Information Gathering, Recording, and Prioritization
Information Gathering, Recording, and Prioritization tests the intake sequence: what you ask first, what you write into the record, and how quickly the incident must be dispatched. The exam presents caller statements or brief CAD-style scenarios and asks for the missing critical element, the correct record entry, or the priority order.
Core rules
- Secure location first, then callback number, nature of the problem, injuries, weapons, suspect description, and direction of travel.
- Record exact words for critical facts; label uncertainty such as 'possible firearm' instead of upgrading it to fact.
- Time-stamp entries and keep the record chronological.
- Prioritize by threat to life, whether the incident is in progress, and weapon involvement; a past property loss generally ranks below an active injury.
Worked example
Caller: 'My neighbor is yelling in the hallway and I think he might have a gun, but I only saw something dark.' A strong entry reads: 'In-progress disturbance, hallway of [address]; caller reports neighbor yelling; possible firearm-caller saw dark object, not confirmed; callback [number].' The reasoning: location and callback permit response; 'in-progress' and 'possible firearm' raise priority; 'not confirmed' preserves accuracy and protects the record from overstatement.
Traps
- Recording a guess as confirmed fact.
- Omitting the callback number because the address seems sufficient.
- Delaying priority assignment while gathering nonessential details.
- Using homemade abbreviations another dispatcher cannot read.
- Reordering events so the timeline becomes misleading.