EFFECTIVE CALL TAKING Contents PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE CALL TAKING... 2 LISTEN... 2 TAKE CONTROL... 2 REMAIN CALM... 2 TAKE ACTION... 3 GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR CALL TAKING... 3 USE PROPER TELEPHONE ETIQUETTE... 3 THE 5 W s... 4 WHERE?... 5 NATO Phonetic Alphabet... 5 WHAT?... 6 WHEN?... 6 WHO?... 7 WEAPONS?... 8 WHY?... 8 Communications Centre Responsibilities... 9 1
EFFECTIVE CALL TAKING PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE CALL TAKING LISTEN Listen carefully to what is being said. Make sure you understand the nature of the complaint. Concentrate on what the person is saying. Listen for inferences. Listen for key words. Limit your talking. Be Patient and attentive. When you talk you only say something that you already know when you listen you learn what someone else knows. TAKE CONTROL Take control of the conversation as soon as practicable. This is an acquired art, but it is necessary in order to obtain pertinent information you require. Try to develop it as soon as possible. Never assume. Ask questions to gain understanding and clarity. Some people will take several minutes to tell a story if you let them. You require just the facts. Do not be provoked into losing your temper. If you are unable to control the call get help from your Supervisor. The same applies if you are unable to answer a question. Keep all calls as brief as possible. Exceptions are attempted suicides, bomb threats, crimes in progress and other major occurrences. REMAIN CALM Show genuine concern for the caller and their emergency; whether real or perceived. Use statements like, I understand why you would feel that way or I agree, that would be very upsetting, if appropriate. Whatever words you choose, be certain they are words that show that you care about the problem. In other words, empathize where necessary. At times you will become the target of frustration generated by the caller. Do not consider any responses as a personal attack. Recognize the cause of the frustration and proceed with the necessary steps to resolve the situation. To calm the caller be confident and authoritative. In your response, word or voice inflections that indicate irritation, disgust, and sarcasm should not be used. This is not the place for curt remarks or superfluous commands. 2
Your attitude effects your communication by the works you use and your tone of voice. Trying to out-yell the caller will only agitate the problem. If you remain calm and your voice reflects calm, the caller will in turn, calm down. Should you receive a complaint of a non-emergent nature and the caller says abusive language, caution the caller about their language and advise them if it continues, the line will be disconnected. TAKE ACTION Decide on your course of action and stick to it. Never suggest you are sending an officer if you are not. Do not call the dispatch desk to find out how busy it is or how long it will take for an officer to be dispatched. Do not suggest an officer will be right over. It is acceptable to say as soon as officer is available, one will be dispatched. GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR CALL TAKING The only area that a call taker has any control over is the time between the emergency service(s) receiving the information and dispatching the necessary service(s). For example, if a hold-up has just occurred, the efficiency of the Communications Centre is vital. As time elapses, the chances of apprehending a suspect near the scene grow smaller and smaller. Therefore, it is of utmost important that as a call taker, you obtain full and accurate information as quickly and efficiently as possible. USE PROPER TELEPHONE ETIQUETTE Familiarize yourself with the features of your telephone. End your conversation before you answer the phone. Avoid eating, drinking, or chewing before you answer the phone. Give the caller your complete attention. Be polite. Be patient. Practice active listening. Speak clearly. Reduce your rate of speech. Repeat or rephrase. Use professional language. Ask permission before putting a caller on hold. SMILE callers can hear a smile in your voice. 3
ANSWER the telephone within an acceptable number of rings (If possible, acceptable is 4 rings) GREET the caller in a courteous and professional manner. Good morning, Police Department. How may I help you? TAKE meaningful messages The 5 W s WHERE? WHAT? WHEN? WHO? WEAPONS? THE 5 W s The answer to five basic questions should give all the facts a police officer of other emergency service needs to effectively respond to any event. In addition, for police officer safety it is important to ask Are there any weapons? These five questions are: WHERE WHAT WHEN WHO WEAPONS WHY 1 1 Every Police Service has its own set of training protocols. This training document has been redacted from the original 5 - to include a 6 th W Why. 4
WHERE? This includes: o The location of the event o The location of the caller (if different) When obtaining a location, Call takers must ensure they: Ascertain the correct street name and the proper spelling of the street; Ascertain the type of street (Drive, Crescent, Avenue, etc.); Ascertain the nearest intersection; Ascertain the type of premise and the name of the premise if applicable (house, apartment building, hospital, etc.); Ascertain the exact location; Ascertain an entry code if applicable; Ascertain the patrol area. The Communications Centre Technicians shall, whenever practical, ensure the correct patrol area of the event is ascertained before disconnecting the caller. If the event is on the street or on a highway and no actual address can be obtained, call takers must obtain specific location information if applicable, such as: What corner of the intersection? What side of the street? What direction? What lane? Distinguishable Landmark DO NOT HESITATE TO ASK QUESTIONS OF THE CALLER IN ORDER TO OBTAIN ACCURATE INFORMATION. WHEN IN DOUBT ASK THE CALLER TO SPELL THE STREET NAME. A Alpha B Bravo C Charlie D Delta E Echo F Foxtrot G Golf H Hotel I India J Juliet K Kilo L Lima M Mike NATO Phonetic Alphabet AL fah N November BRAH voh O Oscar CHAR lee P Papa DEL tah Q Quebec EKK oh R Romeo FOKS trot S Sierra Golf T Tango HO tell U Uniform IN dee ah V Victor JEW lee ett W Whiskey KEY loh X X-ray LEE mah Y Yankee Mike Z Zulu NOH vem ber OSS car PAH pah keh BECK ROW me oh see AIR ah TANG go YOU nee form VIK ter WISS key EKS ray YANG kee ZOO loo 5
WHAT? This refers to THE NATURE OF THE PROBLEM. For example: Assault Domestic Fight Accident When a caller is responding a seemingly police related event where there is a possibility of injury (i.e. an accident, a fight, an assault) the call taker must determine: Is anyone injured / or ill? If the caller advises there is an injury of illness involved, you must ask: Is an ambulance required/requested? Depending on the information received, it may also be necessary to ask further questions to determine if the Fire Department of Tow Truck is required. RULE: The Communications Call taker shall immediately record all pertinent information and accurately describe the type of event. WHEN? One criterion that determines the appropriate Police response is when the event occurred. This will help to determine the priority of the request for help. For example: Police will need to respond on an emergency basis to a theft that is in progress or has just occurred. In these cases there is a possibility of apprehending a suspect. If the theft occurred 3 or 4 hours earlier, the likelihood of the suspect still being in the area is almost nil. NOTE: Many callers sound excited when they just discover a crime has been committed. To them, it has just happened. No matter how excited a caller is when you speak to them, if it isn t clear when the event took place ASK! 6
WHO? Always attempt to get the following from the caller: Full Name Full Address Telephone Number Are there Witnesses? If so, are these names known to the caller? If a caller refuses to divulge this information and they have a valid complaint, it will be acted upon as if they had provided full details. This is a policy of Service and will not be amended to the personal preference of the Communications Call taker. Callers reporting criminal activity and wishing to remain anonymous should be advised that anonymity cannot be guaranteed Police may require a statement at a later time. Call takers shall note the callers request to remain anonymous in the text of the event. When circumstances surrounding the event dictate, ascertain: Was the suspect seen? Is the suspect known? When a caller advises there is/was a suspect involved, the call taker must try to obtain a description of the suspect which included as much of the following information as possible: NAME WEAGHT OR BUILD DATE OF BIRTH OR AGE HAIR COLOUR, LENGTH ADDRESS EYE COLOUR SEX CLOTHING RACE OR ETHNIC ORIGIN NOTICEABLE ACCENT HEIGHT DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS / MARKS (tattoos, scars, glasses, facial hair). To adequately satisfy the demands of the public and the Police Service a professional Call taker will require: The knowledge of a lawyer The disposition of an angel The patience of a Saint The understanding of an Einstein The act of a diplomat 7
WEAPONS? If an indication of violence or potential violence exists, always ask: Were there any weapons seen / used / indicated? If seen, obtain a description of the weapon. Should the caller advise there were no weapons; it is advisable for you to indicate in the text of the event that no weapons were seen, rather than no weapons. In the case of a robbery where the caller advises there was no gun seen but the suspect said he / she had a gun, the acceptable wording is gun indicated but none seen. WHY? Every incident is connected to this basic question: WHY? Even if it is a simple matter of a traffic ticket or a Criminal Code Indictable Offence, the patrol officer will need to understand the process of what that led an individual to COMMIT a gesture. This will determine in many cases the difference between negligence or Mens Rea (criminal intent). If time permits, provide the attending officer with any extra useful information: Do you know why this happened? The Witness/Complainant/Victim might able to offer more information pertinent to the incident. 8
Communications Centre Responsibilities 1. General A. The purpose of this policy is to prescribe the basic radio telephone procedures that will be used by all members communicating on the Police radio Communication System. B. It is intended to reduce unnecessary and frivolous radio traffic thus ensuring effectiveness, added protection and an air of professionalism to Police Radio Communications. C. As a Twenty Four (24) hour emergency response service, the radio transmission can, in seconds, change from routine to information about an officer or citizen in a life threatening situation. D. In order to fulfill our mandate to the public, and our members, police communications must be strictly controlled to ensure efficiency and security. E. Members and radio users must be ever cognizant of the fact that they are being constantly monitored by persons of varying backgrounds including the electronic media. By the use of poor radio voice procedures, the user could seriously jeopardize an investigation or bring some form of discredit to the force. The police radio plays a significant role in the force imagery because of its large listening audience. F. This policy is intended to assist members in their tasks as it relates to our mandate in the community. G. It is impossible to cover every situation that may arise on the Police Radio System so the operator must ensure that good common sense and professionalism is always used. 9