Policy Text
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REPORTS
The purpose of this order is to p rovide guidelines for Communic ations personnel for
taking crime reports by telephon e and processing those reports.
I. General
Reports taken by telephone shall meet provisions of the current department
Report Writing Manual. Telephone repor ts may be taken in lieu o f dispatching
field resources when cert ain criteria are met.
II. Referring Complainant to S ervice Centers for Report
A. When service centers are open , callers shall be referred to the service
center most convenient for their access. Service centers will a ccept
referrals for the following types of reports:
1. Cold property crim es where the suspect is not at the scene.
a. Vehicle burglary b. Theft
(1) Forgery of checks ar e reported as thefts
c. Vandalism d. Embezzlement not involving vehicles e. Trespassing f. Illegal dumping
2. Cold person crimes where t he suspect is not at the scene.
a. Battery (no medical attention needed).
b. Not domestic violence related. c. Suspect is not a family member, roommate, neighbor, or co-
worker.
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d. Violation of court order or restraining order.
(1) Stalking not involved.
e. Missing persons not “at risk.” f. Annoying or threatening phone calls.
3. Found property not involving money, controlled substances,
firearms, ammunition, or other dangerous objects.
4. Incident reports.
III. Criteria for Ta king Telephone Reports
A. The following report types wil l be taken by telephone in Com munications
except where the suspect(s) are present, immediate investigativ e follow-
up is required, or the crime has just occurred and witnesses ar e at the
scene:
1. Incident report – When deem ed appropriate by the watch
supervisor or their designee.
2. Lost or stolen plate report. 3. Lost or stolen firearm report – Where the victim has the ser ial
number of the weapon and the se rvice center is closed.
4. Missing person or missing per son clear-up report – After ser vice
center is closed (see Communicati ons Operation Order 4/06.0) wi th
the exception of the following:
a. Child is 11 years of age or younger. b. A missing juvenile has no prio r history of running away or
absent any indication that t he juvenile has run away.
c. The person is of advanced age. d. Extenuating or suspicious c ircumstances may be involved
such as suicide, severe heal th problems, or mental
impairment.
5. Missing person vehicle and recovery reports.
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IV. Procedure for Taking Telephone Reports
A. Upon determination that a te lephone report is appropriate,
Communications personnel shall ex plain to the complainant that certain
reports are taken over the phone for the following reasons:
1. Officers’ time must be conserved to respond to in-progress c alls,
major crimes, or those crimes h aving investigative leads.
2. Telephone reporting provi des economical service.
3. This type of reporting allows t he most efficient use of limi ted
resources.
B. When a telephone report is approp riate, the complaint statio n will either:
1. Take the report immediately. 2. Record pertinent information on a yellow report slip and adv ise the
complainant that a report write r will call back to take the rep ort.
V. Report Numbers
A. Report numbers shall be issued to complainants on all report s taken in the
Communications Bureau.
B. When an incident occurs involvi ng many victims where reports are being
taken by field resources and Comm unications personnel, a master case
number may be obtained.
C. Report numbers will be issued to Communications Bureau repor ts from
the assigned block of report num bers obtained from Records. Onl y
missing persons reports will be iss ued report numbers directly from
Records.
D. Per Patrol Operations Order 2 /15, officers are required to c ontact
Communications to be issued repor t numbers for robberies and al l vehicle
related reports (stolen/recovered/towed).
VI. Report Approval
A. Reports taken by Communicati ons personnel s hall be routed to the watch
supervisor or their designee for approval.