Teleserve

Teleserve Unit

Sgt. Steve Kaufman
skaufman@knoxvilletn.gov
865-215-7343

To file a NON-EMERGENCY REPORT, please call 865-215-7268.

The Teleserve Unit was established for utilization by the Knoxville Police Department to facilitate calls for service from the general public by securing information necessary for investigating/reporting via telephone property crimes, referrals, and other information. The principle goal is to serve the public in an expedient manner and to alleviate the necessity for an on-the-scene investigation by officers for selected requests or calls for service.

Studies have clearly shown that police departments, which utilize the Teleserve operation, decrease calls for service requiring on-the-scene response by over 40%. In order to provide the appropriate support and quality of service necessary, it is the intent of the Knoxville Police Department to provide a system, which allows better utilization of manpower while establishing a method to handle calls for service in an expedient manner.

The Teleserve Unit is staffed twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. A uniformed officer is assigned to each shift. Officers are placed in the unit due to being on limited or light duty status, or to improve job related skills. A patrol sergeant and a detail manager supervise the unit and it is their responsibility to coordinate the day to day activities of the unit. They schedule staffing to assure adequate coverage, review and approve preliminary investigative reports, monitor the telephone conversations and provide call-backs to complainants to ensure customer satisfaction, and evaluate employee performance.

In addition to the preliminary investigation function of the Teleserve Unit, it is also responsible for answering complaints and questions for citizens, documenting crime information and routing such information to the proper unit, and handling walk-in victims. The Teleserve Unit also functions as the Information Desk of the Department due to the hours of staffing.