Since Tucson combined its police and fire communications centers in 2018, hold times for 911 calls to police have been cut by three-fourths.
The city has also upgraded its technology to dispatch multiple fire units from different stations to multiple calls at the same time, which is expected to reduce response times.
Another change makes Tucson the second U.S. city to standardize questions police operators ask 911 callers, providing officers with more consistent information during emergencies.
The changes should speed up the process for Tucsonans in need of assistance and give greater assurance that the correct personnel will be dispatched ….
