‘Make the right call’ say police, 911 call centre (Canada)

Mounties in Grand Forks and the West Boundary are encouraging the public to “make the right” call when it comes to non-emergencies.

Phoning 911 to report things like suspicious vehicles or noise complaints unnecessarily ties up dispatch operators who need to focus on urgent calls, Grand Forks RCMP’s Sgt. Darryl Peppler told the Gazette.

Peppler qualified that Mounties aren’t hoping for fewer calls, only that people put their calls to the proper channels. “We want to educate people in the hope that they’ll understand when to use 911 and when to use other resources,” he explained…

Pilot program designed to redirect no-threat 911 calls from Columbus police showing promise, officials say (OH)

Pilot program designed to redirect no-threat 911 calls from Columbus police showing promise, officials say (OH)

A pilot program designed to reduce Columbus police response to 911 calls that aren't safety issues is showing early signs of success, mayor says.

A part-time pilot program aimed at reducing Columbus police response to non-threatening calls involving mental health, drug addiction or other social issues is showing promising early results, Mayor Andrew J. Ginther said Thursday.

The Alternative Response Pilot Program, which aims to provide “more robust and precise emergency-response experiences citywide while reducing reliance on city police and fire in matters where other city or social services are better suited to resolve the situation,” has only been up and running on a limited basis for about a month, after an initial two-week training period…

911 partially down in Gallatin and surrounding counties (MT)

911 partially down in Gallatin and surrounding counties (MT)

Phone service provider issues at 911 dispatch centers in Gallatin and Park counties, along with West Yellowstone, are the main reason for people experiencing troubles calling emergency services.

Though it is not a complete outage for 911 calls, some callers may run into busy signals or not have their caller ID and location registered by emergency dispatchers. Callers experiencing issues can still text 911 in Gallatin County, Park County and West Yellowstone. Texts should include details like what is happening and the texter’s exact location…

Lemmond named new E-911 assistant director (NC)

Jul. 29—LAURINBURG — Scotland County Emergency E-911 Communications Center has appointed Jonathan Lemmond as its new assistant director.

“Jonathan was part of the initial opening team for the 911 center when it opened on Feb. 10, 2015,” said Director Samantha Cameron Dutch. “Prior to that, he was a part-time telecommunicator with EMS and had been since 2013. He also worked part-time with the city of Laurinburg Fire Department.”

Dutch also said Lemmond is highly motivated and enthusiastic about emergency communications and public safety as a whole…

Scott County Sheriff’s Office Employee Promotions (MN)

Scott County Sheriff Luke Hennen is pleased to announce the promotions of three Sheriff’s Office employees:  Corrections Officer Cassie Kelly has been promoted to Corrections Sergeant, Recreational Safety Deputy Jacob Edwinson to Patrol Sergeant, and Dispatch Supervisor Carrie Bauer to Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) Manager.  

Corrections Sgt. Cassie Kelly has been a Jail Corrections Officer with the Sheriff’s Office since 2012.  She has served in many roles including Field Training Officer, Left-In-Charge Officer, Key Team member, Training Officer, and Jail Programs Officer. In her new role, Sgt. Kelly directly supervises corrections staff, jail operations, and activities.  Sgt. Kelly attended Minnesota State University Mankato and has a degree in Corrections with a minor in Sociology… READ MORE  

“The 911 Crisis” by Dave Statter (DC)

“The 911 Crisis” by Dave Statter (DC)


photo by fromcaliw/love

Dave Statter covered public safety in the District of Columbia and the region as a reporter for WTOP Radio & WUSA-TV. His website, STATter911.com, focuses on fire, EMS and 911 issues and videos. Dave currently runs STATter911 Communications in Arlington, VA.

Between the pandemic and the wave of violence in the District of Columbia, no one wants another reason to fear for their health and safety or for the well-being of their family. But there’s another crisis. One that’s mostly being ignored by political leaders and the news media. DC 911 is in desperate shape.

Handling almost two million calls each year, there’s no other local public safety agency in the region with more impact on our health and safety than DC’s Office of Unified Communications (OUC). Right now, the person in charge of OUC is struggling to get staff to show up for work and making sure those who do, put in a full shift. And with Covid cases rising among the unvaccinated, this 911 staffing problem may soon get much worse. OUC is the DC agency with the lowest percentage of vaccinated workers – less than 35%…