NCJ Number
106745
Date Published
1986
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This report reviews the November 1985-February 1986 Dallas Police Department (Texas) pilot program in which a local radio station was invited to broadcast descriptions of suspect vehicles and recommends expanding the program to include other radio stations.
Abstract
The success of the pilot program, the program's possible advantages and disadvantages, and recommended changes in the system are explained. Station KLRD broadcast 29 suspect vehicle descriptions during the pilot period. Two valid citizen tips were called in and property was recovered for two complainants. Descriptions were broadcast only once or twice on one station with the small probability that citizen identification of the suspect vehicle would occur at the moment of broadcast. The department predicted that citizen injury might occur with citizen attempts to capture offenders and that the communications division would be overloaded with bogus calls. Neither happened. The report recommends that the public information office contact stations subscribing to channel 16 (the hotline) to inform them that suspect vehicle descriptions will be read over it immediately following report of the offense. A probable increase in tips, arrests, and property recovery, and favorable police department publicity are cited as advantages to expanding the program. 6 attachments.