Tucson Police Dispatch 🇺🇸

The Tucson Police Department (TPD) utilizes a sophisticated P25 digital trunked radio system, specifically the Arizona Regional Wireless Interoperability Network (AzWIN), for its dispatch and communication needs. This system dynamically assigns frequencies from a shared pool, improving efficiency compared to dedicated frequencies. Key to understanding TPD communications are the talkgroups, logical groupings of radios used for specific purposes. These include dispatch channels for coordinating responses to incidents, tactical (TAC) channels for operations such as SWAT incidents, car-to-car channels for direct officer communication, and channels for specialized units like K-9 and Traffic. The AzWIN system operates by assigning available frequencies to talkgroups via a control channel when an officer initiates a transmission. This ensures efficient use of bandwidth and coordinated communication across the department. Listeners can potentially hear dispatchers relaying information and giving assignments, officers reporting locations and requesting assistance, and the use of codes like 10-codes and signal codes for succinct communication.