Career Progression Within the Public Safety Emergency Communications Center - APCO American National Standard 1.122.1-2023

Sep 4, 2026

Career Progression Within the Public Safety Emergency Communications Center presents APCO’s American National Standard (ANS) 1.122.1-2023, outlining structured pathways for roles in an emergency communications environment. The document begins with an executive summary and introduction, then defines entry-level non-supervisory positions such as public safety telecommunicator and call taker, followed by mid-level supervisory roles and upper-level managerial leadership positions. It further covers technical and support positions, and provides acronyms, glossary, acknowledgments, and resources.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages43

Reading Time1 h 48 min

AccessFree to download

FOREWORD

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

INTRODUCTION

NON-SUPERVISORY/ENTRY-LEVEL POSITIONS

PUBLIC SAFETY TELECOMMUNICATOR

CALL TAKER

LAW ENFORCEMENT PUBLIC SAFETY TELECOMMUNICATOR

FIRE PUBLIC SAFETY TELECOMMUNICATOR

EMERGENCY MEDICAL PUBLIC SAFETY TELECOMMUNICATOR

COMMUNICATIONS TRAINING OFFICER

SUPERVISORY POSITIONS – MID-LEVEL

COMMUNICATIONS CENTER SUPERVISOR

TRAINING COORDINATOR

SUPERVISORY/MANAGERIAL POSITIONS – UPPER LEVEL

COMMUNICATIONS CENTER MANAGER / ASSISTANT MANAGER

DEPUTY / ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

DEPARTMENT HEAD / DIRECTOR

TECHNICAL / SUPPORT POSITIONS

CAD MANAGER/SPECIALIST

RADIO TECHNICIAN / SPECIALIST

INCIDENT / TACTICAL PUBLIC SAFETY TELECOMMUNICATOR

ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

GLOSSARY

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

RESOURCES

Career Progression Within the Public Safety Emergency Communications Center APCO American National Standard 1.122.1-2023 TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD ......................................................................................................................................................................... 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY......................................................................................................................................................... 5 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................................... 6 NON-SUPERVISORY/ENTRY-LEVEL POSITIONS .....................................................................................................................7 2.1 PUBLIC SAFETY TELECOMMUNICATOR ................................................................................................................................. 7 2.2 CALL TAKER.................................................................................................................................................................... 8 2.3 LAW ENFORCEMENT PUBLIC SAFETY TELECOMMUNICATOR.................................................................................................... 10 2.4 FIRE PUBLIC SAFETY TELECOMMUNICATOR ......................................................................................................................... 13 2.5 EMERGENCY MEDICAL PUBLIC SAFETY TELECOMMUNICATOR................................................................................................. 15 2.6 COMMUNICATIONS TRAINING OFFICER.............................................................................................................................. 17 SUPERVISORY POSITIONS – MID-LEVEL.............................................................................................................................. 19 3.1 COMMUNICATIONS CENTER SUPERVISOR ........................................................................................................................... 19 3.2 TRAINING COORDINATOR................................................................................................................................................ 20 SUPERVISORY/MANAGERIAL POSITIONS – UPPER LEVEL................................................................................................... 24 4.1 COMMUNICATIONS CENTER MANAGER / ASSISTANT MANAGER............................................................................................. 24 4.2 DEPUTY / ASSISTANT DIRECTOR ....................................................................................................................................... 26 4.3 DEPARTMENT HEAD / DIRECTOR ...................................................................................................................................... 28 TECHNICAL / SUPPORT POSITIONS .................................................................................................................................... 30 5.1 CAD MANAGER/SPECIALIST ............................................................................................................................................ 30 5.2 RADIO TECHNICIAN / SPECIALIST ...................................................................................................................................... 32 5.3 INCIDENT / TACTICAL PUBLIC SAFETY TELECOMMUNICATOR .................................................................................................. 34 ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ..................................................................................................................................... 37 GLOSSARY................................................................................................................................................................

FAQs

What scope does this standard cover for emergency communications centers?

It covers career progression pathways within the Public Safety Emergency Communications Center, including entry-level, supervisory, managerial, and technical/support roles.

What types of entry-level non-supervisory positions are included?

The document lists roles such as public safety telecommunicator, call taker, law enforcement public safety telecommunicator, fire public safety telecommunicator, emergency medical public safety telecommunicator, and communications training officer.

What reference and supporting materials are provided in the document?

It includes APCO ANS context, plus acronyms and abbreviations, a glossary, acknowledgments, and resources, along with copyright and review/voluntary-use notes.

Sep 4, 2026

Uploaded by Bill Black