LANCASTER STATION
UNIT ORDER # 22
FIELD UNIT RESPONSE TO CALLS FOR SERVICE
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this order is to delineate the specific duties and responsibilities of field personnel responding to calls for service.
When calls for service are received at the desk, they shall be received and dispatched in accordance to FOD 90-12.
ORDER:
FIELD PATROL UNIT RESPONSIBILITY:
Once a field unit receives a call for service via the desk or through the Sheriff’s Communication Center dispatch, they shall respond to the call without delay. Exceptions to this are as follows:
These orders were established for the handling of service requests (call for service) when the immediate deployment of field units cannot be accomplished due to unforeseen field activity (i.e., containment, active vehicle/foot pursuit, numerous emergent / priority calls for service). These policies are still in effect and desk personnel shall adhere to them.
DELAYED RESPONSE CALLS
The Dispatcher is responsible for monitoring field units. The Dispatcher shall either reassign a call if the field unit is busy, or call the informant and advise of a delayed response. If there is a specific reason for the delay, the dispatcher will document a detailed explanation in the narrative of the call (i.e., units in court, burglary containment, heavy traffic, shift change, etc.). The acronym (IAD) will be utilized to document when an informant has been advised of a delayed response time. These comments will be placed in the "remark" field of the incident details either utilizing the Incident entry format, or the “CHG” function. The incident and unit details will reflect the time and employee number of the dispatcher who added the comments.
Any significant delays (responses that take over 60 minutes) for routine police services, as well as any delay in assigning an emergency or priority call (emergency responses over 10 minutes and priority over 20 minutes), shall result in the watch sergeant being notified as soon as possible. As stated above, a detailed explanation shall be placed in the “Incident Details” of the concerned call. The watch commander will determine the need to hold units over, or assign units to calls which will likely require overtime. The procedures for recording remarks on calls can be obtained from the MDCS guidebook located on the bookshelf adjacent to the Watch Deputy’s desk. Excerpts of (FOD 90-12 policies) as they relate to delayed responses are outlined below.
DELAYED RESPONSE POLICY (FOD 90-12)
The Delayed Response Policy (D.R.P.) requires involvement of desk personnel, dispatchers and watch commanders. All unit commanders are responsible for establishing emergent and routine response time limits deemed appropriate by the department:
A. Emergent Calls for Service: should a unit not be dispatched, or arrive at the scene of an emergent call within the specified time, the dispatcher shall look for an alternative response. The watch deputy/dispatcher shall advise the watch sergeant and watch commander if an alternative response is not available.
B. Routine (Non-Emergent) Calls for Service: when dealing with "Routine Calls for Service,” if units have not been dispatched or are unable to arrive within the specified time, the informant shall be contacted and advised of the delay. The watch deputy/dispatcher shall consult with the watch sergeant in finding a reasonable resolution to the problem.
C. Priority Calls for Service: these calls have the same response time limits and delayed response reporting guidelines as routine calls for service. Priority calls for service shall be dispatched and handled prior to routine calls for service.
D. On all calls exceeding the DRP time limit, the comment "Informant Advised of Delay" (IAD) will be entered into the "remark" field of the Incident entry format. If desk personnel add this comment at a later time using the "CHG" function, a time event segment will be automatically added to the incident details (history of the call). Incident details will indicate the time and employee number of the person who entered in the comment.
E. When a call is sent to the dispatcher without an IAD comment and the dispatcher realizes the response will exceed the DRP, the dispatcher may choose to add the comment and explain the particular action taken on a call by adding comments to the "Assign" and "Hold" commands. These comments become a part of the Incident and Unit Details.
FIELD SERGEANT RESPONSIBILITY:
It shall be the responsibility of the assigned area field sergeant to monitor field unit activities to ensure adherence to this order.