Review of IAED™ Data Center Analytics (PPDS® v6.0–v7.1)

A review of IAED™ Data Center analytics for versions 6.0 through 7.1 of the Police Priority Dispatch System™ (PPDS®) revealed an important shift in introducing “just occurred” events and PAST “suspect in area” events categorized as lower-level responses, allowing Emergency Police Dispatchers (EPDs) to allocate police resources with a delineated range and fewer high-priority events.

Decreased Priority Levels

When the suspect has left the scene of a “just occurred” event, the EPD can safely send an intermediate priority CHARLIE-level Determinant Code, which signifies a shift from previously assigned DELTA or ECHO responses. The affected Chief Complaint Protocols are as follows:

• P102: Abuse/Neglect

• P106: Assault/Sexual Assault/Stabbing/Shooting

• P110: Burglary/Home Invasion

• P111: Vandalism/Mischief

• P113: Disturbance/Nuisance

• P114: Domestic Disturbance/Violence

• P118: Fraud/Forgery

• P119: Harassment/Stalking/Threat

• P126: Robbery/Carjacking

• P130: Theft (Larceny)

• P133: Trespassing

• P135: Weapons/Firearms

   

These CHARLIE-level Determinant Codes that delineate “just occurred” events were added in PPDS v6 in 2017. These delineated response levels were initially rolled out with agency control to opt into their use by turning on this feature in the ProQA® Paramount Admin Utility Panel. In PPDS v7.0, these delineations were hardwired to take effect in protocol prioritization.

In addition, optional BRAVO- and ALPHA-level codes that delineate “suspect in area” for PAST events were also added to PPDS v7 in 2022.

Priority Level Background

As many police agencies face the challenge of allocating a limited number of police officers, protocol efficiency and response delineation are vital considerations to address critical calls first.

In the PPDS, there are four general areas of priority:

• Lowest level (ALPHA): past event, suspect is not there

• Intermediate level (BRAVO and CHARLIE): known suspect who is present at the incident

• Intermediate level (BRAVO and CHARLIE): just occurred, suspect fled

• Highest level (DELTA and ECHO): incident in progress, suspect on scene

   

The added CHARLIE- and BRAVO-level Determinant Codes allow for a larger scope of these middle-level priority responses based on time of occurrence and suspect location.

If a caller were to report an event that is already past, but the suspect happened to be on scene, the PPDS formerly identified these events as DELTA-level.

Example:

A caller reports that he had a verbal disturbance with his neighbor yesterday when both were out cutting their lawns. The caller didn’t report the disturbance then because his neighbor drove away, leaving the area. Today, his neighbor is out in his yard again across the street, and the caller needs to go out. He doesn’t want a conflict or violence to arise and wants an officer to intercede if needed.

This incident could be classified as a 113-B-6 (Past verbal disturbance – suspect in area) response. If the caller had phoned two days earlier, right as the initial conflict occurred, the EPD would have assigned a 113-D-2 (Verbal disturbance) response. If the caller waited 10 minutes after the argument took place and both men had gone inside their homes, the EPD could assign the call as a 113-C-4 (Verbal disturbance just occurred). If the caller waited a few hours before calling (during a PAST event time frame), this incident could be assigned a 113-B-1 (Past disturbance).

“You see the value of these codes,” said Dave Warner, IAED Police Protocol, Academics, and Standards Expert. “This helps us delineate what the officer is going to find on scene and where to place this incident in their queue. If the incident occurred in the past but the suspect is there, we have a route for that, giving officers more information and options for response.”

Both time of occurrence and suspect location are essential context clues for responders to approach handling the situation. “We’re being true in our code and in our language to the situation,” Warner said. “It used to be that we either send officers HOT (with lights-and-siren) or COLD (without lights-and-siren). We needed these CHARLIE-level responses to handle the ‘just occurred’ circumstances where there was no immediate threat.”

IAED Priority Level Data

The IAED Data Center (https://www.aedrjournal.org/analytics-dashboard-home)shows the percentage of CHARLIE-level calls for all PPDS Chief Complaint Protocols as 29.2% throughout the PPDS 6.x versions, compared to 35.2% CHARLIE-level calls in PPDS v7.x. Similarly, the DELTA-level calls decreased from 33.2% (v6.x) to 22.5% (v7.x) of call volume.

This data shift doesn’t significantly change the call processing time (68 vs. 69 seconds, respectively). However, it does allow police departments to manage their available resources better with a focus on providing shorter response times to higher priority DELTA-level calls, as there are fewer situations that warrant that response.

Advantages for Police Resource Allocation and Prioritization

When responders have further delineation to their emergency responses—instead of sending the majority of responses fast and now—resource allocation and response prioritization are improved to more precisely meet the varying needs and safety considerations of each incident.

The fewer calls that are categorized safely and accurately in the maximum response levels (DELTA or ECHO), the easier it is to manage your agency’s response system as you service immediate threats first. When call queues become lengthy, prioritization is key to managing risk and immediate need. Meeting maximum responses first allows police responders to focus resources appropriately, allowing lower-level incidents (e.g., trash dumped in a street) to sit in a queue until units become available to issue a citation. The fewer calls assigned a maximum response, the more opportunity police agencies have to offer faster service to those cases through more efficient management of field/patrol officer resources.