The Cobb County Department of Emergency Communications (DEC) invites you to explore a career as an Emergency Communications Officer. 

Cobb County DEC is a people-centered, values-driven community of dedicated professionals. We concentrate all our resources on the betterment of those who work heroically while serving others. Emergency Communications is a challenging but rewarding career, and Cobb County DEC has developed multiple support systems to train valued and highly sought skill sets, to instill and build resiliency, and prepare for the work being accomplished. Cobb County DEC is one of the premier centers in the nation to grow and achieve both professional and personal goals.

This expanding career field is ideal for a person with good communication and multi-tasking skills and the ability to work under stressful conditions. If you’re looking for a challenge and personal growth, we would love to have you a s a part of our team.

Using a computer-aided dispatch system, an Emergency Communications Officer (ECO) receives emergency calls from the public requesting police, fire, medical, or other emergency services. The operator must determine the nature and location of the emergency, determine priorities, and dispatch police, fire, ambulance, or other emergency units as necessary and following established procedures.

An ECO maintains contact with all units on assignment, including the status and location of police and fire units. The operator must be able to enter, update, and retrieve information from a variety of computer systems and process requests for information such as vehicle registration, driving records, and warrants, and respond with pertinent data.

The officer must be able to monitor several complex public safety radio frequencies and operate various communications equipment, including radio consoles, telephones, and computer systems.

After training, all Cobb ECOs receive the Basic Communications Officer Training certificate for the State of Georgia by the Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST). They are also CPR certified through the American Heart Association (AHA). All operators receive certification as Emergency Telecommunicators, Emergency Medical Dispatchers (EMD), Emergency Fire Dispatchers (EFD), and as of January 2019, Emergency Police Dispatchers (EPD) through the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch (IAED), which enables them to offer life-saving instructions to the caller until help arrives.

ECOs also become TDD (Telecommunications for the Deaf), and TTY (Teletypewriter) certified. The center subscribes Voiance Language Services, allowing operators to access translation services for multiple languages.

Within a 6,000 square foot communications facility equipped with the 800 Megahertz System, the Cobb County 911 Center receives and dispatches emergency calls for service for the Cobb County Police Department, Cobb County Fire & Emergency Services, Cobb County Animal Services, Cobb County Sheriff's Department, City of Marietta Police Department, City of Marietta Fire Department, City of Powder Springs Police Department, and handles fire and medical calls for the cities of Acworth and Kennesaw.  

Emergency Communications Officers work a 12-hour shift with three days on/two days off followed by two days on/three days off work cycle. This provides a 3-day weekend every other week, and overtime is frequently available.

Two years after completing the training program, Emergency Communications Officers may apply for specialized fields. Promotional opportunities include:

• Communications Training Officer
• Tactical Dispatcher
• Fire Communications Specialist
• Operations Supervisor/Manager
• Training and Quality Assurance Coordinator
• Quality Assurance Evaluator
• Training Technician
• Public Information Coordinator
• Community Relations Specialist
• CAD Analyst
• Radio Systems Specialist