Atlanta, GA
Atlanta’s E-911 operators overwhelmed by ‘unnecessary’ 911 calls amid staffing shortages
‘Pointless 911 calls’ clogging up Atlanta’s emergency traces
Atlanta 911 operators are pissed off with the variety of nuisance telephone calls which can be clogging up the traces for individuals experiencing an emergency.
ATLANTA – Officers with Atlanta’s E-911 Communications Division stated pointless calls to 911 are clogging up emergency traces and growing stress on the already understaffed name heart.
The E-911 heart solutions a median of about 3,000 calls a day. Officers say they estimate a couple of third of these calls are non-emergencies. They’re urging residents to assume twice earlier than dialing the quantity.
A protracted pink mild, a misplaced pair of glasses, and even a name for Atlanta police to return kill a spider in a lady’s condominium are just some of the 1000’s of calls Atlanta’s 911 operators have needed to reply every day.
“The pink mild is so lengthy and so infuriating that it’s a crime and I’d wish to press expenses I suppose,” one caller informed the operator.
Coaching Coordinator Brittany Williams says with the 911 heart already severely understaffed, these calls are making it extra of a problem for 911 operators attempting to get to callers in disaster.
“Persons are calling in as a result of they don’t like how issues are going or they really feel inconvenienced by one thing…it’s not likely a criminal offense in progress, a property crime or a bodily crime,” she stated. “In the event you’re dialing 911 for one thing that isn’t a real emergency, chances are you’ll be stopping our operator from answering an actual emergency name.”
Williams stated with the decision system they’re at present utilizing, operators are additionally unable to inform the distinction between calls coming in by means of 911 and people coming in by means of the non-emergency line.
“Every operator is simply answering the calls as they arrive in, so if an individual dials the non-emergency quantity earlier than somebody dialed 911, that non-emergency name goes to return by means of first,” she defined.
Williams informed FOX 5 the decision heart will swap over to a brand new system that eliminates that problem beginning subsequent month.
Within the meantime, the 911 Communications Division has launched a brand new collection on social media to name out ‘pointless’ 911 calls.
They suggest individuals name 311, town’s customer support line for non-emergencies, as an alternative.
Atlanta police, the E 911 heart, and Atlanta Fireplace Division will all be internet hosting a job recruitment honest this Saturday at Atlanta Metropolitan Faculty on Metropolitan Parkway. They’re encouraging anybody to use on-line or cease by the job honest from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.