BALTIMORE COUNTY, MD., HIRED A PRIVATE CONTRACTOR TO EXAMINE ITS POLICE DISPATCHING SYSTEM AND TO SUGGEST IMPROVEMENTS. INITIAL ANALYSIS INDICATED THAT THERE WERE ENOUGH DISPATCHERS AND TELEPHONE OR RADIO CHANNELS, AND THAT THE AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME WAS SATISFACTORY. THE PROBLEMS APPEARED TO BE A FEW DELAYS OF UNACCEPTABLE LENGTH (AT TIMES INVOLVING SERIOUS INCIDENTS), AND THE TENDENCY OF THE DISPATCH CENTER'S ARCHITECTURAL FEATURES AND OPERATIONAL PRACTICES NOT TO BE CONDUCIVE TO DISCIPLINED, CONSISTENT OPERATIONS. TO GAIN A MEASURE OF THE IMPORTANCE OF THESE PROBLEMS AND TO OBTAIN INFORMATION RELEVANT TO THEIR SOLUTION, AN OPERATIONS RESEARCH CONCEPT KNOWN AS EXTREME VALUE THEORY WAS APPLIED IN ANALYZING THE DISPATCH OPERATION. AMONG OTHER THINGS, IT WAS FOUND THAT NO SINGLE ACTIVITY IN THE DISPATCHING OPERATION WAS BEING PERFORMED WITHIN ACCEPTABLE LIMITS DESPITE THE FACT THAT AVERAGE OVERALL PERFORMANCE WAS ACCEPTABLE. THE ANALYSIS ALSO SHOWED THAT, AT LEAST ONCE IN EVERY 2,000 EMERGENCY CALLS, UNREASONABLE DELAYS (MORE THAN ONE MINUTE FOR TELEPHONE RING TIME, 3 MINUTES FOR PHONE CALL, 5 MINUTES FOR PREPARATION OF DISPATCH CARD, 3 MINUTES IN DISPATCHER TRANSIT TIME, 14 MINUTES IN DISPATCHING TIME, AND 50 MINUTES IN VEHICLE TRAVEL TIME) COULD BE EXPECTED. THE OPERATIONAL IMPLICATIONS OF SUCH EXTREME DELAYS WERE ALSO IDENTIFIED. LONG RING TIME MAY MEAN THAT A CALLER INVOLVED IN A CRIME-IN-PROGRESS SITUATION WILL HAVE TO HANG UP. LONG PHONE TIME MAY INDICATE A CONFUSED CONVERSATION IN WHICH MISUNDERSTANDINGS ABOUT CRITICAL SITUATIONS CAN ARISE. DELAYS IN DISPATCH CARD PREPARATION AND DISPATCHER TRANSIT INDICATE A NEED TO ANALYZE THE COMMUNICATION CENTER'S ENTIRE OPERATION, SINCE THESE ARE ROUTINE PROCEDURES THAT SHOULD NOT CAUSE DELAY. LENGTHY DISPATCHING TIME INDICATES POOR COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN DISPATCHERS AND FIELD UNITS. THE 50-MINUTE VEHICLE TRAVEL TIME IS SIMPLY TOO LONG EVER TO BE TOLERATED. DETAILS OF THE ANALYSIS THAT LED TO THESE FINDINGS ARE PROVIDED. (LKM)