3.3 Standardized Identity Blocks, Caller Prompts & Text-to-911 Written Exchanges
Key Takeaways
Standardized person identity blocks follow a top-to-bottom sequence—role/status, sex and age range, height and build, head-to-toe clothing, weapons or marks, and direction of flight—so radio dispatchers can broadcast BOLO alerts without searching through scattered prose.
Standardized vehicle descriptions group color, year, make, model, body style, license plate with registration state, unique damage or markings, and direction of travel into one cohesive block.
When writing prompts for Text-to-911 or TDD/TTY callers, a Police Communications Technician must ask one specific question at a time in plain English, prioritizing exact location and immediate safety without using police 10-codes or CAD jargon.
Professional written closings give concrete safety instructions—such as locking the door, silencing the phone, and texting back if conditions change—while never promising a specific arrival minute or offering legal advice.
On DCAS sentence-revision items, apply the four-step elimination funnel: verify 100% factual preservation first, eliminate pronoun or modifier ambiguity second, strip jargon or speculation third, and select the most concise active-voice sentence fourth.
Note
Original OpenExamPrep practice: the directives, codes, priorities, addresses, maps, and console workflows below are fictional exercise inputs. They do not establish NYPD policy or disclose secure DCAS formats. Use each supplied rule.
Written Expression in Structured Data Blocks and Interactive Public Messaging
In addition to writing free-text CAD narratives for radio dispatchers and patrol officers, Police Communications Technicians use Written Expression in two specialized operational formats highlighted by the duties of Title Code No. 71012:
- Structured Suspect, Missing-Person, and Vehicle Identity Blocks: Organizing multi-part physical descriptions in a predictable sequence so radio dispatchers can broadcast a "Be On the Lookout" (BOLO) alert smoothly over the air.
- Interactive Written Exchanges via "Text to 911" and TDD/TTY: The notice lists Text-to-911 multimedia duties, but does not name Telecommunications Devices for the Deaf/Teletypewriter (TDD/TTY) in its duties. Here, written exchanges are practice applications; device-specific procedures require actual training. In these sessions, the technician communicates directly with a member of the public in writing during an active crisis.
Both tasks are useful independent applications of Written Expression, where candidates must select the best-organized description block or the clearest, safest written message to send to a caller.
Standardized Suspect, Missing-Person, and Vehicle Identity Blocks
When a caller describes a fleeing suspect or a missing vulnerable person, panicked speech usually jumps around randomly ("He had red sneakers, a silver gun, was maybe 25, ran south on Utica, wore a Mets cap, tall, blue jeans, and a black leather jacket"). If a technician types those details in that scrambled order, the radio dispatcher has to hunt back and forth across the line while speaking on the air, increasing the risk that a weapon or clothing item will be misread.
1. Standard Person Description Sequence (Top-to-Bottom Order)
For this guide's description exercise, a clear revision groups all person attributes together in a systematic general-to-specific, head-to-toe sequence before transitioning to the direction of flight:
- Role and Status: Suspect in armed robbery, missing 9-year-old boy, or assault perpetrator.
- Sex, Complexion/Race, and Approximate Age: e.g., male, mid-20s or female, approximately 70 years old.
- Height, Weight, and Build: e.g., approximately 6'0", 180 lbs., thin build.
- Clothing from Head to Toe (Plus Carried Items): Headwear/hair first, outer jacket/shirt second, pants/shorts third, footwear fourth, and carried bags or backpacks last (wearing a blue Mets baseball cap, black leather jacket, dark blue jeans, and red sneakers, carrying a gray duffel bag).
- Weapons and Distinguishing Marks: Firearms, knives, scars, facial hair, eyeglasses, or tattoos (armed with a silver handgun in the right hand; scar above left eyebrow).
- Last Known Direction and Mode of Travel with Timestamp: Fled southbound on Utica Avenue on foot at 19:05 hours.
2. Standard Vehicle Description Sequence
When a vehicle is involved, keep all vehicle attributes grouped together in one unbroken clause rather than interleaving car details with suspect clothing:
- Color, Year, Make, Model, and Body Style: e.g., white 2022 Toyota Camry four-door sedan or dark blue Ford Econoline cargo van.
- License Plate Number and Registration State: e.g., New York license plate KBM-4419.
- Unique Identifiers or Damage: e.g., dented rear passenger door, broken left taillight, or rooftop ladder rack.
- Occupant Count and Direction of Travel: e.g., occupied by two males, last seen traveling eastbound on Northern Boulevard toward Parsons Boulevard.
Writing Clear Prompts and Closings for Text-to-911 and TDD/TTY Callers
During a voice 911 call, a technician's calm tone of voice helps steady a frightened caller. During a Text-to-911 or TDD/TTY session, however, the caller sees only plain text on a screen—often while hiding from an intruder, experiencing a domestic assault, or communicating with a hearing or speech impairment. Every written prompt and closing message must follow five operational rules:
- Verify Exact Location and Sub-Location First: Wireless Text-to-911 sessions often provide only coarse cell-sector coordinates rather than an exact apartment number. If the initial text does not include a street address, borough, and apartment or floor, the technician's very first written prompt must ask for that exact location.
- Ask One Clear, Specific Question at a Time: Never send a sprawling, multi-question paragraph ("Where are you located, who broke in, what is he wearing, does he have a gun, and is anyone bleeding?"). If the caller replies "Yes in the bedroom," the technician cannot tell which question was answered. Ask one focused question (or a tightly paired location-and-safety question) per message.
- Use Plain English—Never Use Police Jargon or Codes: Civilians do not understand NYPD 10-codes or internal abbreviations (10-20, 10-30, 10-84, RMP, EDP, GOA, DOA, perp, comp). Always write "What is your exact address?" instead of "What is your 10-20?" and "patrol officers" instead of "RMPs."
- Maintain a Calm, Neutral, Non-Judgmental Tone: Never scold, lecture, or interrogate a caller about why they delayed calling or how they typed their message ("Stop typing in all capital letters" or "Why didn't you lock the window earlier?").
- Give Actionable Safety Closings Without False Promises or Legal Advice: When closing or updating a text session, give only confirmed response information and scenario-appropriate guidance ("Police are responding to your address now; stay behind a locked door, silence your phone ringer, and text back immediately if the suspect approaches"). Never promise a specific minute-by-minute arrival time ("Officers will be at your door in ninety seconds") because traffic or higher-priority emergencies can delay arrival, and never offer legal advice ("You have the legal right to change the apartment locks tonight").
Specifying Actionable Time, Location, and Hazard Details
Whether writing a CAD remark or a supervisor notification, ask for specifics when needed, then preserve what the caller actually supplies. Never invent a time, address, hazard, or measurement merely to make a draft sound more precise:
- Time: Replace "recently," "a short while ago," or "earlier tonight" with exact elapsed minutes and 24-hour clock timestamps ("five minutes ago at 23:10 hours").
- Location: Replace "near the corner," "by the park entrance," or "upstairs" with exact compass corners, street names, and floor numbers ("on the northeast corner of Fordham Road and Grand Concourse, outside the bank entrance").
- Hazards: Replace "some kind of bad fumes" or "a utility issue" with the exact reported hazard ("a strong odor of natural gas coming from the basement boiler room" or "sparking overhead electrical wires across the southbound lane").
The stronger entries below assume their added details or response confirmations were separately supplied; precision never licenses fabrication.
Comparison of Weak vs. Exam-Correct Written Communications
| Communication Context | Weak / Flawed Written Draft | Exam-Correct Written Version |
|---|---|---|
| Suspect & Vehicle BOLO Block | Suspect had a crowbar, white sneakers, fled west on Fulton in a gray Honda with NY plate HTR-1102, black pants, male, 30s, red hoodie. | Suspect: male, 30s, wearing a red hoodie, black pants, and white sneakers, carrying a crowbar; fled westbound on Fulton Street in a gray Honda sedan, NY plate HTR-1102. |
| Initial Text-to-911 Prompt | What is your 10-20, how many perps are inside the house, are they armed, and why didn't you call voice 911? | What is the exact street address, borough, and apartment or floor number where help is needed right now? |
| Text-to-911 Safety Closing | RMPs will arrive at your door in exactly two minutes, and you can legally press felony charges tonight. | Officers are on the way to your apartment now; stay inside a locked room, silence your phone, and text back if anything changes. |
| Time, Place & Hazard Wording | A caller reported a little while ago that some kind of chemical leak is happening near the loading dock downstairs. | At 11:15 hours, the warehouse manager reported a leaking 50-gallon drum of chlorine bleach on the ground-floor loading dock at 402 Hunts Point Avenue. |
Tip
The Four-Step Elimination Funnel for DCAS Written Expression Questions:
- Gate 1 — Check Factual Fidelity: Does the option omit a weapon, apartment number, plate character, timestamp, or direction of flight? If yes, eliminate it immediately.
- Gate 2 — Check Pronoun & Modifier Clarity: Does the option contain an ambiguous pronoun (he, she, they, it) when two actors or objects are present, or a dangling/misplaced modifier? If yes, eliminate it.
- Gate 3 — Check Objectivity, Jargon & Policy: Does the option state an unverified caller guess as fact, use 10-codes with a civilian, scold the caller, or promise an exact arrival minute? If yes, eliminate it.
- Gate 4 — Select Concise, Logical Order: Between remaining grammatically sound choices, choose the one that uses active voice and groups suspect/vehicle details in standard top-to-bottom sequence.
Media-viewer exercises assume an authorized fictional system. Current NYC public Text-to-911 guidance tells users not to send photos or videos; the job notice listing multimedia duties does not override those public instructions.
Independent practice. A caller provides scattered details about an armed robbery suspect and getaway car. Which CAD entry arranges those details into the clearest, most logical identity blocks for immediate radio broadcast? Supplied details are: male in his 20s, 6'1", thin build, green vest, black jeans, tan boots, silver revolver; northbound Jerome Avenue in a blue 2021 Honda Civic four-door sedan, NJ plate R84-KLP.
New Jersey plate R84-KLP on a blue sedan heading north on Jerome Avenue; suspect wore timberland boots, had a silver revolver, black jeans, a green vest, and is a tall male.
Wearing a green vest and black jeans with timberland boots, a male in his 20s fled north on Jerome Avenue in a four-door Honda Civic with a silver revolver and NJ plates.
Armed with a silver revolver, the vehicle was a blue 2021 Honda Civic 4-door sedan with NJ plate R84-KLP driven north on Jerome Avenue by a tall male in black jeans.
Suspect: male, 20s, 6'1", thin build, wearing a green vest, black jeans, and tan boots, armed with a silver revolver; fled northbound on Jerome Avenue in a blue 2021 Honda Civic four-door sedan, NJ plate R84-KLP.
Independent practice. A Text-to-911 user sends an initial message reading: "Someone just broke into our house downstairs please hurry." The ALI display shows only a cell tower sector in Queens. Which written reply is most appropriate for the Police Communications Technician to send first?
What is your 10-20 in Queens, how many perps are downstairs, are they armed with weapons, and is anyone injured right now?
Remain calm and stop texting in fragments; patrol cars will arrive at your house in two minutes once you give your name.
What is the exact street address, borough, and apartment or floor number where you are right now, and are you in a safe room?
Can you go downstairs quietly to verify whether the burglar is still inside the kitchen before I dispatch a sector car to Queens?
Independent practice. At the conclusion of a Text-to-911 domestic dispute session in which the armed suspect remains in the hallway outside Apartment 4C, which closing message follows the supplied practice requirements? For this exercise, dispatch to Apartment 4C is confirmed and the caller is safely behind a locked door; choose the clearest message preserving those supplied facts.
Officers are guaranteed to arrive at Apartment 4C within ninety seconds, and you have the legal right to permanently evict your former partner tonight.
Officers are responding to Apartment 4C now; stay inside behind the locked door, silence your phone, and text back immediately if anything changes.
RMP units are 10-84 en route to your 10-20 at Apartment 4C, so keep this text session open until the sergeant knocks on the door.
Why did you wait until the suspect entered the hallway to text 911? Lock your door now and wait quietly for the patrol car.
Independent practice. Which revision replaces vague time, location, and hazard words in the draft—"A caller reported a little while ago that some kind of dangerous leak is coming from the utility area near the corner"—with specific, actionable dispatch wording? The follow-up confirms 18:20, building superintendent, strong natural gas odor, basement boiler room, 510 West 145th Street near Amsterdam Avenue.
At 18:20 hours, the building superintendent reported a strong natural gas odor coming from the basement boiler room at 510 West 145th Street near Amsterdam Avenue.
Earlier this evening, a resident near Amsterdam Avenue reported that a hazardous chemical or gas smell was coming from somewhere downstairs in the apartment building.
At approximately 18:20 hours, an unknown utility hazard was reported in the vicinity of the corner of West 145th Street by a person in the building.
The building superintendent at 510 West 145th Street recently noticed an unusual odor near the lower-level area and asked for someone to check it out.
Sections you finish are checked off in the contents.