Sponsored by Priority Dispatch
By Victoria Mack for Police1 BrandFocus
When people need the help of police, they want and need help fast. And dispatchers want to be sure that a quick and appropriate response is exactly what those people get.
That’s why more than 1,700 emergency dispatch agencies worldwide rely on ProQA technology by Priority Dispatch Corp. (PDC). The software ensures dispatchers get accurate information quickly for a fast dispatch notification to police, while continuing to gather relevant information as they respond to the scene.
Priority Dispatch Corp. recently released version 6 of the Police Priority Dispatch System, offering enhanced features for dispatchers. Here is what you need to know about the software and its most current features.
ABOUT ProQA
ProQA is the world’s largest protocol-providing emergency dispatch system, serving emergency communication centers in 46 countries in 23 languages.
ProQA software utilizes protocols content developed by the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch, which has 65,000 members worldwide. The IAED’s Council of Standards, which is made up of law enforcement and police dispatching experts, determines protocols questions, instructions, and sequencing based on user feedback from millions of police events processed through ProQA software each year.
This helps to make sure officers receive the right information for situational awareness and decision making.
“ProQA doesn’t rely on a dispatchers’ perception of what’s important to include in CAD; instead, agencies have a range of control over what information and how much of it is sent to CAD from ProQA,” said Dave Warner police consultant for Priority Dispatch.
“This system provides comprehensive interrogation instruction pathways to emergency calltakers, and quickly determines the accurate response determinant code, and provides appropriate instructions for callers,” Warner said. “These instructions can be life-saving.”
The system guides calltakers as they perform event entry and caller questioning. It directs dispatchers through appropriate interrogation of callers and then quickly determines the correct response based on individual agencies’ needs and resources.
Once those tasks are done, ProQA prompts dispatchers to provide post-dispatch and pre-arrival instructions, and other customer service needs.
ProQA VERSION 6 ENHANCEMENTS
Originally released in 2001, ProQA Police is now on version 6.
“The 10 new releases since 2001 have been both prevalent to current policing needs and user-driven feedback,” said Dave Warner. Proposals for change are submitted by users of the system and reviewed by IAED’s Council of Standards.
Among the new features in v6 are the following:
Complete Control
ProQA allows your dispatchers to control all aspects of a police call.
The user-friendly navigation functionality includes access to all features of the IAED’s protocols. Also, ProQA’s separate dispatcher module allows the calltaker, other dispatchers, or a supervisor to follow the evolution of a case’s information.
Improved Efficiency
ProQA makes emergency calltaking efficient.
As the call taker enters the necessary information, ProQA quickly analyzes it to determine the appropriate response determinants, which is mapped to a response and priority plan that’s pre-determined locally by the law enforcement agency, ensuring that appropriate resources are sent, and provides pre-arrival instructions for callers before police arrive on-scene.
“Faster call-processing times enables faster case entry so that dispatchers can expedite calls if necessary,” Warner said. “Alternatively, the Delay Send functionality gives dispatchers the ability to gather more information about the incident before dispatching to CAD, if appropriate.”
Quality Assurance
ProQA ensures that calltakers comply with the IAED’s protocols, which enables agencies to provide consistent, high-level, quality service to the callers and police.
It presents the appropriate questions and instructions in the proper order and automatically omits questions and instructions that are inappropriate for the specific case. It also automatically answers questions that already have been asked when the dispatcher moves to another protocol.
“This structured system removes variance in calltaking and levels the playing field between experienced and less-experienced call takers,” Warner said. ”The system records all calltaker input, reducing human error for improved responder safety and reducing liability risks for the agency.”
Greater Flexibility
ProQA is designed to be flexible so it can fit into almost any agency’s technological environment either as a standalone system or as a networked component that enables multiple users to share information.
It interfaces with most major CAD systems allowing police to receive information via CAD and MDCs.
Jurisdictionally approved question-and-response modes are flexible, allowing each jurisdiction to adjust according to their community’s specific needs and police resources.
ProQA TRAINING
The Police Priority Dispatch System (PPDS) is a complete A to Z call processing system.
It includes protocol certification courses that meet IAED standards, hands-on ProQA software training, and the most robust Quality Assurance and Quality Improvement system in the industry today.
All certification and training courses are provided by certified protocol and software instructors, as well as a knowledgeable consulting and project management team to ensure system success for your agency.
THE ProQA ADVANTAGE
ProQA’s latest features coupled with the newly released version 6 police protocols are the key components to provide your communications center staff with the tools and training they need to ensure your officers a safe and efficient police dispatch, and to reduce liability exposure for themselves and the agency every day they come to work.