‘Serious about the job,’: Public Safety Telecommunicator Training prepares dispatchers to serve their community

Four times a year, up to 30 students from around the state take critical training at the New Mexico Department of Public Safety Law Enforcement Academy with an eye on helping citizens in their community.

The training? The Public Safety Telecommunicator course, for aspiring hired dispatchers in city, county, state, federal or tribal governments in New Mexico (the first in the nation to make it mandatory that telecommunicators attend a formal training).

"It is crucial for dispatchers to be prepared for anything at all times," said Barbara Schalkofski, lead telecommunicator and instructor for the New Mexico Department of Public Safety of the training. "They must be ready to handle almost anything that citizens and officers may present. This course equips them to manage real-life scenarios when they enter the field."

The training which has been held at the academy since 1976 is currently wrapping up the 169^th class. Instruction kicks off with students learning the curriculum within the Association of Public Communications Officials structure. The training then evolves into 911 calls and what to ask; mental health; and legal issues and how to use the National Crime Information Center system. It then transitions to training on the Fire and Emergency Medical Services; how to use a fire extinguisher with information from state fire officials; and finally critical incident management including hazardous materials with the New Mexico State Police. The course concludes with four practical exercise scenarios using the skills learned and a final state examination.

"We teach them how to use Computer Aided Dispatch and how to multitask-being able to talk on the radio and on the telephone at the same time," said Schalkofski. "They are trained to assist in a wide range of different situations. While they may not know everything, they have taken the initiative to learn in order to help the citizens in their community-that's why they are here."

Lead Instructors like Schalkofski must ensure her and her subordinates have an up-to-date curriculum incorporating the latest technology in order to train the students effectively. Kelly Hampton and Greg Archuleta Lynch along with Schalkofski complete the instructor cadre.

"They are stellar instructors," Schalkofski said of Hampton and Archuleta Lynch. "Together we have an amazing cadre to teach this curriculum."

Recent additions to the Public Safety Telecommunicator class include CPR, racial sensitivity training and Peer to Peer training (where employees take responsibility for others).

One example of a critical incident management scenario Schalkofski provided involves a "tanker truck that rolls over and gasoline that spills everywhere," where the dispatcher has to use the Critical Incident Command System to be able to manage the incident and properly dispatch resources and public safety personnel to the incident location.

Students who have gone through this training in some cases have launched an entirely new career including Julie Silva with Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office, who was a graduate of the Public Safety Telecommunicator course in 2022 and just recently graduated the Basic Police Officer Training Class 210 in 2025 and is working with the Santa Fe Sheriff's Office.

To become a dispatcher, applicants must be at least 18 years of age with a high school diploma or GED and be able to accurately type 35 words per minute. Interested applicants must pass a background check, a drug test, and a hearing test and must be a citizen or legal resident. Dispatchers work 40 hours per week with the opportunity to work overtime.

Interested? Please email a recruiter for additional information and insight on the application process: [email protected] or call one of the recruiters in the following locations - Las Cruces: 505-629-3807; Albuquerque: 505-316-3122; Las Vegas: 505-652-8302.

The next class is February 9-27, 2026.

Story by New Mexico Department of Public Safety Public Information Officer John Heil. Photo courtesy of the New Mexico Department of Public Safety Law Enforcement Academy.

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