Communications is the first line of communication between citizens and patrol officers. Communications Specialists are responsible for receiving emergency and non-emergency calls for service along with other requests for police assistance. Communication Specialists gather and relay crucial information to assist officers in the field with their response and investigation.
When to call 9-1-1:
Call 9-1-1 in cases of emergency. An emergency is defined as; a serious, unexpected, and often dangerous situation requiring immediate action. Examples:
- Domestic Violence
- Physical Fight
- Injury Car Crash
- Theft in Progress
- Suspected DUII driver
- Fire/Medical problem
- Any crime that is currently happening
If ever in doubt and in need of immediate assistance, call 9-1-1.
When to call the APD non-emergency line (541-917-7680):
- Crimes that are not in progress (happened last night, happened last week)
- Civil issues
- To contact an officer about a previous call for service
Other Resources
- Linn County Sheriff’s Office
541-967-3950
http://www.linnsheriff.org - Benton County Sheriff’s Office
541-847-5100
https://sheriff.bentoncountyor.gov
What information should I have ready when calling APD for assistance?
Citizens calling APD for assistance should expect to provide different information depending on the issue they are experiencing; however, some general information will be consistent across all types of requests. Citizens should expect to provide:
- Address or location of the crime
- Name
- Phone number
- Home address
- If not occurring now, date and time crime occurred
- Suspect information (i.e. name, physical description, clothing description, direction of travel)
- If crime was a theft; property that was taken along with serial numbers if available
- If crime was a theft of motor vehicle or theft from motor vehicle; license plate number of vehicle
What should I do if I come home and my house or vehicle has been broken into?
Above all else, your safety is our first concern. If you are unsure if the suspect is still inside of the house or vehicle, you should:
- Remove yourself from the potentially dangerous area
- Call 9-1-1 for assistance
- Wait until officers respond to clear the location and take a report
If you have entered the house or vehicle and are positive the suspect is not present:
- Call the Albany Police Department non-emergency line: 541-917-7680
- Minimize contact with objects the suspect may have touched
- Start to develop a list of items that may have been taken from the location
- Wait for an officer to respond and take a report
Do I need to call APD if I get into a car crash?
- If parties involved are willing to exchange insurance information and the crash is non-blocking/non-injury, you do not need to call the police.
- Parties simply need to exchange insurance information and contact their insurance providers.
- If the damage to any property involved in the crash exceeds $1,500 in value, parties also need to submit a crash report with Oregon Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).
Interested in working for Albany Police Department Communications?
The APD Communications Center is comprised of one supervisor and ten communications specialists, two of whom are communications training officers. Communications specialists work four ten-hour days and are responsible for providing dispatching services twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven days a week. Each communication specialist rotates schedules every two months and all shifts are assigned based on a rotation schedule. Communications Specialists are allowed to trade shifts, with supervisor approval, to accommodate the demands of life.
Hiring Process
The Communications Center strives to serve the community as quickly and efficiently as possible. To do this, we need quality applicants who are up to the challenge to meet the demands of the profession each and every day. APD has a quick and demanding hiring process. Applicants should be prepared to submit a high quality application, and participate in; a five-minute interview, a CritiCall pre-employment test; a panel interview; a background investigation; and psychological and medical evaluations.
Training Process
Once hired, a new trainee can expect to attend a two-week Department of Public Safety, Standards & Training (DPSST) academy in Salem. Trainees are assigned a training coach and will work directly with their coach on their shift, sharing the same days off. Trainees will be put through a demanding three to four months of on-the-job training in emergency and non-emergency call taking and police dispatching. Trainees will receive daily performance reviews and supervisor reviews to ensure that they are aware of job performance and training needs. Once employees have mastered the basic skills needed to successfully perform the job duties on their own, they are released from their coach and monitored for the rest of their eighteen-month training period.
Ready to apply?
If this sounds like the job for you, please visit the City's jobs website to see if there are any positions currently available.
If there are no positions available, fill out a job interest card and get notified when one opens.
