Homeland Security Report Criticizes Denver's 911 Call Center
Homeland Security Report Criticizes Denver's 911 Call Center
Audit Says City's Communications Center Has Hazardous Flaws
POSTED: 2:46 pm MDT May 26, 2005
UPDATED: 4:48 pm MDT May 26, 2005
DENVER -- You expect Denver's 911 call center to work when you need it. But the federal agency with the sole purpose of keeping you safe, says it falls well short.
7NEWS Investigator Tony Kovaleski received a copy of a highly critical report from the Department of Homeland Security. Back in December, Denver's mayor promised more manpower and $7 million to fix the troubled call center.
Now an independent audit raises even more questions about the city's ability to answer your emergency calls for help.
The contents of the homeland security report apparently has not risen to the level of Denver's city council.
"The first reaction is, 'Why was I not told about this?'" Denver council member Jeanne Faatz said. "Given the fact that I have not seen the memo until you brought it to my attention, I would have to say the council has not been fully informed."
Doug Linkhart, another council member, sits on the Public Safety Committee. He was not provided the report either.
"We should be seeing it," said Linkhart.
They were not fully informed about failures in the city's emergency call center.
According to the author of the report, "Denver's communications center has several noticeable and in some cases, potentially hazardous flaws."
"This is definitely a problem that Homeland Security wanted called to the city of Denver's attention," Faatz said.
The seven-page Homeland Security report highlights software problems delaying a dispatcher's ability to respond. It specifically points to current systems that block, slow down and complicate communications during an emergency call.
"Something's wrong with the system! I've been on hold for 10 minutes," one frustrated caller had said during a 911 call.
During the past two years, 7NEWS Investigators exposed similar problems in the call center.
Why are these things still happening? Al LaCabe, Denver's Manager of Safety, said "because they take time to work on. We have instigated a lot of changes as we are aware of certain issues."
But the changes have apparently not come fast enough.
According to the Homeland Security report, "these flaws are readily apparent to both the users and outside observers and have the very real potential to contribute to both citizen and first responder safety issues."
Tony Kovaleski/7NEWS: "We've talked at length about, 'We're fixing it, we're fixing it.' At some point people want to know it's fixed.
Al LaCabe/Denver Manager of Safety: "I always give you the same answer. I am not sure there can ever be a situation where every day you are guaranteed no problem will come up."
LaCabe said the issues exposed in the report are receiving immediate attention and some have been fixed.
But the Homeland Security Department issued the report in March and critical breakdowns still remain.
"If one consultant can find this amount of problems in one day, what other problems are there?" Linkhart asked.
"I want to be sure it's corrected because I don't want our public safety personnel, police, firefighters, or certainly any members of the public put at risk," Faatz said.
So why was the report kept from members of Denver's city council?
Faatz told 7NEWS when she asked a top-level member in the Manager of Safety's office she was told that he thought it was nothing more than an internal document.
The city said it's working with the software maker to fix the problems.
As we have in the past two years, 7NEWS will continue to watch closely.
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Previous Stories:
* January 11, 2005: Mayor, Manager Of Safety Promise To Fix 911 Call Problems
* November 26, 2004: Why Aren't Police Doing Anything About Company Continually Misdialing 911?
* October 7, 2004: Audit: 911 Money You Pay In Phone Bill Being Misspent
* October 7, 2004: Audit: 911 Money You Pay In Phone Bill Being Misspent
* September 29, 2004: Mom Blames 911 Mix-Up For Son's Death
* September 16, 2004: Call To 911 Lost In System; Response Delayed
* August 29, 2004: Denver's 911 System Still Not Fixed
* August 11, 2004: More Staff Added To 911 Call Center After 7NEWS Investigation
* June 24, 2004: Mayor Promises Changes To 911 System
* June 23, 2004: Released Audiotapes Show 911 Operator Hanging Up On Caller
* June 22, 2004: More 911 Call Delays Reported
* February 20, 2004: 911 Operators Disciplined For Hanging Up On Callers
* February 6, 2004: Staffing, Distractions Slow Response To 911 Call
* January 6, 2004: Denver's 911 Backup System Not Working
* October 6, 2003: Have a Non-Emergency? 211 System Debuts
* September 3, 2003: City Makes 911 Changes Following 7NEWS Investigation
* August 26, 2003: 7NEWS Investigates: Delays In Denver's 911 System
* July 23, 2001: Some 911 Calls Go Unanswered
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