Internal Communication
Communication - Internal
Patrol
Agencies have to pass on information from one patrol shift to another. Significant events or calls which occurred on Day shift need to be relayed to Swing and Graveyard shifts. Is there a location that generated multiple calls during that shift that the following shift needs to know about? Is there a suspect who is outstanding and wanted for a specific crime? Is that suspect armed or dangerous? What information is known that would help other officers locate the suspect? All this information must flow effectively through the organization to the personnel it could potentially affect.
Shift Briefing Board
Some smaller agencies or large agencies with smaller substations may choose to print out a Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) log at the end of every shift. That log is placed on a “Briefing Board” and reviewed at the following shift briefing. The supervisor will read the highlights from the previous shift’s activities. The highlights could include felony crimes, arrests and outstanding suspects as well as locations with repeated calls for service. This information stays on the Briefing Board for 24 hours. The Graveyard supervisor would purge the Briefing Board after briefing their shift. The information is then stored in a file in case it is needed at a later date. Wanted bulletins, officer safety bulletins and training information may also be included on the Briefing Board. This CAD log Briefing Board system works well for agencies with call loads that average 50 to 100 a day but it can be too cumbersome for larger agencies that could generate that amount of call activity in a few hours.
For larger law enforcement agencies, third party vendors offer mapping programs that can useful. This software is used to display crime data and locations to citizens. This information is provided by a link to a public side of the larger agencies crime analysis software. The more specific law enforcement data is shared only with department personnel and requires a password and login to access. These programs allow officers to auto generate maps for specific crimes and send those maps to their email addresses on a daily or weekly basis. This allows officers to stay abreast of current crime locations and trends.
Patrol Logs
Patrol logs are another way information is spread within a precinct or substation. These logs can be physical logs in three ring binders in which patrol officer’s record important information to the other officers assigned to that particular beat. The Patrol Logs can also be kept in an electronic file format allowing for ease of storage, recovery and inquiry by an officer from a Mobile Data Computer, MDC, in the field. This information can be very specific and is usually restricted to events happening within a smaller geographical area or beat. This is usually an internal system used to share information only among personnel at a single location.
Chief Brief (C-Brief)
Some agencies use a department wide email program to distribute information of interest to the department as a whole. This works effectively when an agency has more than one precinct or substation. A Pacific Northwest agency generates a Chief’s Brief, or C-Brief, at the end of each shift to communicate notable events, wanted suspects and officer safety information between the agencies two precincts. The information contained in the C-Brief includes: address or location, report number, suspect and victim information and a synopsis of the event. If a “probable cause” statement has been prepared in the event of a suspect being located and arrested, that information is also stated in the C-Brief. The C-Brief not only provides information to patrol officers, but it also serves to notify the command staff on significant events that have occurred overnight while they were off duty.
Bulletins
Bulletins are another method of disseminating information. A bulletin can combine a photograph with text to accurately portray a wanted individual, their vehicle or convey other complex information that benefits from a visual aid. Common bulletins included; wanted person, suspect vehicle, officer safety and video surveillance photos. Cases involving runaway juveniles or missing persons also benefit from using photographs in a bulletin format.
It is important to have a communication system in place that effectively passes on information important to law enforcement personnel at all levels of the organization. Effective communication is vital to officer and community safety. It disseminates information throughout the organization which multiplies the number of people looking for a suspect or missing juvenile. When suspects or missing juveniles are located faster, it contributes to community safety. The converse is true if there is an absence of communication or information flow. By using sound communication techniques and practices, any police organization can improve their service delivery to the community.