NCJ Number
78867
Date Published
1972
Length
6 pages
Annotation
Submitted by the Dallas Police Department to the Texas Criminal Justice Council, this final report describes the establishment of an Expediter Unit to screen incoming calls for police service, the installation of an automatic call distributor (ACD), and tests of alarm systems.
Abstract
The Expediter Unit's purpose was to filter out all nonurgent calls so that field elements could be deployed more efficiently. Because some citizens would only talk with a police officer, the Unit was staffed by regular patrol officers assisted by clerks throughout the grant period, which went from April 1970 through September 1971. The Unit enabled field elements to reduce their average time on call from 59 minutes to 36.7 minutes and to respond more quickly to urgent calls. The ACD connects each incoming call in turn to the next available clerk and uses a recording when all lines are busy to let the caller know that the correct number has been reached. This device has equalized the workload among the telephone clerks and improved their efficiency. It also permits the supervisor to monitor any call at will. The summary of a project to develop alarm systems for stores which alert the police to robbery attempts discusses problems with specifications, test results, and methods planned for improving the system's effectiveness. An activity report of the Expediter Unit for the grant period is appended.