NCJ Number
58248
Date Published
1976
Length
189 pages
Annotation
PROFILES OF CANADIAN POLICE USING RADIO-DISPATCH COMMUNICATIONS OR RELATED COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS ARE DISCUSSED, AND DIFFERENT AGENCY REQUIREMENTS ARE IDENTIFIED.
Abstract
SENT TO POLICE AGENCIES ACROSS CANADA, THE STUDY QUESTIONNAIRES REVEALED FOUR BASIC GROUPS OF USERS: RURAL, URBAN SMALL, URBAN MEDIUM, AND URBAN LARGE. INFORMATION WAS SUPPLEMENTED BY INTERVIEWS WITH A SELECTION OF 23 AGENCIES. RURAL AGENCIES, SERVICING AN AVERAGE OF 18,068 PEOPLE, COVER THE LARGEST GEOGRAPHICAL AREA PER OFFICER, REPORT THE GREATEST INCREASE IN CRIME IN 1973-1974, AND RELY HEAVILY ON RADIO-DISPATCHED CARS. POLICE AGENCIES IN SMALL AND URBAN MEDIUM AREAS SUPERVISE GROWING, FLUCTUATING POPULATIONS, A SLOWLY-INCREASING CRIME RATE, AND USE RADIO-DISPATCHED VEHICLES OR PERSONNEL. COVERING POPULATION AREAS GREATER THAN 100,000, URBAN LARGE AGENCIES REPORT A CRIME GROWTH RATE SIMILAR TO SMALL AND MEDIUM CITIES, GROWING POPULATIONS, AND HEAVY USE OF RADIO-DISPATCH EQUIPMENT. EXTERNAL FACTORS BEARING ON POLICE USE OF RADIO-DISPATCH EQUIPMENT INCLUDE GEOGRAPHY, METEOROLOGY, POPULATION DENSITY, ORGANIZATION, PATTERN CHANGES, LEGISLATIVE POLICY, AND CRIME. INCREASING CENTRALIZATION OF POLICE COMMUNICATIONS AND SPECIALIZATION OF UNITS, EXPERIENCED IN ALL POPULATION AREAS, IS INCREASING THE NEED FOR VEHICLE OR PERSONNEL DISPATCH EQUIPMENT AND COMPUTER PLANNING TO KEEP OFFICERS INFORMED AT ALL TIMES. OTHER POLICE COMMUNICATION ACTIVITIES INCLUDE CITIZEN COMPLAINT AND PUBLIC CONTACT METHODS, BASIC POLICE COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS, PATROL UNIT OPERATIONS, EMERGENCY SERVICES, AND COMMUNICATION BETWEEN AGENCIES. DISCUSSION OF COMMUNICATIONS ACCURACY, SECURITY, AND RESPONSE TIMES REVEAL WIDELY DIFFERENT NEEDS AND PROBLEMS BY AREA TYPE. OVERVIEWS ARE INCLUDED OF CALL-TAKING FROM CITIZENS PATROL AND DISPATCH PROCEDURES, INFORMATION SUPPORT, CENTRAL COMMUNICATIONS ACTIVITIES, AND POLICE WORK AS SYSTEM WITH FUNCTIONS. APPENDIXES CONTAIN LISTS OF POLICE EQUIPMENT HELD BY RESPONDENTS AND THE STUDY QUESTIONNAIRE. CHARTS AND TABLES ARE ALSO INCLUDED. (PAP)