PUBLIC SAFETY TELECOMMUNICATOR 1 7TH EDITION QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS
1. What does PSAP stand for?: Public safety answering point
2. What is a PSAP?: A facility equipped and staffed to receive
emergency calls requesting police, fire, emergency medical and
other public safety services be telephone and other communication
devices
3. What is professionalism?: It encompasses honesty, integrity, humility,
account- ability, and a desire to learn new techniques to perfect job
skills
It is defined by who you are, what you do; and how others perceive you
4. What is a telecommunicators duty to serve?: They are expected to be at
work and ready to work every scheduled day (including holidays,
weekends, family birthdays, and night shifts)
They serve the public, co-workers, members of other agencies, and
members of supporting agencies
5. Does duty to serve mean a telecommunicator may be called upon to
provide coverage and assurance in the PSAP during disasters and
emergencies?: Yes
6. What is ethics?: A system of principles; the rules of conduct
recognized in respect to a particular class of human actions or a
particular group, culture, etc,; that branch of philosophy dealing with
values relating to human conduct, with respect to rightness and
wrongness of certain actions and motives and ends of such actions
7. What does the PSAPs chain of command do?: Defines the relationship
be- tween frontline telecommunicators, supervisors and managers
8. What are the categories of basic telecommunications?: Law
enforcement communications
Fire service communications
Emergency medical service communications
9. What are vital services?: Facilitate communication with the public,
between members of the same agency, between public safety agencies,
and between public safety agencies and support service entities
10.What is mutual aid?: The process of supplying supplemental
personnel, equip- ment or other resources to an incident to assist
agencies that may be in danger of becoming overwhelmed in their
response. These procedures are normally predeter- mined, and are
spelled out in mutual aid agreements between response agencies
11.What is mutual response?: The simultaneous dispatch of multiple
resources for certain emergencies, such as high rise fires and water,
high angle, or other specialized rescues
1/
,PUBLIC SAFETY TELECOMMUNICATOR 1 7TH EDITION QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS
12.What is the difference between a policy and a procedure?: A policy is a
guide to thinking, a procedure is a guide to action
13.What are the six components of the communications cycle?: Sender:
the person who initiates
Receiver: the person or group who is the target
2/
, PUBLIC SAFETY TELECOMMUNICATOR 1 7TH EDITION QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS
Message: the idea itself, in whatever form it may take
Medium: the manner in which the message is transferred from the
sender to receiver Context: the situation in which the exchange takes
place , including the relationship between sender and receiver
Feedback: communication from the receiver back to the sender in
reaction to the message we perceived by receiver
14.What are senders and receivers?: When working as the calltaker and
inter- acting with called, the telecommunicator is receiver. When the
telecommunicator delays the call via computer to dispatcher; of
changes roles to become dispatcher, the telecommunicator becomes
the sender
15.What is the message?: The reason for any communication
16.What is the medium?: The way communication takes place (face
to face, written on paper, or IM)
17.What is the context?: The situation or circumstances in which the
communica- tion takes place, the emotional tone of the exchange, and
the power relationship between the senders and receivers
18.What is feedback?: Senders must receive feedback from receivers
Communication- the transmission of an idea from the mind of one to
the mind of another, with understanding
19.What is interference?: May come from many sources: cross
conversations, background noise on a phone line, distractions in the
workplace, and worries from home
20.What is active listening?: Involves demonstrating an interest and
understand- ing in what is being said through staying focused, asking
questions, listening for the main point and listening for the rationale
behind what is being said
21.What are the basic techniques for active listening?: Nonverbal
attending, open ended questions, paraphrasing, and reflecting
feelings
22.What is the difference between observation and inference?: Observation
is the act or practice of noting and recording facts and events
Inference is deriving a conclusion based upset n something known or
assumed
23.Should telecommunicators base their decisions on observations or
infer- ences?: Observations
24.What does the public expect when they call 911 in an emergency?:
That it be answered immediately by a trained, motivated and caring
individual who will immediately send help and provide life saving
3/
AND ANSWERS
1. What does PSAP stand for?: Public safety answering point
2. What is a PSAP?: A facility equipped and staffed to receive
emergency calls requesting police, fire, emergency medical and
other public safety services be telephone and other communication
devices
3. What is professionalism?: It encompasses honesty, integrity, humility,
account- ability, and a desire to learn new techniques to perfect job
skills
It is defined by who you are, what you do; and how others perceive you
4. What is a telecommunicators duty to serve?: They are expected to be at
work and ready to work every scheduled day (including holidays,
weekends, family birthdays, and night shifts)
They serve the public, co-workers, members of other agencies, and
members of supporting agencies
5. Does duty to serve mean a telecommunicator may be called upon to
provide coverage and assurance in the PSAP during disasters and
emergencies?: Yes
6. What is ethics?: A system of principles; the rules of conduct
recognized in respect to a particular class of human actions or a
particular group, culture, etc,; that branch of philosophy dealing with
values relating to human conduct, with respect to rightness and
wrongness of certain actions and motives and ends of such actions
7. What does the PSAPs chain of command do?: Defines the relationship
be- tween frontline telecommunicators, supervisors and managers
8. What are the categories of basic telecommunications?: Law
enforcement communications
Fire service communications
Emergency medical service communications
9. What are vital services?: Facilitate communication with the public,
between members of the same agency, between public safety agencies,
and between public safety agencies and support service entities
10.What is mutual aid?: The process of supplying supplemental
personnel, equip- ment or other resources to an incident to assist
agencies that may be in danger of becoming overwhelmed in their
response. These procedures are normally predeter- mined, and are
spelled out in mutual aid agreements between response agencies
11.What is mutual response?: The simultaneous dispatch of multiple
resources for certain emergencies, such as high rise fires and water,
high angle, or other specialized rescues
1/
,PUBLIC SAFETY TELECOMMUNICATOR 1 7TH EDITION QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS
12.What is the difference between a policy and a procedure?: A policy is a
guide to thinking, a procedure is a guide to action
13.What are the six components of the communications cycle?: Sender:
the person who initiates
Receiver: the person or group who is the target
2/
, PUBLIC SAFETY TELECOMMUNICATOR 1 7TH EDITION QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS
Message: the idea itself, in whatever form it may take
Medium: the manner in which the message is transferred from the
sender to receiver Context: the situation in which the exchange takes
place , including the relationship between sender and receiver
Feedback: communication from the receiver back to the sender in
reaction to the message we perceived by receiver
14.What are senders and receivers?: When working as the calltaker and
inter- acting with called, the telecommunicator is receiver. When the
telecommunicator delays the call via computer to dispatcher; of
changes roles to become dispatcher, the telecommunicator becomes
the sender
15.What is the message?: The reason for any communication
16.What is the medium?: The way communication takes place (face
to face, written on paper, or IM)
17.What is the context?: The situation or circumstances in which the
communica- tion takes place, the emotional tone of the exchange, and
the power relationship between the senders and receivers
18.What is feedback?: Senders must receive feedback from receivers
Communication- the transmission of an idea from the mind of one to
the mind of another, with understanding
19.What is interference?: May come from many sources: cross
conversations, background noise on a phone line, distractions in the
workplace, and worries from home
20.What is active listening?: Involves demonstrating an interest and
understand- ing in what is being said through staying focused, asking
questions, listening for the main point and listening for the rationale
behind what is being said
21.What are the basic techniques for active listening?: Nonverbal
attending, open ended questions, paraphrasing, and reflecting
feelings
22.What is the difference between observation and inference?: Observation
is the act or practice of noting and recording facts and events
Inference is deriving a conclusion based upset n something known or
assumed
23.Should telecommunicators base their decisions on observations or
infer- ences?: Observations
24.What does the public expect when they call 911 in an emergency?:
That it be answered immediately by a trained, motivated and caring
individual who will immediately send help and provide life saving
3/
