Police dispatcher vs emergency medical dispatcher

The differences between police dispatchers and emergency medical dispatchers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an emergency medical dispatcher has an average salary of $38,255, which is higher than the $37,402 average annual salary of a police dispatcher.

The top three skills for a police dispatcher include computer aided dispatch, patrol and CAD. The most important skills for an emergency medical dispatcher are EMT, computer aided dispatch, and EMS.

Police dispatcher vs emergency medical dispatcher overview

	Police Dispatcher	Emergency Medical Dispatcher
Yearly salary	$37,402	$38,255
Hourly rate	$17.98	$18.39
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	6,964	69,103
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 38%	Bachelor's Degree, 29%
Average age	39	39
Years of experience	-	-

Police dispatcher vs emergency medical dispatcher salary

Police dispatchers and emergency medical dispatchers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Police Dispatcher	Emergency Medical Dispatcher
Average salary	$37,402	$38,255
Salary range	Between $28,000 And $48,000	Between $30,000 And $47,000
Highest paying City	Philadelphia, PA	-
Highest paying state	Pennsylvania	-
Best paying company	City of Seattle	-
Best paying industry	Government	-

Differences between police dispatcher and emergency medical dispatcher education

There are a few differences between a police dispatcher and an emergency medical dispatcher in terms of educational background:

	Police Dispatcher	Emergency Medical Dispatcher
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 38%	Bachelor's Degree, 29%
Most common major	Criminal Justice	Criminal Justice
Most common college	-	-

Police dispatcher vs emergency medical dispatcher demographics

Here are the differences between police dispatchers' and emergency medical dispatchers' demographics:

	Police Dispatcher	Emergency Medical Dispatcher
Average age	39	39
Gender ratio	Male, 35.6% Female, 64.4%	Male, 35.8% Female, 64.2%
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 police dispatcher and emergency medical dispatcher duties and responsibilities

Police dispatcher example responsibilities.

Rout dispatch calls to police, EMT, and fire departments.
Dispatch and answer phones for police, fire and ems units to calls for emergency and non-emergency situations.
Work with programs such as NCIS/LEAPS, CJIS and IMC.
Assist with completion of subpoenas and warrants.
Respond to emergency calls and dispatch appropriate police and EMT units.
Conduct the operations of radio, telephone, and cad computer systems.

Emergency medical dispatcher example responsibilities.

Train new EMT students, and dispatchers in patient care, emergency call taking and operations.
Dispatch fire police sheriff and medical using the cad system.
Provide medical instructions to callers on issues such as childbirth and CPR.
Dispatch appropriate units according to acuity level, availability and location; assist with CPR until units arrive at location.
Develop and implement departments EMD program.
Dispatch ambulances as necessary and in accordance with state and company standard operating procedures.

Police dispatcher vs emergency medical dispatcher skills

Common police dispatcher skills

Computer Aided Dispatch, 15%
Patrol, 8%
CAD, 7%
NCIC, 6%
Law Enforcement Agencies, 6%
Dispatch System, 4%

Common emergency medical dispatcher skills

EMT, 11%
Computer Aided Dispatch, 10%
EMS, 8%
CAD, 8%
EMD, 7%
CPR, 7%

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Police Dispatcher
Police Dispatcher vs Emergency Medical Dispatcher

Updated January 8, 2025

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