and maintain mobile dispatch vehicles and equipment.
AI: Not automatable - Operating and maintaining mobile dispatch vehicles and related physical equipment requires on-site manual and driving tasks that AI cannot perform autonomously in 2025.