D.C. Council Grills 911 Center Director on Public Concerns

Committee Chair Brooke Pinto (D) said she received more complaints from constituents about long wait times over the past three months. Some have waited more than two minutes, even though the national standard is 15 seconds, she said. Some frustrated callers hang up and try again, which sends them back to the end of the queue, she said. It led to “injuries and tragic deaths,” eroding public trust, said Pinto. Councilmember Zachary Parker (D) also said he’s alarmed by reports of long wait times and slipping performance in recent weeks. On Sept. 30, only 40.7% of calls were answered in 15 seconds or less, he said.

OUC “has been beleaguered for a long time now, and very little has changed," said Councilmember Brianne Nadeau (D): Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) “cannot continue to downplay the botched response to these stories” about 911 errors. "It's clear the agency lacks fundamental structural competency to run effectively." Councilmember Janeese Lewis George (D) said a "well-performing 911 center that D.C. residents can rely on is foundational for public safety,” but OUC isn’t there. Insufficient staffing could be a big reason why there are problems, said Councilmember Christina Henderson (I): 911 call volume is surging without a corresponding increase in call takers.

OUC says it has adopted most recommendations from a District audit (see 2211100036), but D.C. Auditor Kathy Patterson told the committee words aren’t enough. OUC hasn’t provided any documentation on actual supervision levels on the call-taking floor, for example, she said. OUC claims a move to a PowerPhone call handling system will address many issues, but Patterson worries a new system that requires employee retraining could be “disruptive.” The auditor believes the agency can meet recommendations without having to “buy a new toy.” Also, Patterson supported more press and public access to 911 records, with appropriate redactions to protect callers’ privacy.

OUC was "relied on nearly 1.8 million times” in 2023, testified OUC’s McGaffin. In FY 2023, OUC answered nearly 78% of 911 calls in 15 seconds or less, and about 89% in less than 40 seconds, she said. While 78% is less than the 90% national standard, McGaffin said many other 911 centers around the country fail to meet that metric regularly. The center had a nearly 14% increase in call volume in the last fiscal year, McGaffin said. Telephone misuse is up, with no consequences for spam and prank calls, she said. Smartwatches and other devices that can automatically dial 911 contribute to the surge in calls, she said. Also, wireless carriers aren’t being held responsible for calls lacking location information, said the director: About 86% of calls coming in are wireless, but only 60% of those contain location data.

The 911 center reduced its number of vacancies to five from 36 since McGaffin’s May confirmation, said the director: It hired more call takers in the past eight months than it did in 2021 and 2022 combined. The agency has 23 recruits in its most recent class; they will get training in November and should be working by January, she said. The 911 center uses voluntary overtime daily, which will be the case until the recruits start, she said. OUC now offers hiring bonuses to attract workers, said McGaffin. But some applicants decide to go to other regional call centers that can promise they won’t be on the evening news if they make a mistake, she said. OUC pays call takers $48,000 yearly, which is more than the national average of $31,000, she said. Parker noted it’s hard to live in D.C. on $48,000.

OUC completed 90% of the audit recommendations, McGaffin said. Also, it will engage an external consultant to assess operations, she said. The 911 center continues to implement national standards and will pursue accreditation, she said. It recently launched a performance dashboard that it enhances daily, said McGaffin. And it developed a continuing education plan for employees, she said. McGaffin defended her decision to adopt PowerPhone, saying the current call handling system has reached end of life, with no vendor support or available upgrades.

D.C. residents told how 911 failures affected them. Toni Barnes said OUC put her on hold 19 minutes while her 27-year-old daughter was in cardiac arrest from an asthma attack. A brain injury left the daughter with low vision and problems eating and walking, said Barnes, saying she thinks there would have been a better outcome if she received oxygen sooner. "It's been hard for me and my family."

"OUC's failures inflict unnecessary traumas on people in need,” said Sylvia Soltis, a resident of Ward 7 in the District's Southeast. She said her call to 911 went unanswered during a mass shooting in the D.C. Metro. Soltis received multiple automated callbacks to put her back on hold, making her fear her ringing phone would alert the shooter to her position. In a separate incident months later, Soltis was assaulted near her home, she said. She and two others called 911 but nobody answered, she said. Soltis later emailed McGaffin about the incidents but was told there was no record of the calls, she said: “It was an insult.”

The public can’t rely on the mayor to fix the 911 problems, said Dave Statter, a former journalist who regularly blogs and tweets about OUC issues. Bowser downplays incidents as anomalies and hasn’t even acknowledged the 911 audit, he said. “It's up to the Council to fix this." Statter supported a suggestion by D.C. advisory neighborhood commissioners to set up a task force that includes outside experts to consider OUC’s structure and other issues. "Something needs to be done to disrupt this and move the ball forward.”