Differential Police Response - Training Guide

• NCJ Number: 102962
• Date Published: 1983
• Length: 33 pages
• Grant Number(s): 81-IJ-CX-0030
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Handbook

Annotation

This training guide describes the Garden Grove Police Department's (New Jersey) differential system for responding to service calls and details the responsibilities of the calltaker and the dispatcher.

Abstract

The differential response system uses call classification and prioritization techniques to apply a broad range of response strategies to service calls. A matrix is used by communications personnel to classify the incident reported, obtain information on it, and assign a response. The incident categories are crimes against persons, disturbances, assistance, crimes against property, traffic accidents, suspicious circumstances, public morals, miscellaneous service, and alarms. This manual specifies the responsibilities of the calltaker in categorizing each service call and asking the caller designated questions developed for each incident category. Calltaker questions for each event category are included. The dispatcher responsibilities encompass the tasks involved in dispatching the service call to a patrol officer. The differential response system replaces radio dispatch codes with verbal descriptions of incidents supplied by the formatted information obtained from the calltaker. The manual contains the matrix, incident codes, and a sample calltaker scenario.