Hanover County, Virginia supports the establishment and adoption of more comprehensive public safety training standards than are currently promulgated through the DCJS compulsory minimum training standards. 

Specifically, the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials, International (APCO) has published a series of comprehensive training manuals and guidelines that are outstanding resources.  Hanover recommends that the DCJS consider the incorporating APCO’s Minimum Training Standards for Public Safety Telecommunicators as part of the review process.  These recommended minimum training standards for new public safety communications officers include standards that address the tasks of public safety call taking, emergency medical dispatch, fire dispatch, as well as law dispatch, thereby creating a baseline making the current Commonwealth training standards more comprehensive and thereby addressing all aspects of public safety dispatch. 

Also, the current DCJS standards lack requirements regarding on-going in-service training. The APCO curriculum, Minimum Training Standards for Public Safety Telecommunicators includes a requirement for annual in-service training.

Finally, Hanover County, Virginia supports the efforts of the Virginia APCO ProCHRT (Professional Communications Resource) Committee and the recommendations submitted on behalf of Virginia APCO.  While overall the regulations and standards included in the DCJS Rules to Compulsory Minimum Training Standards for Dispatchers have served localities and those personnel serving as Public Safety Telecommunicators in dispatch centers adequately in the past, there is an opportunity and a need to update and amendment the curriculum and other aspects of the standards.