CAD Operator
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CAD Operator (also known as Communications Officer or Civilian Communications Officer) is a position within London's Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) currently held by both police officers and police staff (civilians). It is intended that by the end of 2007 the position will be entirely civilianised.
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[edit] Job role
CAD Operators perform two functions. In the General Support (GS) role (also known as call receipt), they answer 999 and non-emergency telephone calls to police and enter the details of the call onto the MPS computer system. In the Operational Monitor (OM) role (also known as despatch), they read the details of the calls as entered by GS, decide on the appropriate action to take, and, when police deployment is necessary, assign police officers using Airwave radios or by sending information directly to the MDT terminal of police vehicles. Most CAD Operators rotate between the two roles, but some are dedicated to one or the other.
The title "CAD Operator" comes from the Computer Assisted Despatch program that the MPS has used since 1984; while this system is still in partial use, it has mostly been superseded by the new Contact Handling System application.
[edit] Location
On the introduction of the CAD system in 1984, each OCU and BOCU had its own team of CAD Operators based at a local police station. Staffing levels varied, but a typical busy station consisted of five to seven on-duty operators split between the GS and OM positions, plus a "Controller" with overall responsibility. An additional bank of operators, known as the Information Room, was based at New Scotland Yard and handled 999 calls and major incidents.
In 2004, local CAD Operators began to transfer to the new Metcall centres; the transfer is expected to be complete across London by the end of 2007.
[edit] Staff numbers
There are just over 2,000 CAD Operator positions within the MPS, and approximately 400-500 on duty at any given time. Due to staffing issues stemming from the transfer to Metcall, the numbers are currently much lower, and a number of police officers have been seconded to Metcall to fill vacancies; this removal of officers from active duties led to some controversy. The Metropolitan Police Authority intends to eventually have all CAD Operator positions filled by civilians, allowing police officers to return to active duties.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Metropolitan Police Service Central Communications Command
- Metropolitan Police Recruitment Section page on the role of Communications Officers
- Metropolitan Police main homepage
- Photograph of MPS Traffic Control showing a typical CAD environment
- Airwave
- Metropolitan Police Authority
