Before long, it was recognized that the value of police radio could be better realized by a more streamlined method of call-taking. On August 26, 1931 a new system was instituted, which increased speed in answering and dispatching calls. Now, police officers working the eight-position "Complaint Board" would receive all incoming public calls directly on a new "MICHIGAN 6111" telephone number, instead of having them relayed by the Central switchboard operators. It was reported that this change cut nearly four minutes off the time previously required for the civilian switchboard operators on the "FABER 6111" trunk line to find out from the caller their location, the nature of their call, which city department to refer them to, and transfer the call.

These Complaint Board officers were required to have at least five years experience in the field. Routine calls were then sent by the conveyor belt to the radio room (in background, behind windows), which had five dispatcher positions and a "link" operator.

Soon, sergeants' vehicles also got radio receivers, and major calls could be answered by field supervisors as well as by the concerned patrol car. Divisional desk sergeants and detective offices were equipped with receiving sets. When the station supervisor felt it appropriate, he could send the division "emergency car" on a call. In the infrequent event - less than 1% of all calls - that the radio car officers did not receive the broadcasts, this ensured that the police were indeed responding, and provided the additional manpower that might be needed at a major incident.

LAPD broadcasts were monitored regularly by the Orange County Sheriff, the police departments of Beverly Hills, Alhambra, Santa Monica, Culver City, San Fernando, Hermosa Beach, Huntington Park, Burbank, Glendale, La Habra, Moorpark, and as far off as San Clemente, as well as several Fruit Patrol agencies in Los Angeles and Orange Counties.  LAPD had agreements with a number of police agencies to broadcast their emergency calls.

Beginning in 1933, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office and LAPD conducted a number of tests to determine whether police radio was adaptable to the more-rural Sheriff's patrols and constables. These were mainly done on busy weekend nights, and eventually Sheriff Eugene Biscailuz decided that radio would work for his department. Until the county got its own radio station, KQBV, on the air in 1938, LAPD dispatched radio calls for eight of the sheriff's nine substations, at a charge to the County of 15-cents per call. This generally amounted to $2000-$3000 per year.   Pasadena police were contracted to dispatch for the Altadena sheriff's station, as the Los Angeles transmitter didn't cover the foothill areas very reliably.

With the inauguration of the radio-communication system, the city was divided into 60 radio-patrol districts, scattered throughout the 15 geographical divisions. This was also the start of numbering patrol units according to their division of assignment. Central Division, then as now, was Division No. 1. It was divided into six radio patrol districts, numbered 11 - 16. Each patrol district was further divided into two sections, the second section receiving a "W" suffix, such as Sections 11 and 11W. The radio car's unit number was the same as the section number to which it was assigned.

There was a large patrol-district map in the complaint-board room at City Hall, and each radio car had a duplicate map on curtain rollers attached to the car ceiling! Each car on radio patrol duty was similarly-equipped, so it could be reassigned to another district when necessary.

The "Radio policemen" worked in two-man cars on day watch, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. As both officers were assumed to be out together handling their calls, once a unit was dispatched it was considered out of service until the officers phoned in the disposition of their call and that they were again "clear" or available.

On night watch, 6:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m., and mornings, 2:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., there were originally three officers in each radio car; two officers would investigate the calls, while the third remained in the car to monitor the radio for any nearby emergency calls. Manpower shortages ended that procedure within a year or two. It should be noted that the radio cars were only dispatched on high-priority calls. Routine calls would be assigned to other officers either at the station or when they made their hourly telephone or "Gamewell" check-ins.

Complaint Board amd Mike Room in the Police Department's north wing of City Hall, c1947