St. Louis police officers to answer 911 calls on overtime as hold times persist (MO)

by | Mar 14, 2022 | Comm Center News

Read Full Article | View Source

ST. LOUIS — City leaders are tapping police officers to work overtime in the understaffed 911 dispatch center, an attempt to address the 40% of 911 callers in St. Louis still being put on hold in recent months.

Under the plan, the 10 newest graduates from the St. Louis Police Academy and seven experienced officers who volunteered are undergoing a month of training to be able to answer 911 calls.

The department’s police cadets, a training program for people ages 18 to 20 who are too young to become officers, have also been trained to take 911 calls, public safety director Daniel Isom told the Post-Dispatch last week…