D.C.’s troubled 911 agency would be required to release audio and other documents related to calls with suspected dispatching errors under legislation announced Monday by D.C. Council member Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2).
Pinto said the moves target long-standing, mounting concerns about the performance of D.C.’s 911 agency, which has faced scrutiny in recent years over delays and mistakes, including 911 calls in which people died after emergency responders were sent to the wrong address. She will formally introduce the legislation after the D.C. Council returns from its summer recess next week.
“We’re hearing loud and clearly from District residents in all eight wards. I hear so regularly from people that they are nervous about the call center, that they need improvements and they want to see what’s happening,” Pinto said. “I take that call very seriously.”
The legislation is the D.C. Council’s latest attempt to elicit more information from the city’s 911 agency, which has drawn public scrutiny for long wait times and staffing shortages — a problem for 911 centers nationwide. Last year, the council passed legislation requiring the agency to publish more data about staffing, wait times and mistakes.
One council member, Ward 1’s Brianne K. Nadeau, has gone as far as introducing legislation that would transfer many of the agency’s dispatching duties back to the D.C. fire department, which used to dispatch its own calls before the unified call center opened in 2001. Pinto, who has the power to hold that bill up or allow it to proceed, would not say Monday whether it will get a hearing.
Agency leaders have said they are focused on boosting staffing levels to combat lagging performance, but data shows staffing woes have persisted, contributing to 911 wait times that routinely exceed national standards. In July, 58 out of 66 shifts did not meet target staffing numbers, according to the 911 agency’s online data dashboard.
The center elicited fresh scrutiny this summer after repeat technology failures, including one on Aug. 2 that left workers at the 911 call center without access to their computers for hours. A baby in cardiac arrest died after some paramedics tapped to respond were mistakenly dispatched to two scenes at once during the disruption, which officials say was the result of a botched software update that police are now investigating. It is not clear whether a swifter response would have saved the infant.
Pinto’s bill would require D.C.’s Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency to conference with involved agencies after each possible emergency response failure where there is a serious injury or death, including incidents where 911 calls were not answered or dispatched quickly; where first responders were delayed in arriving to the scene; and where there were technology failures. The legislation would require the agency to publicly release a report within 45 days of the initial incident. The legislation also would require the city to release transcripts and recordings of all related 911 calls, along with any other documents that describe possible errors or concerns with the emergency response.
The proposal, if enacted, would force a reversal of policy for D.C.’s Office of Unified Communications, which in the past has exercised its discretion under the District’s public records law to decline release of 911 audio to anyone but the original caller. Agency spokesperson Anna Noakes declined to discuss the specifics of the bill, deferring to the office of D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D), which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“OUC is committed to transparency about how we critically evaluate performance to understand root causes, integrate best practices, and quickly implement changes in order to continuously improve 911 service for the District of Columbia,” Noakes said.
In addition to unveiling the bill, Pinto shared her intention to drop in unannounced at D.C.’s 911 call center routinely this fall, when she says she will keep an eye out for staffing levels, watch the training of recruits, and speak with staff about their concerns and suggestions. At monthly public oversight hearings, Pinto said, she will demand that the leaders of the Office of Unified Communications and of other relevant city agencies share more information about operational failures, accidents, performance metrics and technology failures.
Last month, Office of Unified Communications Director Heather McGaffin announced an $800 bonus for any employee who simply showed up for all of their scheduled August shifts, a move that officials say improved attendance and led to a wave of job applications submitted to the agency. The agency did not say Monday how many of the bonuses it has handed out.
Pinto said she wanted to see the Bowser administration think outside the box to improve staffing, but thought the bonus sent the wrong message.
“My view is that OUC call takers are not paid enough — I think they should be paid more,” she said, adding that her committee advocated to add money to the budget for increasing pay. Pinto said she hopes to work collaboratively with McGaffin and other District leaders to improve performance and meet requirements.
The agency, for example, has yet to publish certain metrics required by a public safety law the D.C. Council passed in March, including more detailed data about how long it takes first responders to arrive to the scenes of priority calls. Pinto said the agency has committed to publishing this data by Oct. 1. A spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions about the data.
