City officials met to improve Dane County’s 911 dispatch time that has resulted in numerous problems in public safety Tuesday.
Mayor Paul Soglin said in a letter to Dane County Executive Joe Parisi the 911 dispatch center is processing calls at a rate of “three times” slower than the agreed-upon national standard.
Many issues resulted from the significant delays between the time Dane County’s 911 dispatch center receives calls and when officers are actually dispatched to help, according to the letter. This is an ongoing issue for Dane County citizens that poses as a threat to public safety, since every minute of delay increases risk at a crime scene.
According to the letter, one past instance resulted in a fatality. The Madison Fire Department did not dispatch to the scene of a structure fire Oct. 16, 2013, until three minutes and 48 seconds later—more than triple the agreed-upon arrival time, according to the letter.
Despite the numerous preventable incidents that resulted from dispatch delays, the 911 Center is not always an unreliable source for immediate help. Eve Galanter, host of “District Reports,” said her experience with the 911 dispatch center was timely and helpful.
Galanter said after falling on the ice one afternoon, “within … minutes someone appeared and they were just absolutely fabulous.”
The Madison Police and Fire Department and the chairman of the 911 dispatch center will seek improvements to Dane County’s dispatch times to restore public safety, according to the letter.
