Posted: 1/22/2009 8:27:05 PM EDT
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Officers, I have a question.
Quite often I see things around the neighborhood that would be nice to have the police aware of, but aren't worthy of a 911 call. Things like hoodlums loitering around the parking lot of my apartment building at 3am drinking and breaking bottles, people cranking their car stereo while they're parked at the curb for 45 minutes, or the house that constantly has a stream of cars pulling up for 5 minutes at a time and obviously aren't there to deliver a pizza... So, I ask you this: Are these types of things you'd prefer to be alerted to, or are they just too far below your radar to bother with or even remotely care about? And for the Officers who would want to be informed, what would be the best way to make you aware without wasting the limited resources of 911? |
| I appreciate your concern. I work in the communications center for a metropolitan police agency and we get 911 calls for all manner of stuff and our regulations require that a car be dispatched unless the call is an obvious duplicate of another call (Multiple calls on a bad accident for example) or just so out there that a supervisor (me) can close the call out. I'd get the number of the closest station and see if they have a community relations officer. Call him and introduce yourself and let him know your concerns. A "Special Attention" request can result in a car driving through your lot at the appropriate time or getting the plainclothes guys working on a possible drug house. That being said, use 911 as needed. There's lots of times, exspecially on midnights when a couple of cars might be just 'hanging around' looking for something to do. |
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word,
you should especially call about the cars coming and going from a possible drug house. This is an win win call for an officer. If he doesnt want to work all his has to do is drive past the house, pretend he doesnt see anything and clear the call. He just got to waste 20 minutes and get a little closer to going home. If he likes to work he can park down the street and make a few traffic stops untill he gets some dope. It could lead to a good bust and some recognition from his department for him. I spend a lot of time and effort out pounding the streets and eyeballing everything i can for a good felony arrest but i can only be in one place at a time. Its nice when a citizen calls up and points out a drug deal or something that only requires me to show up and arrest somebody. You do all the work gathering intel and i get to take the credit. Freebees like that make my night! |
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While they're not true emergencies, those are certainly more 911 worthy than some of the calls I've seen.
'Are the roads closed because of this storm?' 'The pizza man brought the wrong toppings and I want the cops to come and make him give me the right pizza' 'My feet itch. I need an ambulance to take me to the emergency room at 3am' |
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Quoted:
While they're not true emergencies, those are certainly more 911 worthy than some of the calls I've seen. 'Are the roads closed because of this storm?' 'The pizza man brought the wrong toppings and I want the cops to come and make him give me the right pizza' 'My feet itch. I need an ambulance to take me to the emergency room at 3am' How about "What day is the fourth of july parade on this year?" I answered that it was on the 6th and hung up. I bet she was real mad setting up lawn chairs downtown when no parade showed up! We then get people calling real concerned about what time it is, LOL. I don't know of a PD that does not have a non emergency line, how else would you call to find out when your drunk ass friend is getting out of jail? LMAO Just check and call the non emergency number. As for the "do you want to know about that stuff" part, please call (even though they are not "important"calls) these are quality of life calls that effect more people than you think. I would rather run off the drunks breakin bottles than wait for it to turn into a fight or worse (in our town, LOL) Hope this helps, J- |
| Definitely 911 worthy. Most criminals that are wanted for major felonies (rape, murder, armed robbery, etc.) are most often caught as a result of routine stops. The officer pulls up, sees them drinking/loitering, asks for ID and BAM! he comes up wanted for a felony when they run his name/DOB on the MDT..... |
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Quoted:
Thanks for your responses. I've let alot of stuff like this slide in my neighborhood because I didn't want to "waste" the local PD's time and resources, but now that I know you guys don't mind the "freebies", I'll be more inclined to speak up. Does you local department have a community policing program? If so, contact them and request a meeting. We refer to what you are describing as "call reluctance". That belief that you don't want to bother or waste an officer's time checking on something non-emergent. We tell our community members if something looks out of place, wrong or just not right in your gut, please call. Our dispatchers are trained to this standard too. If it's a busy time, the calls will be prioritized so it is never a waste of time. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
Thanks for your responses. I've let alot of stuff like this slide in my neighborhood because I didn't want to "waste" the local PD's time and resources, but now that I know you guys don't mind the "freebies", I'll be more inclined to speak up. Does you local department have a community policing program? If so, contact them and request a meeting. We refer to what you are describing as "call reluctance". That belief that you don't want to bother or waste an officer's time checking on something non-emergent. We tell our community members if something looks out of place, wrong or just not right in your gut, please call. Our dispatchers are trained to this standard too. If it's a busy time, the calls will be prioritized so it is never a waste of time. I'm going to look into it. I know they have a "business" number whis is answered from 9-5. I'll give a call and see what community programs they have. |