Force Control Room

Recruitment open

Communications Officers and Dispatchers

Starting Salary - £18,141  |  Force Control Room, Police Headquarters, Maidstone

Our Force Control Room is based in Maidstone. Open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, it provides a centralised service for anyone who wishes to contact Kent Police.

When a communications officer picks up the phone, it could be someone who wants to report an abandoned car or someone who has just been seriously assaulted.

After a call has been taken, dispatchers deploy police officers to deal with the incident, which could be a life or death emergency. They also proactively deploy officers to the streets to help prevent crime and anti-social behaviour.

All this, makes working here unpredictable and sometimes challenging but always very worthwhile. Communications officers and dispatchers could be dealing with the most important call of someone's life.

Role requirements

Our communications officers and dispatchers are based at our Force Control Room in Maidstone and need to have excellent listening skills, the ability to remain calm under pressure and work as part of a team in order for us to provide a high level of service to the people of Kent.

Communications Officers will have:

• a minimum typing speed of 30 words per minute 
• the ability to listen, talk and type at the same time and stay calm in challenging situations
• excellent communication, customer service and team working  skills

For detailed information on the requirements for both roles please follow the links below;

• Communications officers
• Dispatchers

Closing date

The closing date for applications is Monday 8 April 2013. Applications made after this date will not be progressed.

Briefing event and assessment centre

If you are shortlisted for a role, we’ll invite you to a mandatory briefing event on Friday 19 April at 2pm in Maidstone. This helps us to make sure you have a clear understanding of the environment you’ll be working in and the responsibilities of the role as well as answer any questions you may have.

After the event we will invite you back to assess your typing speed and ability to mutlitask. If you meet the standard, you will be invited to an assessment centre at a later date.

Typing and multitasking tests are currently scheduled for Monday 22 and Tuesday 23 April 2013.

All successful applicants will undergo full security vetting checks as well as necessary hearing and eyesight tests.

Candidates will initially be allocated roles depending on their skills and the role profiles; however there is an expectation that candidates will progress to learn both roles to meet organisational requirements. 

Salary on entry to the role is £18,141, rising to £19,710 within the first year. After which, there is a structured approach to ongoing professional career development and progression.

Training dates

Kent Police have scheduled start dates for training on:

• 10 June
• 8 July
• 19 August
• 14 October