NCJ Number
89527
Date Published
1983
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This test of the Differential Police Response (DPR) Program, a program of alternative methods of responding to citizen calls for police service other than immediate dispatch of a patrol unit, examines citizen acceptance of alternatives, citizen satisfaction with communication style, and patrol officer satisfaction.
Abstract
Cities participating in the DPR program are Garden Grove, Calif.; Greensboro, N.C.; and Toledo, Ohio. The patrol alternatives being implemented in these cities include (1) the establishment or expansion of a telephone report unit to take reports over the phone, (2) asking citizens to complete a crime report form and return it to the police department, (3) eliminating response to certain types of calls, and (4) delaying the dispatch of a patrol unit rather than dispatching immediately. A survey indicated that about 75 percent of the respondents in Garden Grove would have been willing to wait more than 30 minutes for a patrol response to the reported incident, while in the remaining two cities, 44-47 percent of the respondents were willing to wait more than 30 minutes. At each site the most acceptable alternative response is an appointment with an officer followed by a telephone report. The least acceptable alternatives are mail-in reports and coming to the department to have the report taken. The communication style of the complaint taker was found to be highly significant in determining citizen satisfaction, with predictors being preciseness, friendliness, being nonargumentative, and being attentive. All patrol officers responding to a survey had a good opinion of the DPR project, because it gave them more time for the self-initiated activities of arrests, field interviews, and reports. The components of a framework for managing calls for service and patrol operations are described, and graphic and tabular data are provided.