TowingBossPro Blog — Tow Dispatch

Police and Municipal Tow Calls: Dispatch Habits That Keep the Account

A police or municipal account can be one of the steadiest sources of work a towing company has, and one of the easiest to lose. Agencies remember the night you took forever to clear a wreck on the interstate. They remember the impound record that did not match. They do not usually call to complain. They just call someone else next time, if their arrangement lets them.

Keeping that work is mostly about dispatch habits that make you dependable, every call, every shift.

What Agencies Actually Need From You

The commercial accounts guide in Dispatching Commercial Account Calls: Motor Clubs, Police, Body Shops and Dealers covered how calls and invoices stay under each account. Police and municipal work adds a few expectations on top. The agency needs the scene cleared, the vehicle documented and a clear record they can trust later. Every agency is different, and the rules for response times, documentation, storage and release vary by state and city. Know the arrangement you have and build your process around it.

TowingBossPro does not connect to police rotation systems or agency dispatch software. Calls from an officer or a dispatch center are taken by your dispatcher and entered like any other call, under the agency's account.

Fast, Consistent Intake

Police calls often come in with less detail than a retail call. Get what matters quickly: the exact location, how many vehicles, what kind, whether any are on their side or off the road, whether the scene is blocking traffic and who the officer on scene is. Put the case or incident number the agency gives you in the call notes so the invoice and any later paperwork match.

Choose the category right at intake: Accident & Recovery for wrecks, Impound & Storage for vehicles going to your yard, Light-Duty Tows or Heavy-Duty Tows for simple removals. The category makes the call easy to spot on the Waiting List and the board.

Sending the Right Truck Fast

Agencies care about time on scene, and a wrong truck is the fastest way to waste it. Use the vehicle details and scene description to choose light-duty or heavy-duty equipment, and assign the call to a driver and truck in one step. If the scene needs two trucks, assign two, so the board shows both tied up.

When a police call lands during a busy period, it often needs to jump ahead of non-urgent work. Reorder the truck's list and add a note. If a transport or other planned call gets pushed, text that customer an honest update.

Documentation at the Scene

Police and municipal calls are where documentation protects you. Have drivers take vehicle photos in the driver app at the scene and at drop-off. Photos attach to the call. Driver notes about what was done, how the vehicle was recovered and any items left in the vehicle help when questions come up later.

For impounds, record the plate and VIN on the call, and set the storage start date and daily rate so storage days can be added to the invoice.

Billing the Agency Cleanly

Agencies often have their own billing requirements. Because calls and invoices are kept under the account, you can see every call you ran for them and the invoices that go with them. Include the case or incident numbers in the notes or on the invoice so their records match yours.

Some charges go to the agency and some go to the vehicle owner when they retrieve the car. Know which is which under your arrangement and set up your invoices accordingly. Sales tax treatment varies by state and city.

If the agency asks for a summary of calls for a period, the account view gives you the list without digging through a filing cabinet. Being the tow company that can answer that request quickly is a quiet advantage when arrangements come up for review.

Reviewing the Account

Once a month, look at the account in reports: how many calls, what categories, any that ran long. If you see recurring problems, such as a part of town where your trucks are always far away or a type of call you are not equipped for, fix them before the agency notices. The next guide looks at planned work from dealers and body shops and how to fit it around emergency calls.

For how police and municipal calls fit into the rest of dispatch, visit the TowingBossPro tow dispatch software page.