911 system facing potential breakdown

Photos by john larson

911 NERVE CENTER. A large antenna near the Pierce County Annex, right, marks the location where 911 calls are routed to Law Enforcement Support Agency. A supervisor, above, monitors the flow of information inside the facility.

Law Enforcement Support Agency (LESA) handles 911 calls for Pierce County, Tacoma and numerous smaller cities around the county. Calls are routed to a public safety answering point (PSAP).

In addition to LESA, there are PSAPs operated by eight other agencies in Pierce County. However, LESA serves 88 percent of the county population. It handles the second highest call volume in the state in an area with the highest violent crime rate in Washington.

The industry standard is to answer 90 percent of calls within 10 seconds and 95 percent within 20 seconds. Under this criteria, LESA has the worst service level in the country.

In 2007 it answered 74.60 percent of calls in the first 10 seconds. That figure is at 80 percent for this year.

In comparison, San Diego is at 100 percent and Washington, D.C. is at 99.99 percent.

“We are hands down the worst in the nation and I am not proud of that,” said LESA Director Tom Orr.

A new pilot project has six people in a telephone reporting unit, where reports for minor crimes are done, rather than by a police officer. This is unfunded past the end of the year.

UNDERSTAFFED AND UNDERFUNDED     

“LESA is at a critical juncture as to how its future unfolds,” Orr said.

There has been no increase in staffing levels in 12 years. He fears the level dropping. “It will be devastating if LESA has to make layoffs. For 12 years we have dug this hole. We will not get out in one year.”

Other PSAPs in the region, on average, have one call taker for every 9,460 calls. LESA has one for every 22,764.

Overtime for call takers has increased 24.3 percent since 2006 and 35.6 percent for dispatchers.

Orr has no employees dedicated solely to training or quality assurance. LESA only looks into complaints from the public. At other agencies supervisors routinely listen in to call takers to assess how they handle their job.

Orr wants to add 17 people to his staff.

The city of Tacoma provides certain services to LESA through its legal, finance and human resources departments, for which LESA is assessed a fee. In the current biennium City Manager Eric Anderson agreed to waive $425,000 of this because of the agency’s predicament, which he describes as “deeply concerning.”

In the 2009-10 biennium the assessment is slated to be $1.62 million.

Orr addressed Tacoma City Council during its Nov. 6 budget meeting.

LESA’s computer aided dispatch system is nearing the end of its usefulness. Orr has cut his maintenance and equipment replacement budget by 15 to 20 percent. “We are taking significant risks.”

Councilmember Mike Lonergan expressed concern. “To me, this comes down to a matter of life and death,” he said. “I do not want to leave LESA out on a limb.”

Orr was a police officer in Seattle from 1981-88. He came to the city in 2002, serving as the legal advisor to Tacoma Police Department. He became director of LESA in early 2006.

He is impressed with the dedication of his staff. It is a stressful environment and can be emotionally daunting. One employee recently took a call from one of the three young girls who died in a house fire in Graham. The girl, apparently overcome by smoke inhalation, dropped the phone. The LESA employee could only listen to the sounds of the house burning.

“Sometimes their pivotal moment in their life becomes one of yours,” said David Loverak, a communications officer. He remembers fielding a call from a woman who returned home, hit her garage door opener and found her 15-year-old son had hung himself from the rafters.

“I can never see a garage door open without thinking of that,” he said.

While it pays the highest wages in the state, LESA has difficulty finding employees, even ones with experience. One reason is the high call volume. Another is the many police departments it serves, each with its own protocol. LESA has offered a $5,000 bonus for employees with prior experience. None of them last long in LESA, in large part due to burnout from the mandatory overtime.

Orr speaks with utmost respect of one woman with carpal tunnel syndrome who probably should be on medical leave. She worked 21 days in a row recently because she knew there was no one to replace her.

LESA has 31 call takers and 30 dispatchers. There are six supervisors, although several have returned to dispatching because of the staffing shortage.

POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

LESA management has visited call centers in Washington, Oregon, Florida, Virginia and Washington, D.C. to learn how the top operations function. “That has given us a lot of hope,” said Kelly Bochenski, assistant director of the administrative division.

Orr would like to place a one-tenth of 1 percent sales tax increase on the ballot, perhaps in August 2009, to fund LESA.

Its assessment from the city has increased 205 percent since 2005. Orr is considering contracting out from another public sector entity, the private sector, or doing some of it in house.

About 25 percent of 911 calls to LESA are for non-emergencies. People call to report barking dogs or junk piled in the alleyway.

For some people, 911 is the number they think of when wanting to report something to their local government. In some rural parts of the country that is the only way to contact police, Orr noted. Because of the military bases, Pierce County has many residents who grew up in such areas.

To address this, LESA wants to have a system where people call 311 for non-emergencies. These calls would be routed to the same call center, but different staff would answer them.

LESA has a high hang-up rate. This is partly because people call, get impatient if it is not answered quickly enough, hang up and call again.

Some people let their young children play with old cell phones. Even when not on a calling plan, a cell phone with a charged battery can still reach 911. LESA gets numerous calls from gurgling babies.

Part of Loverak’s job is public education, going to Rotary Clubs, Safe Streets chapters and anywhere else where he can explain what 911 is for and what citizens do that contribute to overwhelming the system.

If LESA is to remain viable, its funding and staffing problems must be solved soon, according to Orr. He is grateful that so far, no local resident has died from a fire or violent crime because their 911 call was not answered – something that happens occasionally around the United States.

“This lifeline is on rocky ground,” he said. “People need to recognize that now.”

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