3 Ways PPDS Encourages a Better Relationship with Law Enforcement

A positive relationship between an Emergency Communications Center and the law enforcement community for which it dispatches shouldn’t be a big ask. Both parties are working hard and sacrificing for the people they serve and their goals are the same: keep their people safe and minimize the bad things that can happen. Still, the love/hate relationship between officers and dispatchers is well-known.

We know that repairing this rift and aligning the communications center with law enforcement really just boils down to better lines of communication and better information for both sides. The Police Priority Dispatch System (PPDS) makes this possible. Here are three ways PPDS can help law enforcement and Emergency Dispatchers build better relationships:

1. Essential Questions for Officer Safety

PPDS prompts Emergency Police Dispatchers to ask specific questions that impact officer safety on the scene on every call where an officer will respond. These questions include specifics about weapons, suspects, timeline, and the area surrounding the crime scene. In its latest version, PPDS also generates Critical Emergency Information based on the Chief Complaint that can be anything from history checks for specific locations or predefined responses for certain types of incidents. This customization ensures that Emergency Dispatchers—and therefore the officers they’re sending to the scene—are equipped with the most relevant and context-specific information. This not only enhances the accuracy of the dispatch process but also improves officer and scene safety.

And this accuracy is essential. A study from the University of Colorado Denver suggests that the information police get from Emergency Dispatchers can impact officers’ use of force. When officers have a better idea of what they’re going to find at a scene, the scene is safe for them, victims, and bystanders. When officers know their Emergency Dispatchers are gathering all this essential information on every call because they’re using PPDS, their confidence in the information gathered is increased.

2. Law Enforcement Administrators Determine Response Configurations

And officers will know that their local communications center is using PPDS because Law Enforcement Administrators are a crucial part of the committee that determines response configurations for each Chief Complaint. If they determine that a lights-and-sirens response is appropriate for any given Chief Complaint, then that’s precisely what gets dispatched.

Law Enforcement Administrators and communications center leadership also get to decide which of over 290 Jurisdictionally Approved Questions and Instructions are toggled on or off based on the needs of the local community. This customization and flexibility in PPDS and the involvement of both communications center staff and law enforcement at every step of the way leads to better lines of communication, better met expectations, and an overall better relationship between law enforcement and the communications center.

3. Clean, Efficient Display of Information

The best information in the world doesn’t mean much to a responding officer if it isn’t displayed in a way that they can make sense of it. Communities that use PPDS report that their field units respond positively to the way information displays on their MDTs. Here’s what Tina Rutledge, a Quality Assurance Specialist with Cobb County 911 in Marietta, GA had to say about that:

“[Our Police Departments] set the codes. They had more control than they initially believed. … The field units I’ve spoken with love the information because now it all shows in a specific way, and they know exactly where to find whatever they’re looking for in that call on the MDT in their vehicle.”

A better relationship between law enforcement and your communications center is within your reach. The key is better communication, better information, and better collaboration—all of which are key aspects of the Police Priority Dispatch System. If you’re ready to see how PPDS will work for your center or agency, schedule a live demo with one of our experts today.