KNOWLEDGE OF AMERICAN MORSE AND THE CONSOLIDATED CODE NOT REQUIRED. The job of police dispatcher brings its own stresses with it. Joanne Jacobs has received a depressing e-mail from a supervisor seeking to fill some dispatching positions.

During the last round of applicant testing, all of the 52 applicants had the required high school diploma or equivalent, and some had current desk-type jobs for which the above skills are necessary (or so I thought). Six out of 52 people passed the spelling test. And the results of the other tests were not much better. So, I had six people to move into the next round of testing, which is geared more toward the specific required skills and abilities of a communications officer. In the end, four people were qualified to interview.

Hmm, the basis of the standard university curve is that maybe ten per cent. of the class are the A students. Here, a smaller percentage than that makes the cut for further screening.