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Philadelphians make over two million 911 calls every year, received by more than 200 police dispatchers and 43 fire dispatchers. The calls, which can range in urgency from minor traffic accidents to significant public safety incidents, require a swift response from dispatchers who say they are overworked and understaffed.
There are more than thirty vacant dispatch positions in Philadelphia, so dispatchers need to take more calls and volunteer for overtime shifts to keep up with call volume. When the list of volunteers for overtime is exhausted, dispatchers are required to work mandatory overtime…
