911 call takers need better training, said Nathan...
911 call takers need better training, said Nathan Lee, president of the Denise Amber Lee Foundation, at the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials meeting in Anaheim, Calif. He has pushed for more training since 2008 and tackled the problem on…
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a state-by-state basis, he told us, saying foundation representatives have traveled to nearly 30 states. He lobbied to get a voluntary training bill enacted in Florida in 2008, which Florida then kicked up to a 232-hour mandatory training curriculum two years later, he said. Florida telecommunicators now must pass a state certification test to “raise them to the level of professionalism they deserve to be already,” he said. Lee’s nonprofit typically tries to advocate for its policies at both APCO and the National Emergency Number Association meetings. Arkansas also has a voluntary standard instituted by a foundation push, Michigan passed legislation and the foundation is working “diligently” with Illinois to get a mandatory standard enacted in that state, Lee said. He also said there’s some interest in Missouri. The biggest obstacles tend to involve money, he said, adding that education and awareness are also occasionally concerns. Quality assurance is another important dimension to ensuring 911 functions well, he said. He started the foundation after his wife was murdered; a 911 call failed to save her life.