State Police Dispatcher

Status
Not open for further replies.

senduhelp

Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2005
Messages
125
Location
Mechanicsburg, PA
Anyone know how to go about applying for a PA State Police Dispatcher position? I am interested, but not sure who to send my resume into, or if it can be done online. Thanks for any help.
 

trafficdan

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Jan 28, 2003
Messages
113
Location
Pennsylvania
With them building all the regional dispatch centers you would be looking at going to Harrisburg or Westmoreland County for work. There is a form on the state web site to download which is a standard form to send in. I am assuming by your screen name that you dispatch already somewhere else. My suggestion would be to make a couple of phone calls. I know that helped me get on the list when I was looking.

And no I am not currently a PCO for the SP. I work at a municipal department dispatching.
 

dmg1969

Member
Joined
May 19, 2006
Messages
1,096
Location
Newport, PA
Hey "senduhelp"...I see you're in Mechanicsburg. I'm just over in Enola. Are you currently a dispatcher somewhere? How do you like not be able to monitor Cumberland County anymore because of OpenSky?

Dave G.
 

HM1529

Pennsylvania DB Admin
Database Admin
Joined
Jul 16, 2003
Messages
3,087
Location
West of the Atlantic Ocean
trafficdan said:
With them building all the regional dispatch centers you would be looking at going to Harrisburg or Westmoreland County for work. There is a form on the state web site to download which is a standard form to send in. I am assuming by your screen name that you dispatch already somewhere else. My suggestion would be to make a couple of phone calls. I know that helped me get on the list when I was looking.

And no I am not currently a PCO for the SP. I work at a municipal department dispatching.

The five regional CDC's will be in:

Harrisburg, Dauphin County (operational)
Norristown, Montgomery County (operational)
Greensburg, Westmoreland County (operational?)
Clarion, Clarion County (under construction)
Pittston, Luzerne County (under construction)

The PCO jobs are non-civil service, so the process is a little different from many state jobs which are civil service.

Somebody left the link to the Bureau of State Employment. Here is a link directly to the page listing PCO's:
http://www.hrm.state.pa.us/oahrm/cwp/view.asp?a=136&Q=176655&PM=1&oahrmNav=|7773|7774|

To apply:
http://www.hrm.state.pa.us/oahrm/cwp/view.asp?a=136&Q=68554&oahrmNav=|7773|
 
Last edited:

senduhelp

Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2005
Messages
125
Location
Mechanicsburg, PA
dmg1969 said:
Hey "senduhelp"...I see you're in Mechanicsburg. I'm just over in Enola. Are you currently a dispatcher somewhere? How do you like not be able to monitor Cumberland County anymore because of OpenSky?

Dave G.
Hey Dave,

I used to work as a dispatcher down in Virginia, I moved to PA in May 2005 and am interested in getting back in the profession. I hated to hear it when Cumberland moved to the OpenSky system. I enjoyed the short period of time when they were still simulcasting on 45.90. I guess I figured it would happen sometime.
 

senduhelp

Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2005
Messages
125
Location
Mechanicsburg, PA
Thank you, everyone, for your help. I appeciate it. "PortCop" I actually searched using yahoo search and just wasn't getting to the page I needed to be. Sorry to inconvenience you, but I appreciate your help.
 

dmg1969

Member
Joined
May 19, 2006
Messages
1,096
Location
Newport, PA
senduhelp, well please accept my belated welcome to PA! LOL. Yes, the switch to OpenSky has been a real kick in the butt for me. I'm 37 and had listened to Cumberland County police, fire and EMS...mostly police...since I was a teen. I really don't hold an interest in fire and EMS unless the fire whistle near our house goes off. So, needless to say, it has been a real adjustment. I thought about getting into ham radio, but I just don't have enough interest. I have the Dauphin County and Harrisburg City police, fire and EMS programmed in my one remaining scanner (I used to have 4), but rarely monitor them.

I have been in contact with various people from news directors, M/A-COM sales reps and Cumberland County EMA directors regarding whether an OpenSky scanner will ever be available or if receive-only radios would be made available to the general public. I have spoken with Ali Lanyon over at WHTM TV27 several times and I know that they received their receive-only radio and really like it. The Cumberland County EMA director said he thought M/A-COM was talking to scanner manufacturers about an OpenSky scanner, but the sales rep I spoke with said he knew of no plans.

I'll wait a little while and check back with some of them regarding any progress in the idea of an OpenSky scanner or receive-only radios.

Dave
 

ECHO3

Member
Joined
Dec 19, 2002
Messages
383
Location
Pennsylvania
"The PCO jobs are non-civil service, so the process is a little different from many state jobs which are civil service"

Absolutely correct. Unfortunately, unless you have some "political" support, a minority, and/or disabled, I would not be overly optimistic about securing a dispatcher position. In your favor, of course, is your experience. Contact your local representatives and schedule a brief meeting. Have a good copy of your resume to submit..
 

senduhelp

Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2005
Messages
125
Location
Mechanicsburg, PA
Thanks Echo for the information. I didn't realize that it would be so "involved" to get hired with PSP. As you mentioned, and I thought too, that my experience would be a plus for me. I didn't know it would take contacting local represntatives and discussing my employment interests to get hired. You must know much more about than I do. Thanks again.
 

ECHO3

Member
Joined
Dec 19, 2002
Messages
383
Location
Pennsylvania
You will also need to get and complete a Non-Civil Service application. I think they are available at any PA Job Center (or whatever they are called now).
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top