Policy Text
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COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTIVE 500.01
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SACRAMENTO POLICE DEPARTMENT
COMMUNICATIONS DIVISION DIRECTIVE
500.01
PRIORITIZING CALLS FOR SERVICE
1-31-23
PURPOSE
This Communications Directive establishes procedures for Communications Division
personnel to prioritize calls for service.
POLICY
It shall be the policy of the Communications Division to prioritize calls for service to
ensure the expedient assignment of calls to field units.
PROCEDURE
A. PRIORITY DEFINITION
1. All calls for service shall be categorized into the following priorities levels :
a. Priority 1 - All vehicle and foot pursuits ; requests for cover by police and
fire units.
b. Priority 2 - An emergency requiring immediate police response to preserve
life or apprehend the suspect(s) . This includes combined medical aid
incidents (245PA, 245TA, 215PA, 215TA, 273.5A) .
c. Priority 3 - Any crime against a person occurring with a time element of 15
minutes or less ; priority service calls with the potential to escalate or other
situations requiring the response of an officer on a timely basis. This
priority includes such in- progress incidents as 242P .
d. Priority 4 – Low-priority service calls ; time element misdemeanors ; some
of the report calls requiring a sworn officer .
e. Priority 5 - Report calls ( community service officers and sworn officer s);
ringing alarms .
f. Priority 6 - Errand calls ; phone messages ; missing person reports (not at
risk).
g. Priority 7 - Crime Scene Investigator follow -up calls .
2. The CAD system ensures all incident entry type codes have been assigned a
predefined priority consistent with these definitions.
a. The dispatcher has the discretion to lower or raise the priority of an
incident if the specific circumstances warrant the change.
b. If a predefined priority is lowered or raised, the reason will be clearly noted
in the text of the incident.
B. DISPATCH OF CAL LS BY PRIORITY
Dispatchers shall assign calls, as outlined in General Order 510.04 (Dispatching
Sequence of Assignment ) to available units and provide field supervisors with
information and assistance as needed.