Residents have raised several complaints of 9-1-1 calls automatically being placed on hold. Although Page 5 of the City’s Public Safety Communications Division’s System of Use Manual indicates that unanswered calls go to a Pre-Screen Queue, several residents have explicitly stated that they were placed on automatic hold prior to speaking with a dispatcher. As the 9-1-1 Center is often the lifeline in an emergency situation, it is imperative that all 9-1-1 calls be immediately triaged for response.

This issue was last discussed at the Neighborhood and Quality of Life Committee meeting on October 19. During the discussion, Staff recommended against rerouting calls to another jurisdiction, largely over concern of synchronizing software and reporting procedures. As an alternative, this item proposes the 9-1-1 Center to incorporate a method to separate life-threatening calls from those that are non-life-threatening. An example of this would be to allow callers to self-prioritize the call by pressing a number on their telephone instead of being placed on automatic wait/hold.

Please feel free to contact Amadeus Huff for additional information.