Recruitment and Retention Study Series: Telecommunications Officers

• NCJ Number: 206906
• Author(s): Douglas L. Yearwood
• Date Published: January 2004
• Length: 26 pages
• Corporate Author: North Carolina Governor's Crime Cmssn; North Carolina Sheriffs' Education and Training Standards Cmssn; North Carolina Criminal Justice Analysis Ctr
• Sale Source: North Carolina Criminal Justice Analysis Ctr
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This report is one of four in a series that examine recruitment and retention issues among North Carolina’s public safety agencies; this report focuses on recruitment and retention of telecommunications officers.

Abstract

In order to address major emerging issues facing North Carolina’s criminal justice system and its public safety personnel, a planning retreat was convened by the Governor’s Crime Commission, along with the North Carolina Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission and the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Education and Training Standards Commission in early 2000. The outcome was a 3 part, 22-item survey administered to 130 randomly selected telecommunication centers to assess the recruitment and retention of telecommunications officers; the response rate was 91.5 percent. Results showed that 52.9 percent of respondents described their agencies recruitment initiatives as neutral, while 20.2 percent described their agency’s efforts as somewhat passive. Only 16.8 percent of respondents thought that their agency practiced aggressive recruitment techniques and only two respondents reported strongly aggressive recruitment techniques in their agencies. The number of applicants who, on average, applied for vacant telecommunicator positions was 10.9 applicants per vacant position. The most frequently suggested method for improvement among the respondents was to increase current salaries and adopt standardized, structured, and graduated pay scales. Barriers to recruitment efforts included budget restrictions, competition with other criminal justice agencies, and duties associated with the job. In terms of training requirements, 58.8 percent of agencies had a practice of hiring applicants first and sponsoring their training after employment. Turnover rates and vacancy rates were analyzed and ranged from 0 to 67 percent for turnover and 0 to 100 percent for vacancies. Five recommendations are offered to assist in the recruitment and retention efforts among North Carolina’s telecommunications officers. Figures, tables