Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao announced this week that the city’s 911 response times are finally headed in the right direction as their dispatch center fills vacancies.
The mayor’s spokesperson told NBC Bay Area, by February 17 Oakland’s Emergency Communication Center will have four dispatch vacancies, which is down from more than a dozen vacancies last September.
Since last summer, NBC Bay Area’s Investigative Unit has been reporting on Oakland callers saying they’ve waited 10, 15 and even 30 minutes for a 911 dispatcher to answer. In July, state data analyzed by our team showed Oakland had the worst 911 response time out of any city and county in California. The average 911 answer time in Oakland was at nearly a minute when it should’ve been within 15 seconds, according to state and national standards.
Weeks after that report, the California Office of Emergency Services put Oakland on notice for non-compliance stating Oakland could lose state 911 funding if it doesn’t improve its response times within a year.
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This week, Mayor Thao’s spokesperson Francis Zamora released information showing, in August, 37% of Oakland’s 10,127 emergency calls were answered within 15 seconds. In December, 50% of the city’s 14,064 calls where answered within 15 seconds which represents “a modest improvement,” he wrote. According to the California Office of Emergency Services, 90% of all 911 calls shall be answered within 15 seconds.
“As new dispatchers become more experienced and as technology is upgraded, call answer times should continue to improve,” Zamora said in an email.
There are a number of other 911 issues NBC Bay Area has been reporting on in our six-month long investigation, including Oakland’s outdated 911 technology it’s promised to fix and the city’s human resources department failing to process about 1000 dispatcher applications for an entire year, according to a city councilmember.
NBC Bay Area's Investigative Unit has asked Mayor Sheng Thao for an interview, but she has repeatedly declined.
On Tuesday, Mayor Thao invited several media outlets to speak with her and tour Oakland’s 911 center. NBC Bay Area was not included. When asked why Zamora said “Oakland’s 9-1-1 Dispatch Center is an active center and there is limited space for media,” and that he’s looking into another possible availability this week.
To catch up on all of the Investigative Unit's reporting on Oakland 911 center: www.nbcbayarea.com/911.
