The average emergency wait times improved markedly in July, after the City of San Diego took several steps to fix issues involving the 911 dispatchers.
Mayor Kevin L. Faulconer announced that the average emergency wait times have dramatically improved, with the average hitting a new low — seven seconds — in July.
It’s a welcome development since San Diego officials vowed to fixed the 911 system in May, following the death of a newborn baby. The parents were unable to reach a 911 dispatcher, as their newborn son was fatally mauled in Mira Mesa.
Following this incident, City officials have implemented various operational changes, including a new compensation package for 911 police dispatchers that is meant to address recruitment and retention issues. Police dispatchers will receive three separate 4 percent increases in their income staggered across 12 months.
“This is a positive step forward, but there’s more room for improvement so we’ll continue to make changes as needed to ensure that San Diego remains one of the nation’s safest big cities,” Mayor Faulconer said.
The San Diego Police Department began releasing monthly reports online of its average wait times in April. In that month, the average wait times for 911 calls were recorded as 15.38 seconds. In July, that time was reduced to 7.03 seconds, less than half the average of three months ago.
“We have seen significant decreases in our overall wait times for emergency calls,” said Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman. “We will continue to evaluate our performance because we know every second counts in an emergency.”
In the past, Mayor Faulconer also gained approval to start police dispatchers at a higher base pay — an increase of 10.15 percent at the time, and managed to provide $1,000 merit bonuses for most police dispatchers in March. City officials says they have started recruiting year-round for police dispatchers and training regular officers to assist at the call center when necessary.
