Im not sure what type of software your needing. Most if not all of the software used by dispatch will have to be provided by the agency or company offering that service. For example, the 911 software will need to be provided by the company offering the 911 service. Our software is provided by CML technologies but we will soon be upgrading to a southwestern bell system. The software and computers needed to get DL and tag returns, and to enter, modify and remove entries from NCIC, will need to be paid for by your department, and will then be provided by your respective state agency, (here in Oklahoma the agency is called OLETS). Microsoft makes a software program that is used for dispatch radio logs, incident reports etc. It is called Winbadge but it will not handle a 911 system, or ncic terminal. I believe winbadge will serve as an offender database, but i have no idea where you would find a copy of this software.

I have to agree about winbadge, I tried to use it at the last department I worked for. It absolutely sucks.

I am not sure of your specific needs however I am familiar with a lot of non-dispatch software. It sounds as though you could use an IT help desk software package. Almost all of them are for handling calls, placing them in a queue, prioritization, escalation and provide web based access for easier administration. Many also have asset management/inventory.

Simply take one of these packages and change the field names, which are usually customizable.

I don't have any free suggestions at the moment but if something comes up I will let you know. Search the web using dogpile.com or yahoo.com and you will find something. Do you really mean "free" or do you mean not $5000?