Public Safety Dispatcher Local Agency Policy

POST regulations are intended as minimum standards. Local agencies can and do create standards that exceed these minimums. For example, it is quite common practice for agencies to administer a psychological test, as well as a detection of deception examination (i.e., lie detector test), even though neither are required by POST. 

Even for the parts of the selection process that are required by POST, it is up the agency to establish their own “cut scores.”  For example, POST does not dictate a minimum acceptable score on the dispatcher test, what aspects of personal history (e.g., past illegal drug use) are grounds for failing the background investigation, nor what type of medical findings make a candidate unsuitable for public safety dispatcher employment. These are all the responsibility of the local agency.