HomeMy WebLinkAbout(0004) IR 21-10677 - Police Public Safety Communications UpdatesINFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS
No. 21-10677
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council September 28, 2021
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SUBJECT: POLICE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS UPDATES
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Executive Summary
This IR is to provide an update on the Public Safety Communicators' vacancies and provide the process on answering and
routing of emergency and non -emergency calls.
Vacancies and Updating on Hiring
We currently have 25 vacancies in our Police Communications Division; 24 of these vacancies are in PSCI (Call Takers) and 1
in PSCII (Dispatcher).
• 10 — Ready for Hire scheduled on September 271.
• 6 — Pending screening backgrounds results; tentative hire date October 25th
*9 vacancies will remain after Sept 271 if the pending 6 applicants pass backgrounds. We will continue to schedule interviews
and work the applicant list until we are fully staffed. As mentioned in privious PSC IRs, we have received a record number of
applicants from each vacancy posting.
BridgeWork - Contract Services: Approval to contract 12 tempory employees
• 6 - Ready for hire — pending Critical testing
• 4 - Candidates in background process
• 3 - Failed background
• 1 - Declined position
• 2 - Started September 8th and terminated Sept 17th who did not successfully pass Critical testing and had poor
performance issues.
Answering and routing of emergency and non -emergency calls
911: When a person calls 911 it is routed to an ACD (Automatic Call Distribution). What that means is the calls are
automatically sent to the first available call taker (PSCI). If there are no call takers available, the call goes into the call queue as
a 911 call. The caller hears a message advising them not to hang up and if they are having a fire or medical emergency to call
(817) 923-6699 from a second phone. This message plays on a continuous loop in English and in Spanish.
Once a call taker becomes available, the ACD system sends any 911 call holding to the call taker in the order the call came into
the system.
When a call taker answers the call, they identify themselves by their ID number and ask for the address the person is calling
about. Depending on the type of phone used, the Vesta call sheet will show the phone number and name of the person on the
account. If it is a cell phone, the system will show within very close proximity where the person is and the call taker verifies this
information due to no system being 100% accurate or the caller may be calling about a different location from where the caller is
currently occupying.
The call taker gathers the information about the incident (Accident, Assault, Property Crime, etc.) and fills in the call sheet with
the appropriate information. Once the call taker has gathered all possible pertinent details, they electronically send the call to
dispatch. The address determines which Division dispatcher receives the call on their screen.
The call taker also has the ability to initiate a "Rapid Entry". This is used when a citizen reports an active crime that threatens
health and safety. The call taker will verify the address, and when the details indicate a rapid entry is needed, the call taker puts
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER
FORT WORTH, TEXAS
INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS
No. 21-10677
To the Mayor and Members of the City Council September 28, 2021
Page 2of2
i
o �
SUBJECT: POLICE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS UPDATES
r�rA
rea
the type activity on the sheet and immediately sends it to dispatch. The call taker stays on the line gathering more details and this
information automatically updates to the call sheet the dispatcher and officers view; even if the call has already been dispatched.
10 Digit Non -Emergency: The 10 digit non -emergency number is (817) 392-4222. Calls to this number are also controlled by
the automated system. The difference is, when no call taker is available, the hold message is different than the one for a 911 call.
The non -emergency message does advise the caller to not hang up and to call 911 if there is an emergency. It then goes on to
give a menu of departments available where citizens routinely call the non -emergency number for information; the Police Auto
Pound, Animal Control, the City Jail, Police Records, etc. They are offered a push button response to select one of the options.
This hold message is approximately 1 minute and 10 seconds and repeats. These calls go into the queue behind 911 calls and 10
digit emergency calls.
*FD continues to assist with fire and medical emergency calls through the 10 diget number. From July 23" —September 22°d
5,509 calls have been answered.
The Fort Worth Police Department is committed to rectify the situation and ensure that the call center is fully staffed so that our
citizens can receive the customer service they deserve. If you have any questions regarding this information, please contact
Captain Robin Krouse at 817-392-3260 or email Robin.Krouse@fortworthtexas.gov.
David Cooke
City Manager
ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER
FORT WORTH, TEXAS