Teleserve allows police to take crime complaints on The Murfreesboro Post

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Teleserve allows police to take crime complaints

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By: TMP Reports

Posted: Monday, January 18, 2010 2:26 pm

Murfreesboro Police may increase patrols and respond to emergency calls when the Project Teleserve begins Tuesday, the spokesman said.

Teleserve is a new process of receiving and reporting specified non-emergency incidents by telephone at 893-1311, said spokesman Kyle Evans. The Teleserve program is intended to enhance the level of emergency police services available to the community by handling low priority calls by telephone.

Police answered more than 87,000 calls for service last year when a police officer responded to a complaint, the spokesman said.

“We hope this will divert some of the information-only calls such as property damage or lost property to an officer who can take it over the phone, which results in cost savings to taxpayers as well as convenience to complainants and most importantly, allows police officers to become involved in proactive patrol services,” Evans said.

By processing these calls in such a non-traditional manner, the department will increase officer and citizen safety by making patrol officers available to handle emergency calls for service and perform other proactive patrol related services. Furthermore, this program will save time and costs associated with sending a patrol officer and vehicle to each complainant’s location.

Teleserve will handle complaints when a police officer is not needed to investigate. A complainant can request an officer respond in person for any complaint.

Examples of when Teleserve may be utilized are as follows:

• Thefts under $500 where there is no suspect or forced entry.

• Property damage under $5,000 (vandalism).

• Acts of nature.

• Lost property.

• Non-domestic related harassment and harassing phone calls.

• Non-domestic related assaults.

• Forgery/fraud.

• Gas drive-offs.

The process for a person to file a complaint will not change. A complainant may come to the lobby of the Police Department at 302 S. Church St. or call Dispatch at 893-1311.

If a dispatcher believes the call fits the criteria for Teleserve, the call will be directed to a Teleserve police officer that can take the complaint over the phone. If the officer is currently on a Teleserve call, the information will be recorded and the officer will respond by phone in the order in which it was received. If the call does not meet Teleserve criteria, an officer will be dispatched to your location.

Teleserve will initially be available for a trial period 24 hours a day, seven days a week to establish the most effective time for staffing.

Other law enforcement agencies in Tennessee that currently utilize a Teleserve program, such as Knoxville and Nashville, have seen cost savings in fuel/vehicle expenses, officer down time, and officer travel time. Citizens in these jurisdictions have reported a high level of satisfaction and convenience with this program, Evans reported.

Tagged under Murfreesboro Police Department, Teleserve

Member Opinions:

By: Farmall on 1/22/10
This sounds a lot like the system that Nashville put in place when crime outstripped the police departments capability.