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The differences between communications officers and police dispatchers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a communications officer has an average salary of $40,161, which is higher than the $37,402 average annual salary of a police dispatcher.
The top three skills for a communications officer include affordable housing, non-emergency telephone calls and customer service. The most important skills for a police dispatcher are computer aided dispatch, patrol, and CAD.
| Communications Officer | Police Dispatcher | |
| Yearly salary | $40,161 | $37,402 |
| Hourly rate | $19.31 | $17.98 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 73,260 | 6,964 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| Average age | 42 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 4 | - |
A communications officer is responsible for maintaining the brand image of an organization through monitoring marketing campaigns and public relations techniques. Communications officers handle press releases, social media management, media outreach, reviewing digital contents, and disseminating public communications within the company's premises and appropriate audience. They often coordinate with the senior management to develop strategic procedures to improve brand awareness, attracting potential partnerships that would generate more revenues and increase the company's profitability. A communications officer must have excellent leadership skills to monitor the performance of the communications staff and ensure maximum productivity.
Police Dispatchers are responsible for assessing incoming calls and deploying police resources using professional judgment. Their duties include answering emergency calls from agencies and the public, gathering information from police systems and call handlers, conducting priority assessments based on vulnerability and risks, and liaising with police officers to determine the logistics of place and time of an incident lodged. They also help facilitate investigations, reassure victims, and maintain accurate incident records.
Communications officers and police dispatchers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Communications Officer | Police Dispatcher | |
| Average salary | $40,161 | $37,402 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $62,000 | Between $28,000 And $48,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Philadelphia, PA |
| Highest paying state | New York | Pennsylvania |
| Best paying company | Morgan Stanley | City of Seattle |
| Best paying industry | Non Profits | Government |
There are a few differences between a communications officer and a police dispatcher in terms of educational background:
| Communications Officer | Police Dispatcher | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| Most common major | Criminal Justice | Criminal Justice |
| Most common college | California State University - Bakersfield | - |
Here are the differences between communications officers' and police dispatchers' demographics:
| Communications Officer | Police Dispatcher | |
| Average age | 42 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 44.3% Female, 55.7% | Male, 35.6% Female, 64.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.1% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 9.2% Asian, 5.1% White, 74.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | 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 | 16% | 17% |