Call answer times at the city’s Public Safety Communications Center fell short of national recommendations, leaving more than a quarter of 911 callers waiting more than 20 seconds for their calls to be answered in 2019, according to a report recently obtained by The Gazette.
A consulting agency hired by the city of Colorado Springs offered several recommendations for the city’s dispatch center, after an assessment found inefficiencies in the way call takers answer emergency calls from across the city.
Data from the report shows that only 62% of 911 callers reached a dispatcher within 10 seconds or within 3 to 4 rings while 68% of calls were answered within 15 seconds and 73% within 20 seconds. Per national standards, 90% of 911 calls should be answered within 15 seconds and 95% should be answered in 20 seconds or less.