Frequently Asked Questions  

What is the Active Call List (ACL)?

The active call list displays the police calls being responded to or worked on by Tyler Police Department patrol units.  The ACL functions much like a police radio scanner.  Citizens may use the ACL to get an accurate view of what is happening in their city whenever they choose to do so.

Why did The City of Tyler implement the ACL?

The City of Tyler strives to deliver to its citizenry services in an innovative, responsive, and cost effective manner.  The ACL arose from this Blue Print inspired drive for the Tyler Police Department to be among the most open, responsive, creative, and effective Police Departments in existence.

Who developed the ACL for The City of Tyler?

University of Texas at Tyler’s Computer Information Systems and Computer Science students Michael Ashigbi, Dustin Bobbitt, Chris Morman, and Adam Whittiker developed the Active Call List.  Dr. Steven Rainwater provided the team guidance during the project.  The City of Tyler’s Information Services and Tyler Police Department’s Technology Unit provided assistance as needed.

Where does the ACL call information originate?

The information displayed on the ACL is copied from the Tyler Police Department’s Computer Aided Dispatch system.  The system is used by dispatchers to track both 911 and non-emergency calls.

How often is the information updated?

The information is updated every two minutes.

Is any of the police call information removed or edited before being displayed on the ACL?

Yes.  The information goes through a number of manipulations before it is displayed in the ACL. 

Some calls are erased from the data set.  Removed call titles include Alcohol Offense, Attempted Suicide,

Drug Offenses, Manufacture /Sell /Possess Controlled Substance, Mental Evaluation / Protective Custody,

Overdose, Possession of Controlled Substance,  Prostitution, Runaway Juvenile, Sexual Assault, Sexual Assault of a Child, Suicide, and Warrant Execution.

Some calls are not displayed until officers have arrived on the scene and a certain time (up to 15 minutes depending on call title) has passed.  Delayed call titles include: Aggravated Assaults, Assaults, Robberies, Disturbances, Kidnappings, Murders, Terroristic Threats, Alarms, Dead Bodies, Missing Persons, Endangered Children, Firearm accidents, Parole Violations, and Suspicious People, Property Conditions, or Vehicles.  This delay is implemented to allow officers to insure the safely of any people found at the location and establish a protected crime scene or perimeter if the situation necessitates it.

Some call locations are deleted from the data.  Any calls related to Indecency with a Child, Injury to a Child, or Stalking will be listed without any location information.

All call locations have had their location’s street addresses rounded down to the nearest 100 block.

What do the different columns mean?

Case #:            This is the number used to track the incident throughout Tyler Police Department’s Dispatch and Records systems.  This number should be referenced in open records requests made for incidents listed on the ACL page.

Priority:  Calls are responded to by highest call priority first.  The principle rankings are: Emergency calls, Immediate Calls, then Delayed calls.  Other administrative priority codes exist including Public Service Officer, Walk-In, Telephone Reporting Unit, and Funeral.

Incident:  This is the call title given the incident in the CAD system.  Call titles often change between the time a call is dispatched and the time the report is written.  The initial call title selection is based on the often very limited information provided to dispatchers by callers.

Status:  Status is the current state of the Police Department’s response to a call.  “Hold” means the call has been received but no officer has yet been dispatched to the call.  “Dispatched” means an officer has been informed of the call, but is not yet traveling to the call location.  “Enroute” means that an officer has received the call and is on the way to the call.  “On scene” means an officer is at the location of the call.  “Queued” means that a call is currently being held for an officer that is busy.  When the officer finishes his or her current activity, the officer will be dispatched to the “Queued” call.

Reported:  The time the call was received by the Tyler Police Department’s dispatch center.

On Scene:  The time the first officer arrived at the call location.

Address / Intersection:  The location of the call