Advisory Report for Ocean City, Maryland Police Department

• NCJ Number: 87020
• Author(s): A L Armitage
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 30 pages
• Grant Number(s): 78-TA-AX-0036
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice
• Corporate Author: Associated Public-Safety Communications Officers, Inc
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

A study of the communication system used by the police department in Ocean City, Md. focused on methods of expanding the department's communications capabilities and service and ways to deal with seasonal fluctuations in needs.

Abstract

The study examined the current system, public awareness of ways to contact the police, the system design and use, security of information and equipment, and staffing and procedures. The system needs additional telephone answering positions to handle peak volumes of incoming calls. It also needs another telephone number with incoming-only trunks for the reporting of emergencies. The department should conduct a more extensive public awareness effort to educate the summer residents who rely on public pay telephones to contact the police. All public telephones should have labels showing the numbers to reach police and other emergency services. The department should immediately implement a second ultra high frequency repeater system and should obtain more portable transceivers to ensure that both vehicle and foot patrol units are operable on the same frequency. In addition, the department should improve the security of the communications area by controlling access to all portions of the building and either moving the dispatch area or installing adequate barriers to protect personnel and equipment. The department also needs a training program consisting of at least 4 hours for field personnel and 3 days for desk personnel. Additional recommendations and the findings on which they are based are included.