Dispatch Priming

Dispatch Priming

October 27, 2023

Brentwood Police Department

9100 Brentwood Blvd.

Brentwood, CA 94513

8am - 5pm

Hosted by the Brentwood Police Department

CA POST Certified:#1345-31042

POST CCN will be assigned when new fiscal year begins

This course is eligible for ATA reimbursement through CALOES

$289.00

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

Target Audience:
Police dispatchers and call takers as well as sworn law enforcement officers who want to learn how to avoid dispatch priming.

In this course, you will:

  • 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
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.

¹ Taylor, P. L. (2020). Dispatch Priming and the Police Decision to Use Deadly Force. Police Quarterly, 23(3), 311–332. https://doi.org/10.1177/1098611119896653

Payment Methods

Once you enter the student information below and click "Register", you will be taken to a checkout page where you can pay using a credit card, or you may request that an invoice be sent to your department that can be paid online or by check and sent by mail. Please note that invoices incur a $15.00 non-refundable processing fee.

28 in stock

Student Information

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