A California county grand jury found that deficiencies at Oakland's 911 center caused thousands of calls to go unanswered for up to two minutes
OAKLAND, Calif. — A grand jury has found that staffing deficiencies at a California 911 center put the public and first responders at risk.
The
Alameda County civil grand jury said in a report that 911 calls have gone
unanswered for up to two minutes, falling short of the state's standard of 15
seconds, according to the East Bay Times.
In
one case from last year, an Oakland police officer who was stabbed two blocks
from the police station was unable to get through to a 911 dispatcher,
according to the report. A garbage truck driver who noticed the officer calling
for help was also unable to reach a dispatcher. The officer was ultimately
driven to the hospital in a patrol car after calling a fellow officer who was
in a building a mile away, and survived.
The
report states that in 2019, nearly 40% of 911 callers in Oakland were unable to
reach a dispatcher within 15 seconds and more than 18,000 waited more than two
minutes for a dispatcher to respond. The jury also found that about 13,800
people hung up before their call could be answered.
About
59 dispatchers are currently working at the center despite the city's police
budget for fiscal year 2019-20 allocating $15.7 million for 74 dispatcher
positions, a communications manager and seven supervisors, according to the
report. Understaffing has reportedly led some dispatchers to work up to 80
hours of overtime in a month.
The
jury called for the Oakland Police Emergency Communications Center to establish
a standard to answer 95% of its 911 calls within 15 seconds, recruit
dispatchers until its vacancies are filled and publish quarterly reports about
the center's performance on the city's website. The report also states the
center has been using outdated technology in need of updates.
EMS1.COM
By Laura French
June 24, 2020
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