Dispatch Priming
Incorrect information provided to officers can cause them to make tragic shooting errors. Learn how you can avoid dispatch priming.
An intensive 8-hour course for public safety dispatchers.
Dispatch priming occurs when a dispatcher gives officers erroneous information that leads to the officers unwittingly making disastrous shooting decisions once they arrive and confront the suspect.
Researchers have only recently begun to study this complex phenomenon. One study noted that “priming officers with incorrect dispatched information about what a subject was holding significantly increased the likelihood for a shooting error while priming officers with the correct information…significantly decreased the likelihood for error.” 1
- Learn why dispatch priming happens and how to avoid it
- Examine real-world dispatch priming incidents
- Examine the bias and heuristics that lead to priming
- Learn about the science of decision-making & the psychology of communication
Your Instructor
Kristy Dorton
Instructor Kristy Dorton is an active-duty dispatcher with the Sacramento Police Department and a California POST Master Instructor. Kristy has studied the complexities of dispatch priming and designed this course to help fellow dispatchers avoid it.