Law Dispatcher

Disturbance comes in many forms.  From something as simple as the neighbor using his saw too late at night and keeping the neighbors awake to that all out knock down drag out fight between family members that may involve weapons.  These are the most dangerous calls for law enforcement to respond to simply because emotions run high between parties and the threat potential is real.  The possibility increases substantially for the use of weapons.  That is why 911 operators want you to stay on the line when you call in a disturbance.  By staying on the line, the operator can get real time information to the responding units, hopefully distract the caller away from the situation, and perhaps even dissipate the whole situation before the responder gets on scene.

Disturbance calls are very difficult for calltakers because the definition of the different types of disturbance calls are not well understood.  When I trained calltakers, I made sure they understood the difference between then all, and reassured them it was not as difficult as other trainers led them to believe.  I have to believe that a lot of the trainers themselves, do not understand the difference and thus pass on confusing teachings to their trainees.  The difference between the different types of calls is based upon the following scenarios:  relationship between the parties involved and/or the situation of the disturbance.  Please let me explain.

Family:  This is a disturbance between two or more people who at one time or another had some kind of relationship.  Father, Mother, Sister, Brother, Uncle, Aunt, Cousin, Boyfriend, Girlfriend, ex-boyfriend, ex-girlfriend, step parents and so on.  My favorite…”my baby’s daddy”.  (Really!  So you mean, your ex-boyfriend or ex- husband???  They really don’t like that when you state the obvious back to them.)  Disturbance calls are not based upon what is the cause of the disturbance.

Civil:  This is the easiest of them all.  This is a simple dispute between two parties (not related) when one of the parties is not present.  Example:  The neighbor has moved his fence over onto the callers property.  The neighbor is not around.  Very simple.  If the neighbor is present, then it falls into the next category.

Distrubance:  This is when there is some kind of disagreement between parties (not related) and both parties are present.

Juvenille:  Kids doing things they shouldn’t be doing.  Setting off fireworks or riding bikes and skate boards off of park benches etc.  There is no relation between the caller and the kids.

Noise:  Pretty self explanatory.  Someone is making excessively loud noise during a time that they shouldn’t.  (No relationship.)

Some disturbance calls receive higher priority than others.  Any disturbance where both of the warring parties are present gets a higher priority due to the potential for it to escalate.  Juvenile disturbance priorities are based upon the situation.  If it’s a disturbance that doesn’t present a threat to life or property, it will receive a lower priority.  Noise and Civil disturbance will also receive a lower priority.  DO NOT think that becuase the situation is a nuisance to you, that you can say that weapons are involved or there is a threat to life or property and they will respond quicker.  Yes, they will respond quicker, but it also means that you may be going to jail quicker too.  You are not allowed to report false claims to elevate the priority of your call for a faster response.  All 911 lines are recorded and documented with your location and telephone number and we can track you down if we need to.

If you are calling in a disturbance call, please know the following information:  Address, telephone number, who vs. who and their relationship, any weapons involved and if so what kind, any drinking or drugs involved, any restraining orders issued, any injuries, what are the names of the subjects involved?  If one or more subjects left, what were they last seen driving and what direction did they go?

Disturbance calls are probably one of the most frequent calls we get.  I generally try to keep the caller from talking to the other party if at all possible.  On the occasion, I have been able to completely eliminate the situation by ordering the calltaker to do a certain action.   Those are the best.

As I’ve stated before, kids are the best callers, however, it is heartbreaking when they call in and they are reporting their parents are at each others throats.  As a calltaker, it is those times that I wish I could reach through the phone lines and just put my arms around them and protect them from the situation.

If you are a third party to noise disturbance, please agree to meet with the officer.  It is very difficult for the officer to drive through a neighborhood and try to hear the noise that you are hearing while he has to listen to his radio traffic and his vehicle running.    If the officer has to get out of his vehicle to meet with you, he realizes that you are serious about the complaint and want it resolved promptly.  Plus, you’ve just increased his chances to hear the noise for himself by being out of his vehicle.  If you don’t meet with him, you’re probably just a whiner and you deserve to listen to the offending noise all night long.