Plan to Ease 911 Burden Moves Ahead

Calling it an “interim” fix for the city’s overloaded 911 system, the Los Angeles Police Commission on Tuesday voted to set up a nonemergency telephone number to ease the burden on emergency phone lines.

Los Angeles Police Department officials said residents need an easy-to-remember phone number to use for less urgent problems. Now, about 80% of the calls to 911 are for nonemergencies. Such calls clog the 911 lines and delay service for people with life-threatening problems, officials said.

“Our 911 [system] is still in crisis,” said Councilman Mike Feuer, who told commissioners he supported the interim remedy. “People are put on hold when they have genuine emergencies. That’s intolerable.”

Commissioners unanimously approved the LAPD’s request to seek bids on setting up a citywide nonemergency telephone number. LAPD officials have proposed that the number be (888) GET LAPD. Commissioner Dean Hansell suggested that the department find an even easier number to remember.

LAPD officials want the nonemergency network to be equipped with an automated, interactive voice response system that would either provide callers with the information they need or connect them to an operator for further assistance.

The nonemergency system is expected to cost about $415,000 the first year and about $300,000 for subsequent years. The initial start-up costs would include a public information campaign aimed at educating residents on the proper use of 911. The City Council and mayor still need to approve the project.

The LAPD now has six nonemergency telephone numbers throughout the city. Those numbers, however, are poorly publicized and relatively difficult to remember.

The new universal 10-digit nonemergency number would move forward as the LAPD continues studying the feasibility of a 311 telephone line for nonemergency calls.

Although 311 would be easier for residents to remember, the system is more costly and complicated to launch, department officials said.

Feuer said, however, that the 311 system has the potential to give residents quicker and more comprehensive service.

Several cities that have implemented 311 systems in recent years have seen their 911 emergency operations improve, Feuer said.

In Baltimore, the city’s 911 network experienced a 25% reduction in calls for help, while operator answer time improved 66%, Feuer said. Operators in Baltimore answer calls within 2 seconds, he said, while Los Angeles operators struggle to meet national 911 standards, which call for 90% of all calls to be answered within 10 seconds.

Feuer added that San Jose and Dallas have implemented 311 systems and have experienced improvements similar to Baltimore’s.

“We can do a better job in this city,” he said.

Feuer said he wants Los Angeles officials to consider implementing a 311 system that is similar to one in Dallas. That system, he said, goes beyond public safety matters and allows residents to address a host of city government concerns.

Each year in Los Angeles, tens of thousands of calls to 911 are lost when people hang up because of long delays, authorities said. The biggest problem facing the system, city officials said, is the improper use of 911 by callers who do not have true emergencies. Emergency operators have been known to answer calls from people asking for the time or requesting directions to Dodger Stadium. The LAPD is now conducting a study on the type of calls to 911.

Aggravating the problem, city officials said, is the city’s inability to adequately staff and retain 911 operators. About half of all new operators quit in their first year, in part because of the job’s stress and the poor working environment in a windowless, underground office beneath City Hall.