Policy Text
09.20 .0 PURPOSE
The purpose of this general order is to establish guidelines for the Telephone Reporting
Unit (TRU) when taking reports by telephone .
09.20 .1 POLICY
The Concord Police Department shall use the Telephone Reporting Unit (TRU) in certain
instances for incident reporting purposes and to reduce the number of low -priority calls
for service.
09.20 .2 TELEPHONE REPORTING UNIT (TRU)
A. When a telephone call is received concerning the need for an incident report or
supplement, it may be taken if the incident meets certain criteria as outlined in this
general order.
B. Coworkers assigned to TRU shall attend a departmental report writing course to learn
to take an i ncident report and a supplementary report in the correct manner . The
coworker must also exhibit an amount of proficiency that will be judged by neatness
and accuracy of reports.
C. Eligible reports received by the TRU shall be completed as an incident report through
the Mobile Field Reporting System. The report will then be reviewed by an on -duty
supervisor and will either be approved or sent back to TRU for corrections.
D. TRU coworkers shall be responsible for ensuring p eople or property that meet criteria
for entry into the North Carolina Division of Criminal Information ( DCI)/ National
Crime Information Center ( NCIC) are entered in a timely manner. TRU may request
a Customer Service coworker to enter the information or if time allows enter the
person or property themselves.
CONCORD POLICE DEPARTMENT
STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE
TELEPHONE REPORTING UNIT
GENERAL ORDER: 09.20 CREATED: April 1, 2001 ISSUE DATE: December 12, 2024
CALEA STANDARD: EFFECTIVE DATE: December 12, 2024
ACTION: Amends general order dated October 1, 2022 .
General Order 09.20 TELEPHONE REPORTING UNIT Page 2 of 3
09.20.3 TELEPH ONE REPORTS
A. Incident reports may be assigned to TRU by:
1. When a telephone call is received by the Communications Center, it will be built
as a call for service and entered into the Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system.
If the Communications Center determines that the incident meets the criteria set
forth in this general order, the call will be dispatched via Mobile Comput ing
Terminal (MCT) to a TRU coworker . The unit coworker will then make contact by
telephone to the reporting party to discuss the incident.
2. If the report is a walk -in or a direct call to the department, the TRU coworker
who receives the call will build (or request that the Communications Center
builds) the incident as a call for service in the CAD system.
B. Once it is determined that the incident meets the criteria for a report to be taken via
telephone, a TRU coworker will be contacted and initiate the report.
1. When received the coworker will use the MCT to generate a self -initiated call and
enter the appropriate information to create an event and to generate an
Originating Case Agency (OCA) number for the report.
09.20.4 REPORT CRITERIA
A. All five criteria must be met for reports that can be taken by telephone:
1. Misdemeanors not in progress;
2. Non-violent Felonies (property crimes) ;
3. Incidents where n o physical evidence may be present to be collected (not
including financial records, emails or other paper documents);
4. No personal injury has occurred ;
5. No witnesses are available to interview .
NOTE: If TRU coworkers question if an incident should be taken by TRU, an
on-duty supervisor shall be contacted for clarification.
B. EXAMPLES (BUT NOT A COMPLETE LIST) OF ACCEPTED REPORTS BY TELEPHONE:
1. Frequent Runaways (with supervisor approval) ;
2. Property damage/Vandalism (except traffic crashes) ;
3. Fraud, Obtaining Property by False Prete nse or Embezzlement ;
4. Financial Identity Theft or Forgery ;
5. Harassing Phone Calls (unknown suspect(s) ;
6. Communicating Threats (unknown suspect(s) ;
General Order 09.20 TELEPHONE REPORTING UNIT Page 3 of 3
7. Minor assault s with no injury (unknown suspect(s) ;
D. TRU SHALL NOT TAKE A REPORT IF IT INVOLVES:
1. Felony offenses against a person ;
2. Any complaint where there is damage or loss that exceeds five thousand dollars
($5,000);
3. Any in -progress call;
4. Any misdemeanor that was witnessed with a known suspect and can be referred
to the Magistrate for private party warrants ;
5. Any report requirin g a DMV -349 for traffic crashes;
6. Larceny of prescription medications ;
7. If life or property are in im mediate danger;
8. If the suspect(s) is on scene;
NOTE: TRU coworkers that may receive calls they believe are misrouted , or
there is reasonable doubt concerning the criteria, s hall take the
preliminary information concerning the incident and then cont act an
on duty patrol supervisor to determine if a district officer shall
respond.
09.20.5