Multitasking & Call Handling
22%of exam
Decision Making & Prioritization
18%of exam
Map Reading
14%of exam
Data Entry & Typing Speed
14%of exam
Cross-Referencing
12%of exam
Memory & Recall
10%of exam
Reading, Spelling & Proofreading
10%of exam
Reading & ProofreadingSentence ClarityHomophonesPolicy Passages
Quick Facts
- Exam
- CritiCall
- Credential
- Public Safety Dispatcher
- Time
- 1-3 hours
- Pass
- 70-80% + 35 WPM
- Level
- Pre-employment
- Modules
- Up to 15
- Agencies
- 1,800+ nationwide
- Format
- Simulation-based, timed
Call Note Order
Who, What, Where, When, Weapon/Vehicle
Who: caller/subjectWhat: type of callWhere: address firstWhen: time occurredWeapon: escalates priority
ANI vs ALI
ANI
- Automatic Number ID
- Caller's phone number
- Auto-populated field
ALI
- Automatic Location ID
- Caller's address data
- Auto-populated field
Number vs location
Multitasking Action Picker
- Radio emergency traffic keys up→Answer radio first(Officer safety priority)
- Call drops mid-conversation→Call back via ANI(Don't wait for redial)
- Name spelled aloud→Confirm phonetic alphabet(Avoid letter mix-ups)
- Address unclear or unsure→Read address back(Catch errors early)
- On-screen alert appears→Triage versus caller(Don't drop the caller)
- Gap in caller speech→Enter data then(Avoid missed details)
CAD & Call Basics
- 911
- Emergency phone line
- ANI
- Caller's phone number
- ALI
- Caller's location data
- CAD
- Computer dispatch system
- PSAP
- 911 call center
- Telecommunicator
- Certified dispatcher job title
- BOLO
- Be-on-lookout alert
- Ten-code
- Radio shorthand code
Multitasking Skills
- Divided attention
- Splitting focus tasks
- Call summarization
- Condense caller facts
- Structured notes
- Who/what/where/when order
- Screen prompt
- On-screen alert triage
- Radio priority
- Emergency traffic first
- Callback
- Redial after disconnection
- Phonetic spelling
- NATO alphabet confirm
- Address confirm
- Read back location
CritiCall Test Modules
- Multi-tasking
- Decision plus simultaneous tasks
- Data entry
- Speed and accuracy
- Call summarization
- Notes from audio
- Reading comprehension
- Written passage recall
- Sentence clarity
- Clearest fact wording
- Cross referencing
- Table matching search
- Probability
- Likely-solution reasoning task
- Map reading
- Route and directions
- Memory recall
- Short and long-term
- Numerical ability
- Basic job math
- Perceptual ability
- Compare character strings
- Spelling
- Common misspelled words
Priority Ladder
Life -> Weapon -> In-Progress -> Property
Life: threat to personWeapon: any mention countsIn-progress: active crimeProperty: lowest priority
In-Progress vs Cold Report
In-Progress
- Happening right now
- Ongoing active risk
- Dispatch immediately
Cold Report
- Already occurred
- No active risk
- Can be queued
Active beats already-occurred
Call Priority Picker
- Active crime in progress→Dispatch immediately(Highest priority)
- Weapon mentioned→Escalate priority(Flag responding units)
- Life-threatening medical call→Give pre-arrival instructions(Before full intake)
- Multiple lines ringing→Triage by severity(Not call order)
- Unit already assigned→Skip second dispatch(Avoid duplicate coverage)
- Injury severity unclear→Send higher-level response(Downgrade units en route)
- Cold property report→Queue lower priority(No ongoing risk)
- Multiple victims involved→Request extra units(Early resource call)
Decision & Prioritization
- Life safety
- Highest priority calls
- In-progress
- Active crime priority
- Cold report
- Already-occurred, lower priority
- Weapon flag
- Escalates call priority
- Officer safety
- Tiebreaker for risk
- Pre-arrival instructions
- CPR before intake
- Multi-victim call
- Needs extra units
- Deconfliction
- Check unit already assigned
Map Reading Basics
100 numbers = one block
NE/NW/SE/SW: check quadrantOne-way: blocks direct routeCross streets: fallback locationNearest unit: not lowest number
Map & Data Picker
- No exact address given→Use nearest cross streets(Or visible landmark)
- Route blocked by one-way→Pick legal detour(Not straight-line distance)
- Choosing responding unit→Pick nearest unit(Not lowest number)
- Field needs fixed value→Use coded field(Not free text)
- CAD entry is wrong→Amend with a note(Never delete original)
- Look-alike characters appear→Compare character by character(Example: 8 vs B)
Map Reading
- Grid map
- Streets and avenues
- Block numbering
- About 100 per block
- Quadrant
- NE/NW/SE/SW split
- One-way
- Restricts route direction
- Cross streets
- Fallback without address
- Map book grid
- Page plus letter cell
- Nearest unit
- Closest, not lowest-numbered
- Landmark
- Visual location fallback
Typing Accuracy Standard
Net WPM: speed minus errors
35 WPM: common floorO vs 0: check digitsI vs 1: check digitsAmend, don't delete entries
Net WPM vs Gross WPM
Net WPM
- Speed minus errors
- What CritiCall scores
- Accuracy counts most
Gross WPM
- Raw typing speed
- No error penalty
- Not the score
Net counts, gross doesn't
Data Entry & Typing
- Net WPM
- Speed minus errors
- Gross WPM
- Raw typing speed
- 35 WPM
- Common agency minimum
- O vs 0
- Common mis-key pair
- I vs 1
- Common mis-key pair
- Coded field
- Fixed dropdown value
- Free-text field
- Open narrative entry
- Amend entry
- Correct, never delete
Coded Field vs Free-Text
Coded Field
- Fixed dropdown value
- Prevents spelling drift
Free-Text
- Open narrative entry
- Human wording variance
Structured vs open entry
False Positive vs False Negative
False Positive
- Flags a non-match
- Wastes agency resources
- Wrong-lead risk
False Negative
- Misses a real match
- Real hit unnoticed
- Missed-warrant risk
Wrong alarm vs missed hit
Cross-Referencing
- Cross-reference
- Match across tables
- Character comparison
- Look-alike string check
- Partial plate
- Judge near matches
- Warrant match
- Needs name plus DOB
- Alias
- Same person, different name
- False positive
- Wrong match flagged
- False negative
- Real match missed
- 8 vs B
- Classic look-alike pair
Cross-Referencing vs Character Comparison
Cross-Referencing
- Matches across separate tables
- Name, plate, or phone
Character Comparison
- Compares look-alike strings
- Example: 8 vs B
Table match vs string match
Recall Priority Order
First and last facts stick
Primacy: remember first factsRecency: remember last factsMiddle: most often forgottenChunk: groups of 3-4
Primacy vs Recency
Primacy
- First facts recalled
- Best remembered early
Recency
- Last facts recalled
- Best remembered late
Middle facts fade most
Memory & Recall
- Chunking
- Group facts in threes
- Primacy
- Best recall, first facts
- Recency
- Best recall, last facts
- Immediate recall
- Write right after
- Suspect order
- Sex, race, age, height
- Spelling recall
- Exact letters given
Reading, Spelling & Proofreading
- Sentence clarity
- One clear meaning
- Proofreading
- Match entry to dictation
- Street abbreviation
- St., Ave., standard form
- Homophone
- Their vs there confusion
- Controlling rule
- Key policy sentence
- Ambiguous modifier
- Unclear reference word
Common Traps
First-Reported vs Highest-Priority
Order isn't priority ≠ Severity decides dispatch order
Fast Typing vs Clean Typing
Speed alone insufficient ≠ Net WPM decides score
Shortest Path vs Legal Path
Distance isn't everything ≠ One-ways force detours
Lowest Unit vs Nearest Unit
Number isn't proximity ≠ Distance picks the response
Deleting vs Amending Entries
Deletion breaks the record ≠ Amend keeps audit trail
Sounds-Right vs Matches-Exactly
Plausible isn't verified ≠ Proofread against the dictation
Name-Only vs Name-Plus-DOB Match
Name alone is insufficient ≠ DOB confirms the true match
Last Minute
- 1.Life-safety calls always dispatch first
- 2.Weapon mention always escalates priority
- 3.Net WPM counts speed minus errors
- 4.35 WPM is the common floor
- 5.ANI gives phone; ALI gives location
- 6.Amend CAD errors; never delete entries
- 7.Nearest unit beats lowest unit number
- 8.Check the quadrant before dispatching units
- 9.Warrant match needs name plus DOB
- 10.Primacy and recency beat middle recall
- 11.One-way streets can block shortest routes
- 12.Confirm your agency's exact module list
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