AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austinites are still finding themselves on hold with 911.
Anthony Paramo said it happened to him when he called to report dangerous debris on the highway.
“I dialed 911 and then it was like, no one answered at first, then all of a sudden I was put on hold,” he said. “I literally looked at my car and I was like ‘wait, what?'”
Staffing struggles over the past four years contributed to situations like this, but the department has cut its call-taker vacancy rate in half since the end of last year. See the below figures from the Austin Police Department regarding current staffing rates.
- Call-takers: 6 vacancies out of 104 total positions
- Dispatchers: 9 vacancies out of 75 total positions
By comparison, in July, the call-taker vacancy was around 50%.
Call-takers answer incoming 911 calls directly, whereas dispatchers communicate directly with police officers.
The national standard for 911 answer rates is 15 seconds, and APD said since the beginning of this year, the 911 center is meeting that goal more than 90% of the time.
When staffing was more strained, these operations relied heavily on call-taker overtime. KXAN asked the police department what the staffing level should be to meet this national standard consistently. The department did not provide a specifics, but said “every situation is unique, it depends on the time of day, the day of the week, the area, etc.”
In March, the City Auditor’s Office released a special report into Austin’s 911 systems. Council Members Vanessa Fuentes and Allison Alter called for the report.
Fuentes said higher staffing numbers have addressed some of the concerns highlighted in the report on handling high call volumes.
“We know in emergency situations it matters how quickly someone can pick up and answer the call,” Fuentes said. “Glad to see we’ve been able to hire and recruit more call-takers and dispatchers.”
She said city council pushed for higher wages for these employees in the budget, and that move was successful. She also said there are now more mental health resources for dispatchers and call-takers.
“We know they’re dealing with high trauma events on the receiving end of those calls,” she said.
If you do find yourself on hold with 911, do not hang up, police say. You will lose your spot in the queue.