Jobs / Office and administrative support / 43-5031.00
Public Safety Telecommunicators
Operate telephone, radio, or other communication systems to receive and communicate requests for emergency assistance at 9-1-1 public safety answering points and emergency operations centers. Take information from the public and other sources regarding crimes, threats, disturbances, acts of terrorism, fires, medical emergencies, and other public safety matters. May coordinate and provide information to law enforcement and emergency response personnel. May access sensitive databases and other information sources as needed. May provide additional instructions to callers based on knowledge of and certification in law enforcement, fire, or emergency medical procedures.
- US jobs
- 102,500
- Median wage
- $53,040 a year
- Job family
- Office and administrative support
Can agents do the work of public safety telecommunicators?
We read the evidence for the whole job family, Office and administrative support: Most tasks (no change in 12 months)
Agents complete 60% or more of the tasks (or projects) on two direct benchmarks from independent institutions.
Evidence: OSWorld-Verified, 90.2% of tasks completed; SpreadsheetBench, 83.1% of tasks completed.
27% of this occupation's work, by O*NET work activities, is measured by a direct benchmark.
- 11%Maintain operational recordsMeasured
- 10%Provide information to guests, clients, or customersNot measured
- 9%Communicate with others about operational plans or activitiesMeasured
- 9%Operate communications equipment or systemsNot measured
- 9%Monitor safety or security of work areas, facilities, or propertiesNot measured
- 7%Explain technical details of products or servicesNot measured
- 7%Direct organizational operations, activities, or proceduresNot measured
- 6%Read documents or materials to inform work processesNot measured
Benchmarks for the job family
These cover work in office and administrative support, not always this occupation's tasks.
Direct evidence
Work benchmarks mapped primary to this family. They set the step when they report how many tasks agents complete.
- 45.9%Claude Opus 4.6 · 16 Mar 2026Emerging
- OSWorld-Verifiedby HKU, Salesforce AI Research, Carnegie Mellon University and University of Waterloo90.2%Intelligence-Indeed Agent · 25 Jul 2026Saturated
Also relevant
These benchmarks cover part of this family's work, or have no result yet. They do not set its step.
- 54.5%arito · 13 Sep 2026Emerging
Context only
These benchmarks span many occupations, or they test how agents behave. They give context but do not set the step.
- 42.9%TTE-MatrixAgent + DeepSeek-V3.2 · 10 Nov 2025Emerging
Typical tasks
From O*NET 31.0. Core tasks first. Few of these tasks have a benchmark today.
- Provide emergency medical instructions to callers.
- Question callers to determine their locations and the nature of their problems to determine type of response needed.
- Determine response requirements and relative priorities of situations, and dispatch units in accordance with established procedures.
- 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.
- Relay information and messages to and from emergency sites, to law enforcement agencies, and to all other individuals or groups requiring notification.
- Record details of calls, dispatches, and messages.
- Monitor various radio frequencies, such as those used by public works departments, school security, and civil defense, to stay apprised of developing situations.
- Read and effectively interpret small-scale maps and information from a computer screen to determine locations and provide directions.
- Maintain access to, and security of, highly sensitive materials.
- 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.
- Scan status charts and computer screens, and contact emergency response field units to determine emergency units available for dispatch.
- Answer routine inquiries, and refer calls not requiring dispatches to appropriate departments and agencies.
Other job titles for this occupation (46)
911 Dispatcher · Communications Officer · Communications Operator · Communications Specialist · Emergency Communications Dispatcher · Emergency Communications Operator (ECO) · Police Dispatcher · Public Safety Dispatcher · Telecommunicator · 911 Emergency Dispatcher · 911 Emergency Services Dispatcher · 911 Operator · 911 Telecommunicator · Alarm Operator · Ambulance Dispatcher · Call Person · Call Taker · Communications Dispatcher · Dispatch Officer · Dispatch Operator · Dispatch Specialist · Dispatch Technician (Dispatch Tech) · Dispatcher · Emergency Communications Officer (ECO) · Emergency Dispatcher · Emergency Medical Dispatcher (EMD) · Emergency Operator · Emergency Services Dispatcher · Emergency Telecommunications Dispatcher (ETD) · Emergency Vehicle Dispatcher · Fire Dispatcher · Fire Fighters Dispatcher · Forest Fire Fighters Dispatcher · Police and Fire Dispatcher · Police Communications Dispatcher · Police Communications Operator · Police Radio Dispatcher · Police Telecommunicator · Protective Signal Operator · Public Safety Telecommunicator · Radio Dispatcher · Security Dispatch Officer · Security Dispatcher · Telecommunications Officer · Telecommunications Operator · Telecommunications Specialist