Call taker vs police communications operator

The differences between call takers and police communications operators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a police communications operator has an average salary of $39,636, which is higher than the $38,776 average annual salary of a call taker.

The top three skills for a call taker include computer aided dispatch, taker and CAD. The most important skills for a police communications operator are computer aided dispatch, dispatch system, and two-way radio.

Call taker vs police communications operator overview

	Call Taker	Police Communications Operator
Yearly salary	$38,776	$39,636
Hourly rate	$18.64	$19.06
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	11,539	42,992
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 30%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Average age	39	39
Years of experience	-	-

Call taker vs police communications operator salary

Call takers and police communications operators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Call Taker	Police Communications Operator
Average salary	$38,776	$39,636
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $51,000	Between $28,000 And $55,000
Highest paying City	San Mateo, CA	Wheat Ridge, CO
Highest paying state	California	Oregon
Best paying company	City of San Antonio	Georgetown University
Best paying industry	Government	Government

Differences between call taker and police communications operator education

There are a few differences between a call taker and a police communications operator in terms of educational background:

	Call Taker	Police Communications Operator
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 30%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common major	Criminal Justice	Criminal Justice
Most common college	-	-

Call taker vs police communications operator demographics

Here are the differences between call takers' and police communications operators' demographics:

	Call Taker	Police Communications Operator
Average age	39	39
Gender ratio	Male, 26.0% Female, 74.0%	Male, 28.1% Female, 71.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 6.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.1% Asian, 0.9% White, 72.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 6.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.1% Asian, 0.9% White, 72.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	17%	17%

Differences between call taker and police communications operator duties and responsibilities

Call taker example responsibilities.

Manage truck and equipment inventory, rental tracking and GPS monitoring.
Dispatch all patrol officers and fire departments.
Enter confidential info through NCIC directly under SLED/FBI.
Place outbound calls to advise members of eta.
Dispatch need help such as fire ems and law.
Receive emergency calls and route calls to patrol units.

Police communications operator example responsibilities.

Manage busy company switchboard, operating PBX or private branch exchange systems to facilitate connections.
Screen, train, test, and certify operators to gain access to LLETS and/or NCIC.
Supervise telecommunication operations and reinforce the confidentiality in telecommunications.
Perform monthly inventory and destruction of COMSEC material while maintaining strict accountability standards.
Control COMSEC for company level operations and follow all destruction and pickup regulations.
Supervise telecommunication operations and reinforce the confidentiality in telecommunications.

Call taker vs police communications operator skills

Common call taker skills

Computer Aided Dispatch, 15%
Taker, 13%
CAD, 8%
Data Entry, 5%
Customer Service, 5%
EMS, 4%

Common police communications operator skills

Computer Aided Dispatch, 17%
Dispatch System, 6%
Two-Way Radio, 6%
CAD, 6%
Computer System, 5%
Criminal Justice, 5%

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Call Taker vs Police Communications Operator

Updated January 8, 2025

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