PHOENIX — When Jennie Brent called 911 after she heard gunshots on a soccer field where children were playing, she didn’t expect to get a recorded message.
“I called 911 and I got a recording that they were 911 and then it was repeated in Spanish, but I never got a human being to answer the phone,” Brent said.
She waited “what seemed like 3 to 4 minutes” while standing on her porch in her north Phoenix apartment before hanging up.
“I was laughing because I’ve never had that happen,” Brent said.
The Phoenix Police Department acknowledged that 911 callers might not get a person on the other end of the line right away and statistics suggest the department has room for improvement in the response rate of 911 calls.
Falling short of national standards
According to the National Emergency Number Association, which sets national standards, 90% of all 911 calls should be answered within 15 seconds and 95% should be answered within 20 seconds.
The Phoenix Police Communications Bureau reported last year, 75% of calls were answered within 15 seconds and 79% were answered within 20 seconds. That means an average of two out of ten callers waited longer than 20 seconds to speak with a 911 operator.
“Our advice is to stay on the line until an operator can get to you,” Court Hood, Phoenix Police Communications Bureau manager said. Hood said if a caller hangs up, a dispatch operator will call them back using a caller I.D. system, which could waste time if the bureau is swamped with other calls.
In May, Phoenix Police responded to 911 calls within 15 seconds 83% of the time, a sign of improvement, Hood said.
Two reasons why a 911 call isn’t answered right away
There are two reasons why a 911 call might not be answered right away, Hood said.
A high-profile event may cause a swarm of callers all at once.
“If you get a car accident and a lot of witnesses, you’ll get a lot of calls in a very brief period of time,” Hood said.
The other reason has to do with the number of staff on hand.
“Definitely staffing is an issue that we contend with and work through,” Hood said. “But we make every effort to utilize overtime and call operators in who are willing to work extra hours to able to cover the shifts so we are able to meet minimum staffing requirements.”
Working conditions 'have definitely improved'
Hood said ideally there is a minimum of 20 dispatch employees on shift during the day when the office is busiest, and a maximum of 30.
Staffing is not a new issue at the Phoenix Police dispatch office.
In March of 2021, Phoenix dispatch union representatives told 12 News the staff shortage took a toll on morale because employees were expected to work overtime and were overly stressed. At the time, the bureau had 40 vacancies.
Today the bureau reports there are 31 vacancies and 170 positions filled.
“They (working conditions) have definitely improved. Is it enough? No. Is it something? Yes,” said Frank Piccioli, President of AFSCME 2960, a union that represents 911 dispatchers for the city.
Piccioli said a recent retention bonus helped with morale but employees are still struggling with expectations to work long hours.
“I think the challenge is keeping people. That’s always been a problem," Piccioli said. "The problem is getting people who are qualified to do the job and stay to do the job. This is a very highly skilled multi-tasking job."
A lack of training capacity
Hood says there are enough applicants applying for the job but there’s a bottleneck in a training capacity.
“Right now our challenge is having enough trainers on-hand to train the new employees,” Hood said.
Training an employee takes nine months and requires experienced dispatch workers.
When asked if enough employees are staying on the job long-term, Hood said the city is working to keep them.
“Our attrition rate, I believe, is better than the national average. There’s always more that we can be doing and the department and the city is committed to improving the workplace,” Hood said.
'Best professionals I’ve ever worked with'
Every six to eight weeks the department has a class of 8 to 10 new hires for the dispatch office, Hood said.
“It’s a great job with great benefits. There’s tuition reimbursement. There are so many reasons why this is a great career,” Hood said.
The department offers an annual salary between $47,000 and $72,500 for the position of Police Communications Operator, the city’s website states.
“You’re working with the best professionals I’ve ever worked with,” Hood said.
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