go-12.pdf

\n\n--- Page 1 ---\n\nTALLAHASSEE POLICE DEPARTMENT GENERAL ORDERS SUBJECT Radio Communications CHIEF OF POLICE Signature on File Proudly Policing Since Nationally Accredited 1841 1986 NUMBER ORIGINAL ISSUE CURRENT REVISION TOTAL PAGES 12 11/15/2001 04/12/2023 20 AUTHORITY/RELATED REFERENCES CDA-660, Radio Dispatching – Law Enforcement General Order 26, High Risk Incidents General Order 46, Rules of Conduct General Order 48, Secondary Employment General Order 65, Mobile Data Computers General Order 56, Traffic Stops PTL-4, Patrol Officer ACCREDITATION REFERENCES CALEA Chapter 41, 81 KEY WORD INDEX BOLOs Procedure VII E Call Classification Procedure II Calls Scanned/Monitored From Other Agencies Procedure X Calls Requiring a Back-Up Unit Procedure VI Communication Procedures – General Procedure VII A Dispatching Calls When No Area Unit is Available Procedure III Emergency Alert Button Procedure IX Emergency and Felony In-progress Calls Procedure V General Guidelines Procedure I Holding Calls for Service Procedure IV Meal Breaks (Out of Service) Procedure VII B NCIC/FCIC/CJIS Protocols Procedure VII C Talk Group Utilization Procedure VIII Teletype/Second Party Verification Procedure VII D\n\n--- Page 2 ---\n\nTALLAHASSEE POLICE DEPARTMENT POLICY Members of the Tallahassee Police Department shall adhere to accepted policies and procedures when communicating on the police dispatch radio system. DEFINITIONS Area: A geographical subdivision of a sector. Area Unit: An on-duty police officer assigned to a specific geographical area within a sector. BOLO: Be On the Look Out. CAD: Computer Aided Dispatch system. CDA: Consolidated Dispatch Agency, the Tallahassee-Leon County joint call- taking and dispatch entity. CDA Dispatcher: Radio district dispatcher for the Consolidated Dispatch Agency. CJIS: The Leon County Criminal Justice Information System. Communications Liaison: The Department member assigned as the administrative point of contact between the Department and CDA management. Customer Service Aide (Teleserve): A Department unit consisting of members who complete police reports with information received from the complainant via the telephone or in person at police headquarters. District/Quadrant: A specific geographical area comprised of several patrol areas. FCIC: Florida Crime Information Center. Field Unit: An on-duty member who works outside of police headquarters on a regular basis (e.g., patrol officers, Community Service Technicians, COPPS and VCRT) who is responsible for calls for service. This would include traffic officers while they conduct traffic enforcement and detectives conducting follow up investigations in the field. HIT: An NCIC, FCIC, or CJIS response indicating a possible wanted status of a person or stolen status of property. GENERAL ORDER 12 PAGE 2 of 20 RADIO COMMUNICATIONS APRIL 12, 2023\n\n--- Page 3 ---\n\nTALLAHASSEE POLICE DEPARTMENT Hold/Holding: The authorized delay of dispatching a call for service. NCIC : National Crime Information Center. Patching: The combining of two or more talk groups on the 800 MHz police radio system enabling personnel from different agencies or radio districts to communicate with one another on the police radio. P1MDC: Premier1 Mobile Data Computer. Radio District: A geographic division of the City of Tallahassee for the CDA comprised of northeast, northwest, southeast, and southwest. Second Party Verification: A post-input query of a teletype entry into FCIC/NCIC to ensure the entered information is complete, accurate, and valid, as mandated by FDLE. Sector: The geographical division of the City of Tallahassee representing the northern and southern parts of the city. Talk Group: A specific “channel” on the 800 MHz police radio system used by members to communicate with one another. PROCEDURES I. GENERAL GUIDELINES A. Members shall respond to calls for service received from the CDA unless directed otherwise by an authorized supervisor. B. Members shall notify a supervisor anytime they are unable to respond to a call for service or shall be delayed responding to a call for service. C. Members are responsible for promptly responding to another member’s emergency request for assistance. D. The response to a call for service dispatched by the CDA may be delayed, altered, or managed by a sworn supervisor. 1. The CDA dispatcher shall be notified of any modifications or delays of response to a call for service. 2. Any modifications or delays shall be requested to be annotated in the CAD by the CDA dispatcher. GENERAL ORDER 12 PAGE 3 of 20 RADIO COMMUNICATIONS APRIL 12, 2023\n\n--- Page 4 ---\n\nTALLAHASSEE POLICE DEPARTMENT E. Members may be assigned duties in any area or jurisdiction of the City of Tallahassee. F. Members may be assigned duties in any area or jurisdiction in the unincorporated portion of Leon County for those calls deemed Priority One and Priority Two (as defined in subsection II below) if the member is the closest field unit and either: 1. Dispatched to the call by the CDA or 2. Requested to respond by the Leon County Sheriff’s Office. G. The on-duty CDA Shift Supervisor may make a recommendation to adjust or change assignments of area units as necessary for emergency response efficiencies. H. Members shall be professional and courteous during any police radio or electronic communications and: 1. Follow all accepted Department rules, practices and customs while communicating on the police radio, and 2. Make clear and concise communications during police radio transmissions. I. Members should use established and approved ten codes, disposition codes and plain talk during police radio transmissions. J. Field units shall possess a functional portable police radio while on-duty, unless otherwise directed by a sworn supervisor. K. Members should report problems associated with the dispatching of a call for service to a sworn supervisor, Watch Commander, or the Communications Liaison as soon as possible. II. CALL CLASSIFICATION The CDA adheres to the following priority rankings in dispatching calls for service to members: Priority 1 Calls requiring immediate dispatch, including but not limited to: violent felony crimes in progress, life GENERAL ORDER 12 PAGE 4 of 20 RADIO COMMUNICATIONS APRIL 12, 2023\n\n--- Page 5 ---\n\nTALLAHASSEE POLICE DEPARTMENT threatening incidents, persons reporting being injured, alarms, and other crimes in progress. Priority 2 Calls requiring dispatch within five (5) minutes from receipt of the call including, but not limited to: assaults, hazardous traffic situations, traffic crashes without reports of a person having been injured, traffic obstructions, calls for service that may be in progress, but are not believed to be threatening life or property, missing persons involving individuals unable to care for themselves. Priority 3 Non-emergency calls for police service involving incidents other than the above described priority calls, including but not limited to: automobile thefts, missing persons not reasonably believed to be endangered, burglaries not in progress, traffic crashes not believed to be a traffic hazard. Priority 4 Any call that may be referred to Teleserve, the Duty Office, or On-line Reporting Service. This shall exclude any call where an officer was requested to respond to the scene. Typically, Priority 4 calls include reports of incidents where no suspects are on-scene and there exists no physical evidence to collect at scene. III. DISPATCHING CALLS WHEN AREA UNITS ARE NOT AVAILABLE CDA-660 directs the actions of CDA members in the dispatching of area units, and the information in this section reflects those protocols. A. Whenever an area unit is not available to respond to the dispatch of a Priority 1 call for service, the primary talk group CDA dispatcher will: 1. Dispatch the closest available area unit(s) within the radio district without delay. 2. Whenever an area unit within the sector is not available for a Priority 1 call for service,