Boca Raton Police Services Department Teleserve Directive 2021 PDF

BOCA RATON POLICE SERVICES DEPARTMENT Departmental Standards Directive 41.140 TELESERVE Revised: September 29, 2021 I. PURPOSE: The purpose of this departmental standards directive is to provide guidelines for teleserve calls. II. POLICY: It shall be the policy of the Department to provide a s...

BOCA RATON POLICE SERVICES DEPARTMENT Departmental Standards Directive 41.140 TELESERVE Revised: September 29, 2021 I. PURPOSE: The purpose of this departmental standards directive is to provide guidelines for teleserve calls. II. POLICY: It shall be the policy of the Department to provide a service for citizens to report specified crime and incident reporting by telephone instead of through on-scene response by a law enforcement officer (LEO). III. DEFINITIONS: Teleserve Officer: A community service officer (CSO) or LEO who serves citizens by telephone by responding to citizen telephone calls that do not need to be handled by a LEO, such as late accident reports, lost property, etc. IV. PROCEDURE: A. SUPERVISION AND STAFFING: 1. Teleserve will be staffed utilizing CSOs, LEOs, or other employees as assigned by the Department. 2. The teleserve position is supervised by a Road Patrol sergeant, or lieutenant (watch commander). If a CSO is assigned to teleserve a CSO supervisor will supervise the CSO for administrative purposes, but a Road Patrol supervisor will review all submitted reports. B. TELESERVE OFFICER RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES: 1. To provide police services to the public that includes, but is not limited to, documenting calls for service, filling out offense and property reports, and providing information. 2. To perform any activities as requested by a supervisor. 3. To direct patrol officers to contact a caller via telephone when his/her physical response is not necessary. Effective: May 1, 1982 Revised: September 29, 2021 Teleserve Directive No. 41.140 Page 1 of 4 C. TELESERVE CALLS FOR SERVICE: 1. A teleserve officer may handle the following types of calls for service: a. Assault (verbal assault over the telephone, not domestic related) b. Assist Another Agency c. Burglary to Auto (Crime Scene Unit may process the vehicle depending on the circumstances.) d. Civil Assist e. Credit Card Theft f. Delayed Disturbance g. Fraudulent Use of Credit Cards h. Identity Theft i. Internet Fraud j. Lost Property k. Noise Complaint l. Suspicious Incident (where the suspect is no longer in the area) m. Telephone Calls: i. Obscene/Harassing ii. Threatening – unless: a) There is an indication that the perpetrator is enroute to harm the complainant b) n. Effective: May 1, 1982 Revised: September 29, 2021 Complaint is domestic related. Theft i. From Auto ii. Auto Parts iii. From Boat iv. Of Bicycle Teleserve Directive No. 41.140 Page 2 of 4 v. Pick Pocket vi. From Vending Machine vii. Petit Theft viii. Grand Theft, usually $1,000 or less, if there is no crime scene or suspects D. o. Theft from Building p. Vandalism REFERRING CALLS FOR SERVICE TO TELESERVE: 1. Calls for service that only require a report to be written may be taken over the telephone. Reports shall only be referred to teleserve if all the following criteria are met: a. Suspects have left the scene and his/her whereabouts are unknown. b. There is no need for an investigator to be present. c. The caller is receptive to giving the report over the telephone. 2. It is the responsibility of the public safety call-taker or dispatcher (PSCT/PSD) to ascertain whether a call is eligible for teleserve. 3. After determining that a call is eligible for teleserve, the PSCT/PSD shall briefly explain what teleserve is and inform the caller that the report is usually taken over the telephone. If the caller indicates a preference for having an LEO at the scene, the PSCT/PSD shall follow the standard procedure for dispatching an LEO. 4. If the caller agrees to have the report handled by teleserve, the following procedure shall be followed: a. The caller is informed that a teleserve officer will return his/her call within sixty minutes to take the report. The duration of the delay will depend on the caseload of the teleserve officer, who will advise his/her supervisor, or the Communications Section anytime there may be a longer delay. b. The PSCT/PSD then records the incident with the information required in the Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system. c. The information is forwarded to the PSD who, in turn, relays it to the teleserve officer. d. The PSD shall give the following information to the teleserve officer, if available: Effective: May 1, 1982 Revised: September 29, 2021 Teleserve Directive No. 41.140 Page 3 of 4 e. i. Type of call ii. Name of caller iii. Telephone number iv. Time received by Communications v. Zone vi. Address The teleserve officer will contact the caller and take the report. Approved: Michele Miuccio Chief of Police Effective: May 1, 1982 Revised: September 29, 2021 Date: Teleserve Directive No. 41.140 Page 4 of 4