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Frequently Asked Questions
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| Why does it
take so long for an Officer to arrive when I call? |
The Communications Staff works on a
priority system, using answers to their questions to prioritize calls from the highest
priorities to lower priorities. For example, a fight in progress or a motor vehicle
accident with injuries would be assigned higher priorities than a barking dog or a theft,
not in progress. Higher priority calls are dispatched before lower priority call.
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| If I am talking
to the Police Dispatcher, is an officer responding to my location? |
Police Dispatchers are trained to ask questions. It is the
dispatchers responsibility to gather
enough information to determine how each phone call is best handled. The
dispatcher asks
more questions during an incident that is in progress than a delayed call. When a
dispatcher
is talking to a citizen about a crime in progress, the dispatcher gathers
preliminary information, enters it into a Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) computer, and
forwards it to be dispatched. The call
is then assigned to officers who respond to the
location of occurrence. The dispatcher remains on the phone with the caller gathering
information while forwarding it via the CAD
system. A separate dispatcher relays all
updated
information to the responding officers while they are driving to the location.
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| What happens
when I dial 911 from Tempe? Am I talking to my local Police Department? |
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Yes, your call is routed to the Tempe
Police Department. We will determine if you need police, fire or medical assistance.
If you need police assistance we will handle your call. If you need fire or
medical assistance we will connect you to the Phoenix Fire Alarm Room. Phoenix Fire
dispatches the Tempe Fire units. It is important to let us know at the beginning of
the conversation what type of assistance that you need.
If you
are calling from a cell phone your call is routed based on your current
location. If you are near the border of two cities your call will be
answered by one of those cities. The answering dispatcher will verify
what city your event is occurring in and make sure you are speaking to
the correct agency.
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| Why does the
911 Operator sometimes ask me to call back on a non-emergency number? |
Many people use 911 to call in any type
of complaint or question they might have. We do not want the 911 lines tied up with
non-emergency calls so we are able to leave them open for life or death emergencies.
If you have a non-emergency, please call
480-966-6211.
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| Does the Tempe
Police Dept unlock car doors when the keys are locked inside? |
| The Police Department has a group of
volunteers that work occasionally as Motorist Assist units. They are able to:
open car doors, help change tires, jump vehicle batteries, give small amounts of gas, and fill
tires with air. Police officers do not normally respond to do any of these requests.
We do not attempt to open car doors on vehicles that have power windows and/or
power locks. We will respond to any type of
vehicle that has the keys and a child or animal locked inside at any time.
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| Who do I contact for an Order
of Protection and how does it work? |
The
Tempe City Court
has a web site
with information on Orders of Protection as well as Harassment Injunctions.
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| Where is the Tempe City Court
located? |
The court is located at 140 E 5th
St. Click
here
for directions.
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| Who should I contact for a
traffic ticket? |
If your ticket was
issued from the Tempe City Court, you will need to proceed through the court system.
Click
here for
details on the Tempe City Court Civil (Traffic) Division.
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| What are the
curfew laws in Tempe? |
| Tempe City Code, Sec. 22-8.
Curfew for juveniles; responsibility of parents or guardians:
(1) It is unlawful for any minor under the
age of sixteen years to be in, about, or upon any place in the city away
from the property where the youth resides between the hours of 10:00 p.m.
and 5:00 a.m. of the following day.
(2) It is unlawful for any minor sixteen
years of age or older and under the age of eighteen years, to be in,
about, or upon any place in the city away from the property where the
child resides between the hours of 12:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m.
(3) It is unlawful for a parent or
guardian of a minor to knowingly permit, or by insufficient control, allow
a minor to violate section (b)(1) or section (b)(2) as listed above.
(4) It is unlawful for a parent, guardian
or other person having the care, custody or supervision of the minor to
fail or refuse to take custody of the minor after such demand is made upon
him by a law enforcement officer who arrests the minor for violation of
section (b)(1) or (b)(2) as listed above.
Click
here for an expanded version of the City Code
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| What are the laws
governing go-peds, motorized play-vehicle, or motorized skateboards? |
Click
here for City Codes 19-22 through 19-27
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| Where can I find
information on parking violations? |
Click
here for City Codes 19-81 through 19-100
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| Where do I
register my bike as a Tempe citizen? |
Bike registrations are done at a
variety of shops that sell
bicycles in Tempe..
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