Rescuing 911

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Rescuing 911

• Presented By
• Darrell Lush
• Madeline Holden
• Mark Sullivan
• Sheryl Loveless

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Brantville 9-1-1 Issues

• Overwhelming demand on service due to high
  percentage of non-emergency calls.
• Budgeting issue the number of calls increased
  70, while the budget has only risen 20.

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Objectives

• Permanent solutions to the root of the problems
  rather than band-aid measures that merely bought
  time.
• Reorganization of 911 system and head quarters to
  meet original 911 goals.
• Increase community support and confidence in 911
  system.
• Educate public on what constitutes a 911
  emergency call.
• Reduce the number of non-emergency calls to 911
  by 80
• Maintain a reasonable budget and find
  alternatives for budget problems.

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S W O T
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Situational Analysis (Micro)

• Spending money without planning a budget, 750,
  000 budgeted plus additional 60,000 and 300,
  000 in band aid money.
• Increased community policing means increased
  problem solving and an improved relationship
  between police and the community. At the same
  time police can educate the public about the use
  of 911.

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Situational Analysis (Macro)

• (Political and Legal forces) Government
  budgeting is a major factor concerning the 911
  problems. There never seems to be enough money to
  finance an effective system.
• Other cities in Canada are having the same
  problems with non-emergency 911 calls.

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Response Plan
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Global Acceptance of the 9-1-1 System
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Brantvilles 911 Calls

• Non-emergency calls accounted for 65 of all
  calls.
• Over the last year 7,067 of Brantville 911 calls
  (8 of total calls volume) had hung up before an
  operator answered the line.

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Delays In 911 Calls Being Answered

• Brantvilles average time for calls to be picked
  up compared to other Canadian cities
• Ottawa Average 2 seconds
• Halifax Average 2 seconds
• Winnipeg Average 3 seconds
• Brantville Average 5 seconds
• The response time of operators can mean life or
  death in an emergency.

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Budget VS Incoming Calls for Brantvilles 9-1-1
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Brantville 9-1-1 Not For Profit Organization is
facing Some of the Same Issues as For Profit
Organizations.

• Trained staff being lured elsewhere.
• Financial budgeting (local economy playing a big
  part in available funding).
• Organizational restructuring.
• Communication problems.
• They face marketing issues, such as social
  marketing. Marketing proper use of 9-1-1
  informing the public of its proper use.

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Cell Phone Quandary E911

• Pros
• - able to locate cell phone caller which is a
  fundamental aspect of the whole 911 idea
• - good for the growing number of cell phone
  usage adapting to changes
• new dispatching software will help in handling
  existing call volume
• Cons
• - only locates callers within 125 meters
• - cost figures are unknown
• - assumption that it could be quite expensive

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Alternatives for Brantvilles 9-1-1 Emergency

• A separate number for non-emergency calls (311)
• A Seven digit non-emergency number
• De-marketing 911
• Expansion of the 911 system
• Community policing.
• Extension of N11 telephone system

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The 311 Alternative

• Pros
• - Will shift non-emergency calls away from 911
• - - Preserves the availability of emergency
  system for callers truly in need.
• - 99 of people that used it were satisfied.
• It reduced 911 calls from 10-30 (table below)

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The 311 Alternative

• Cons
• - - Maybe confusing to the public.
• - Would need to educate the public about the
  new system
• - People in grey area situations would have to
  assess the gravity of their own situation
•  

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Seven Digit Non-Emergency Number

• Pros
• Hopefully direct some non-emergency traffic away
  from 911
• Save money and non-emergency resources
• Cons
• Difficult to remember (people may end up calling
  911 regardless)
• Might create confusion
• Costs of marketing scheme to inform public about
  this new number

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De-Marketing 911

• Pros
• Educating the public on proper usage would lead
  to less abuse of the system.
• Reduce cost to taxpayers of paying for a system
  that was overwhelmed by frivolous calls.
• Increase response time to real emergencies.
• With increased response time service would gain
  public confidence and support in their local
  9-1-1 service.
• With a reduction in calls, this would help lower
  operational costs.
• Cons
• - Budgeting for an advertising campaign.

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Expansion of 911 System

• Pros
• Would avoid confusion of having different numbers
  for non-emergency calls.
• - Would help policing staff by receiving
  dispatch orders from a single location.
• Cons
• - Would have to find additional funding to
  finance this expensive venture.
• - Not adequately dealing with the problem of
  response time of calls.

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Community Policing

• Pros
• - Idea of community working with police realized
• - Understanding by the public of what constitutes
  a 911 emergency and what does not.
• - Reduction in 911 calls (84,431 to 53,191)
• Cons
• - More expensive to implement than other methods
• - More difficult and complicated to implement
• - Requires support, understanding, and
  cooperation of community and therefore very well
  planned and orchestrated marketing and
  implementation plans.

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Extension of the N11 Telephone System

• Pros
• - A 511 number that provides the public with
  traffic reports and road conditions
• -- A 211 number for social services such as
  food banks or education programs
• - A special 711 number for the hearing and
  speech impaired
• - These number provide a way for people to
  solve many common problems and should reduce the
  number of non-emergency 911 calls
• Cons
• - Implementing a new set of N11 numbers could be
  very costly and confusing to the public
• -   - These numbers tackle human service issues
  rather than emergency 911 issues
• - All these N11 numbers detract the uniqueness of
  911 and make it less effective

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Recommendations for 9-1-1

• We would recommend the city of Brantville
  Implement the de-marking 9-1-1 plan with
  modifications as follows
• Short-term(Immediate Implementation)
• Information pamphlets sent out to the Public.
• Implement warning/fine system for non-emergency
  calls and system abusers (as outlined in
  Pamphlet).

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Recommendations for 9-1-1

• Long-term
• Money saved from decrease in non-emergency calls
  and revenue from fines could go towards intensive
  education system and marketing plan using
  television ads, to be maintained.
• Reorganization of 9-1-1 systems and facilities
  (bigger office, new computers, etc)
• Look at E911 more thoroughly.
• Look into possibility of community policing.
  Research look at successes of other cities
  implementing this program (ie. Edmonton) assess
  both short term and long term success and costs
  associated.
• Continue maintaining short term goals.

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The End.

• Thank you for your time!
• Any questions?