Question about the pre-MDC era

[tvdxer]

It is customary for local agencies in my area to say "Comments sent" or "I'm going to type comments" over the local frequencies, implying that they typed the comments on their MDC and transmitted them over the data network. Did they usually speak the "comments" (that they now type and send over their MDTs) over the radio? Or in the pre-MDC era, was a notepad used for these? Thanks.

 

[wb0wao]

If you go back to the pre-cell, pre-MDT and pre-encryption days - only the most sensitive stuff was transmitted over the radio. When I worked at a Sheriff's Office in the late '70's, the dispatcher had a list of pay phone numbers all over the county. If the info was too sensitive to put out over the air, the dispatcher would call you on the radio and ask your location and then tell you to go to a certain pay phone and wait for a call (this was also when pay phones allowed incoming calls). About the only thing that was not put out over the air was death notifications

 

[tvdxer]

If you go back to the pre-cell, pre-MDT and pre-encryption days - only the most sensitive stuff was transmitted over the radio. When I worked at a Sheriff's Office in the late '70's, the dispatcher had a list of pay phone numbers all over the county. If the info was too sensitive to put out over the air, the dispatcher would call you on the radio and ask your location and then tell you to go to a certain pay phone and wait for a call (this was also when pay phones allowed incoming calls). About the only thing that was not put out over the air was death notifications

Interesting. What I was asking about, though, is whether or not LEO's transmitted their comments in voice over the air, or they just wrote them down on a notepad or whatever and brought them back to the station at the end of the day. I did listen to (and even had) a scanner before the local PD's were equipped with MDC's, but can't remember whether or not they transmitted their "comments" over the air.

 

[SAR923]

They wrote comments in reports and shift logs, that were submitted at the end of shift briefing. The idea of "comments" as it's understood now, meaning additional information about a call that doesn't fit in a particular database field on the MDC, really didn't exist then. You filled in the forms and logs and wrote down anything you found interesting or pertinent in something like a notes section of the paper report.

 

[madhatter66]

Most CAD systems actually let a MCT/MDC user type comments right into the detail that is on the dispatch screen, providing future information that the officer see's as pertinent, or they can also be comment's to themselves for later. Our officers type CAD comments in all the time...

 

[radioman2001]

Our local department had cassett recorders installed in their cars for comments. To be transcribed later into the paper report.