What you type
The box above deals out call records the way a call-taker meets them: a caller’s identity and how to reach them back, then where it’s happening and what’s going on. There are 22 of them. Some follow the field order of the CritiCall data-entry screen in San Diego’s guide (LAST NAME, FIRST NAME, TELEPHONE, ADDRESS, CITY, ZIP, VIN, plate, driver’s license); others are free-text call notes for a medical call, a house fire, a collision, a burglar alarm, a welfare check or a missing child; a few are rapid-fire drills of callback numbers, plates or street addresses only. Every person, place and number in them is made up.
Dispatch screens in the guide accept capitals only, so these records are all caps too, written in radio-style shorthand: CB is the callback number, LOC the location, VEH a vehicle, SUSP a suspect, X-ST the cross street, and times are on the 24-hour clock. Put Caps Lock on before the first record rather than holding Shift for every letter.
Reading your result
Each finished record shows two numbers, words per minute and accuracy. Colorado Springs states its minimum as net words per minute, meaning errors are taken off your speed, so a quick record full of typos scores worse than it looks. Move to the next record with Enter. When you want one net figure over a longer stretch, the 5-minute test ends with gross speed, error count and the net result side by side.
Numbers cost the most time here. If your speed drops on callback numbers and plates, practice the number row in the Practice tab, or use your keyboard’s number pad: the San Diego guide notes that many test takers find it helpful to have Num Lock on.
How agencies test typing
As of October 2026, the postings we checked set the bar between 35 and 40 words per minute: Colorado Springs asks for 40 net WPM and a CritiCall score of 75 or better, and Boston’s police dispatch center asks for at least 35 WPM, checked with its own assessment. San Diego’s CritiCall guide also recommends practicing by having someone read names, addresses and phone numbers aloud while you type them, which trains the listen-and-type skill a reading test can’t. Check your agency’s posting for its own requirement, since each sets its own.
The 22 texts on this page
- Caller details
- Vehicle stop
- Medical call
- Structure fire
- Traffic collision
- Suspicious person
- Callback numbers
- Plates and permits
- Missing person
- Alarm activation
- Address check
- Welfare check
- Noise complaint
- Hit and run
- Driver record
- Animal call
- Gas leak
- Shoplifting
- Water rescue
- Unit status
- Downed power line
- Domestic disturbance