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Non-emergency 911 calls putting added pressure on DC dispatchers
As staffing levels at D.C.’s call center for emergency and non-emergency calls continue to improve, the agency is urging people to call the correct lines for situations in order to not strain the emergency line.
WASHINGTON - As staffing levels at D.C.’s call center for emergency and non-emergency calls continue to improve, the agency is urging people to call the correct lines for situations in order to not strain the emergency line.
Heather McGaffin, director of the Office of Unified Communications, said there 1.2 million calls for 911 service last year. About a quarter of those calls were not true emergencies, according to McGaffin. Instead, they were more appropriate for the 311 line which answered about 1.8 million calls for service.
"When you call 911 and it’s not an emergency, then our 911 takers who are trained in handling emergency situations and are able to give you directions to get you through the emergency, what they are then doing is sometimes transferring you out or explaining city services and sometimes why it’s not an emergency and transferring you out," she said Tuesday. "We’re spending a lot of time not only why we’re not able to process that as a 911 call, but also where the right place to get that processed or get that problem solved is."
Over the past two years, McGaffin said there has been a trend noting an ‘uptick’ in call-takers staying on the phone longer.
"When we do quality assurance on those, what we’re finding is a lot of times it’s about education we’re doing on the 911 line," she said. "What we do know anecdotally is that there have instances where people have been in the queue for emergency while we were handling things that were not necessarily emergencies. What we’re really trying to do is take this education out to the community."
Launched Tuesday, the "Make the Right Call Campaign" is aimed at educating residents and visitors about when it is appropriate to dial 911, and when they should instead utilize 311 to access the police non-emergency line and to request city services.
McGaffin said a good rule of thumb is to call 911 when your life or property is in danger. In some cases of crime, 311 is more appropriate to call.
"If you go outside in the morning and you see that somebody has taken your wallet out of your car that was unlocked, we want you to call 311," she said. "We’re still going to call officers to process that, most likely through our telephone reporting unit. You’re still going to get help. It’s just not going to be as quick as somebody who is experiencing an emergency where police need to respond in a faster priority."
In late September, OUC was the focus of an oversight roundtable after multiple high-profile response issues including the death of a five-month-old and delays to advanced medical health when the baby’s parents called for help.
The hearing included questions about staffing, which McGaffin said as of Tuesday was improving. There are currently six open positions for 911 call takers. Full capacity would be 105 call takers. Last June, there were 36 vacancies.
Tenaj Gueory has been with the agency for almost three years. While she’s passionate about the job as a 911 call taker, Gueory admits it takes a take emotionally and can be demanding.
"Calls come in every few minutes. Sometimes they come in every few seconds, I can finish a call and I’ll get a 15 second break. Then I have another one coming back. It can be like that," Gueory said.
McGaffin said an incentive program launched in August offering employees $800 a month for not calling out for a shift has shown to be effective. It will likely stay in place for the rest of the month and possibly through December, she said.