Police Dispatch (EPD) - In-Progress Calls and Officer Safety
This section covers the police dispatch portion: classifying calls with the Police Priority Dispatch System (PPDS), distinguishing an in-progress incident from a just-occurred one, and protecting officers through the information you gather. The exam tests classification discipline and caller management under pressure.
In-progress versus just-occurred
The first classification decision is whether the incident is happening now or has just happened. In-progress calls carry higher determinants because the suspect may still be on scene and a life may still be at risk. Time elapsed since the incident, and whether the suspect is still present, are explicit key questions.
Weapon, injury, suspect, direction
Every violent or potentially violent call is interrogated for: weapons involved and their type, injuries to anyone on scene, a suspect description, and the suspect's direction of travel. The determinant rises with a confirmed weapon and with a victim injured or threatened. Number of people involved and whether the caller is in a safe location are also captured.
Caller management
Post-Dispatch Instructions for police callers typically include staying on the line, not confronting the suspect, moving to a safe location if it can be done without risk, and meeting officers at a described location. The caller is a source of live information; releasing them early is a quality failure unless the protocol directs it.
Worked example
Caller: "There's a man in the park waving a knife at people." The incident is in progress. Key questions confirm a knife is visible and being brandished, no one injured yet, and the suspect is walking toward the playground. The determinant is set high on the basis of a weapon plus an ongoing threat to the public. The caller is kept on the line to report the suspect's movement and told not to approach. Reasoning: "no one injured yet" does not lower the call - the active weapon and ongoing exposure drive the determinant.
Traps
- Not confirming the weapon or assuming a weapon is implied.
- Coding a just-occurred call as in-progress, or the reverse, without asking.
- Releasing the caller while the suspect is still present.
- Omitting direction of travel, which removes the responding officer's ability to intercept.