Odd things you hear on the NYPD

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emcomm

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Odd things you hear on the New York City Police Department radio, in no certain order:

"10-10" calls for help, 2 or 3 of these backed up and holding with no one to respond. (sad)

Then, when they dispatch these "calls for help" the dispatchers never ever seem to have any information on the call "no further" they tell the officer. What's up with that? Have you ever called the NYPD, usually a woman born in a third world country picks up and interrogates you - yet, when the call is dispatched - "no further information" from the dispatcher to the cop on the street.

How about when "central" (dispatch) sends out a call of a commercial burglary alarm which is going off again (it had gone off earlier), an officer immediatly comes on the air and says "mark it 90-Y" which means the call is unnessary, and then no car follows up at the location. One would think that is way out of line by the officer, as this time the alarm could be an actual burg in progress... ?

hmmm
 

BoxAlarm187

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Obviously you've never taken a 911 call. You can ask all the questions you want, but if the caller either doesn't know or refuses to cooperate, then there is no further information...
 

emcomm

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Actually I have, but the NYPD seemingly has a major loss of information occurring between their call takers and their dispatchers. I was talking about calls for help here - how can so many calls come in for help and the dispatcher not know any other information other than at an address someone "needs help". Very odd.
 

BoxAlarm187

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How can so many calls come in for help and the dispatcher not know any other information other than at an address someone "needs help". Very odd.

"We need the cops here"
"What's the problem, sir?"
"Quit wasting my time asking questions and get a damn cop here!" *click*

It's not just NYC...
 

W2PMX

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I was working for the city when the switch from run board/other board to 911 was made. I quickly found alternate extensions to call. Calling 911 gets you about as much as calling a disconnected phone, but with a higher frustration level. Bottom line? Don't need help within the city limits, because you probably won't get any.

An accident with serious injury on the FDR at 98? "Sorry, sir, that location doesn't exist." Seriously. I was told that when I was standing right under the street signs that said FDR Drive and E. 98 Street. If the terminal doesn't take it, they won't handle it. What New Yorker doesn't know that the FDR crosses what would be 98th Street, if the street ran to the river? (How many aren't even aware that 98th doesn't cross 1st Avenue, and wouldn't think twice about "FDR and 98"?)

That's one reason I only cross the city line when I'm driving out of state. You can't get off the Island any other way without a boat. Otherwise I'd go directly from here to the Jersey Turnpike.
 

emcomm

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It is no exaggeration to say on a Saturday night sometimes there are "calls for help" holding with no one to respond for 30-45 minutes. You are on your own here in NYC. Any type of non-critical emergency call (i.e. suspicious person / car wreck with no injuries, etc.) can easily be over an hour. God forbid you have a noise complaint or something like that, just don't even bother calling. There are just too many people living here I think.
 
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mancow

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Makes you wonder why anyone would want to work or live in a s... hole like that.
 

radioman2001

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If you think it's frustrating to listen to, imagine how the officer feels. Ever since the city went 911 for free in 1969, it's been that way. It doesn't cost you anything to call, and no one knows who you are. The information is usually scant and the caller doesn't care, they just want someone to show up, or they are just playing. I had a call once that was put over as a 10-13 officer needs help for a woman who wanted an ambulance because she was sick and didn't want to pay for a taxi, and didn't want to wait. Needless to say she went to the preceint first then the hospital under arrest.
 

Prospect62

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"We need the cops here"
"What's the problem, sir?"
"Quit wasting my time asking questions and get a damn cop here!" *click*

It's not just NYC...

X2. I've been on both sides of the radio...

I think NYPD is just too damn busy, plain and simple. The same thing would happen in any other city/town/village if the relative call volume was what NYPD's is. It's kinda like triage in a hospital.
 

one11sgt

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Odd things you hear on the New York City Police Department radio, in no certain order:

"10-10" calls for help, 2 or 3 of these backed up and holding with no one to respond. (sad)

Then, when they dispatch these "calls for help" the dispatchers never ever seem to have any information on the call "no further" they tell the officer. What's up with that? Have you ever called the NYPD, usually a woman born in a third world country picks up and interrogates you - yet, when the call is dispatched - "no further information" from the dispatcher to the cop on the street.

How about when "central" (dispatch) sends out a call of a commercial burglary alarm which is going off again (it had gone off earlier), an officer immediatly comes on the air and says "mark it 90-Y" which means the call is unnessary, and then no car follows up at the location. One would think that is way out of line by the officer, as this time the alarm could be an actual burg in progress... ?

hmmm

"Calls for help" Is not someone actually saying "help" it is the NYPD term for a 911 hang up. Call 911 from your house and then hang up, the 911 operator will put in a job for a "calls for help" to your house using the information from your phone number and address. Unless your calling from a cell phone, then they will put in a job to the address of the cell tower which picked up your call. Why should the sector bother going to the cell tower? Your not at there, you could be within a mile radius. If your phone is GPS enabled then then can use a map to narrow it down to a few blocks. Thats great upstate, but how many people are within a few blocks in NYC? So what exactly would you like to police to do in the situations if the caller refuses to give more info?
As for the 10-11, maybe you werent listening the whole day, you probably dont know that alarm has come in 4 other times already because its defective. Thats why the sector is marking it 90Y right away. Not to mention, the NYPD keeps a list of these chronic alarms if officers fill out a form each time they go and will stop sending anyone at all. However officers dont always have time to do these forms so the chronic alarm is never put on the list. Listen to zone 11 between 10pm and midnight on any given day and I can almost assure you, you will hear a 10-11 job at 27 E 170 street. It goes off everynight, sometimes multiple times a night.
 
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K2KOH

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"Calls for help" Is not someone actually saying "help" it is the NYPD term for a 911 hang up. Call 911 from your house and then hang up, the 911 operator will put in a job for a "calls for help" to your house using the information from your phone number and address. Unless your calling from a cell phone, then they will put in a job to the address of the cell tower which picked up your call. Why should the sector bother going to the cell tower? Your not at there, you could be within a mile radius. If your phone is GPS enabled then then can use a map to narrow it down to a few blocks. Thats great upstate, but how many people are within a few blocks in NYC? So what exactly would you like to police to do in the situations if the caller refuses to give more info?
As for the 10-11, maybe you werent listening the whole day, you probably dont know that alarm has come in 4 other times already because its defective. Thats why the sector is marking it 90Y right away. Not to mention, the NYPD keeps a list of these chronic alarms if officers fill out a form each time they go and will stop sending anyone at all. However officers dont always have time to do these forms so the chronic alarm is never put on the list. Listen to zone 11 between 10pm and midnight on any given day and I can almost assure you, you will hear a 10-11 job at 27 E 170 street. It goes off everynight, sometimes multiple times a night.

Actually, Sarge...when I dispatched way back when in the early 80's, it really was calls for help, Someone screaming in the street, etc. Ah, the good old days without E911...
 
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