TechnoDave
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Birmingham wants callers to use 311 for non-emergencies
Calls that don't involve life-death should go to 311
In seven months on the job as a Birmingham 911 operator, Renee Gunn has just about heard it all.
A man named Bobby calls as many as four times a day, usually to chat about his ex-wife and kids. Then there's the elderly woman at a local nursing home, also a frequent caller, who vents that she's not getting her proper medication.
A caller last week complained she had just pumped $75 worth of air into her gas tank, and then there are the disputes over cigarettes or sibling fights.
A former customer service representative in the private sector, Gunn tries to take it in stride and show she cares.
But, serious about her duty to public service, she can't help but get frustrated at the time such calls take away from the more serious situations on which police need to focus.
"If it's not a real emergency, don't tie the line up," Gunn said. "Often, there's not much the police can do to help their situation."
It's not that police don't care, they said. There's just a better way to go about it.
The way, they said, is to call 311 instead of 911 for nonemergency and public works calls, or to call one of the department's nonemergency numbers.
"The police department is the most visible arm of city government, so when citizens aren't sure who to call, they'll contact us," said Birmingham Police Chief A.C. Roper.
"They call 911 about anything. It doesn't matter," said police communications Sgt. Carolyn Lavender. "And if they are requesting police, we can't refuse them service."
Lavender said there's no shortage of off-the-wall calls to emergency operators. They range from hemorrhoid pain to snakes to requests for rides to a doctor's appointment.
"They will even call and ask what time it is," she said.
Such calls can test the patience of dispatchers and officers whose jobs are already stressful.
"It really upsets them, especially in crunch times when we're getting a lot of calls," Lavender said.
Her rule of thumb?
"If you have a burning house, call 911," she said. "If you have a burning question, call 311."
The call volume is staggering. In 2007, Birmingham police communications' 35 to 40 dispatchers received 1,002,452 calls. In 734,448 of those, officers were dispatched.
The police department in 2000 implemented Call Screening, a method to shift the responsibility of nonemergency calls from dispatchers and field police officers to sworn officers in the communications headquarters who could take reports over the telephone in cases when police didn't need to respond immediately.
Call Screening operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Some of the incidents that fall under the responsibility of operators there include thefts in which no suspect can be identified or the property taken is not traceable by serial numbers; thefts of bicycles or any property valued at less than $25; morals complaints such as prostitution or gambling, unless the suspects are still on the scene; forgeries that aren't still in progress; embezzlement reports; reports on lost property; or using a vehicle without the owner's consent.
Before its implementation, "officers went out on every little thing," Lavender said.
Of the more than 1 million 911 calls in 2007, 8,375 were sent to Call Screening. Of those, Call Screening officers took 6,637 reports.
Just for the week of Sept. 14 through Sept. 20, police communications received 16,147 calls, dispatching officers to 11,996 scenes. Call Screening took over 201 of those calls.
Calls screened:
Though helpful, Call Screening in itself wasn't enough to lessen the burden. The city of Birmingham in 2004 launched 311, a nonemergency phone service designed to further take the pressure off emergency dispatchers and make it easier for residents to get answers.
The center, which runs from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday with seven call takers, handles calls for public works and the mayor's office of community services, and police and fire nonemergency calls.
In the first six months of operation in 2004, 311 received 21,400 calls. They encompassed a variety of service requests, ranging from abandoned houses to animal control, overgrown lots and a cell phone accidentally dropped down a storm sewer.
The service requests made through 311 for the following years are: 2005, 32,884; 2006, 27,212; 2007, 20,898. There were 13,885 calls in the first six months of this year. The service costs roughly $550,000 a year to operate.
Sandra Ray, manager of the 311 Call Center, said she would like to see more people use the 311 system.
"It would make their (dispatchers') jobs so much easier," she said. "And it would provide faster police response for the real emergencies."
Calls that don't involve life-death should go to 311
In seven months on the job as a Birmingham 911 operator, Renee Gunn has just about heard it all.
A man named Bobby calls as many as four times a day, usually to chat about his ex-wife and kids. Then there's the elderly woman at a local nursing home, also a frequent caller, who vents that she's not getting her proper medication.
A caller last week complained she had just pumped $75 worth of air into her gas tank, and then there are the disputes over cigarettes or sibling fights.
A former customer service representative in the private sector, Gunn tries to take it in stride and show she cares.
But, serious about her duty to public service, she can't help but get frustrated at the time such calls take away from the more serious situations on which police need to focus.
"If it's not a real emergency, don't tie the line up," Gunn said. "Often, there's not much the police can do to help their situation."
It's not that police don't care, they said. There's just a better way to go about it.
The way, they said, is to call 311 instead of 911 for nonemergency and public works calls, or to call one of the department's nonemergency numbers.
"The police department is the most visible arm of city government, so when citizens aren't sure who to call, they'll contact us," said Birmingham Police Chief A.C. Roper.
"They call 911 about anything. It doesn't matter," said police communications Sgt. Carolyn Lavender. "And if they are requesting police, we can't refuse them service."
Lavender said there's no shortage of off-the-wall calls to emergency operators. They range from hemorrhoid pain to snakes to requests for rides to a doctor's appointment.
"They will even call and ask what time it is," she said.
Such calls can test the patience of dispatchers and officers whose jobs are already stressful.
"It really upsets them, especially in crunch times when we're getting a lot of calls," Lavender said.
Her rule of thumb?
"If you have a burning house, call 911," she said. "If you have a burning question, call 311."
The call volume is staggering. In 2007, Birmingham police communications' 35 to 40 dispatchers received 1,002,452 calls. In 734,448 of those, officers were dispatched.
The police department in 2000 implemented Call Screening, a method to shift the responsibility of nonemergency calls from dispatchers and field police officers to sworn officers in the communications headquarters who could take reports over the telephone in cases when police didn't need to respond immediately.
Call Screening operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Some of the incidents that fall under the responsibility of operators there include thefts in which no suspect can be identified or the property taken is not traceable by serial numbers; thefts of bicycles or any property valued at less than $25; morals complaints such as prostitution or gambling, unless the suspects are still on the scene; forgeries that aren't still in progress; embezzlement reports; reports on lost property; or using a vehicle without the owner's consent.
Before its implementation, "officers went out on every little thing," Lavender said.
Of the more than 1 million 911 calls in 2007, 8,375 were sent to Call Screening. Of those, Call Screening officers took 6,637 reports.
Just for the week of Sept. 14 through Sept. 20, police communications received 16,147 calls, dispatching officers to 11,996 scenes. Call Screening took over 201 of those calls.
Calls screened:
Though helpful, Call Screening in itself wasn't enough to lessen the burden. The city of Birmingham in 2004 launched 311, a nonemergency phone service designed to further take the pressure off emergency dispatchers and make it easier for residents to get answers.
The center, which runs from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday with seven call takers, handles calls for public works and the mayor's office of community services, and police and fire nonemergency calls.
In the first six months of operation in 2004, 311 received 21,400 calls. They encompassed a variety of service requests, ranging from abandoned houses to animal control, overgrown lots and a cell phone accidentally dropped down a storm sewer.
The service requests made through 311 for the following years are: 2005, 32,884; 2006, 27,212; 2007, 20,898. There were 13,885 calls in the first six months of this year. The service costs roughly $550,000 a year to operate.
Sandra Ray, manager of the 311 Call Center, said she would like to see more people use the 311 system.
"It would make their (dispatchers') jobs so much easier," she said. "And it would provide faster police response for the real emergencies."
