ST. LOUIS — St. Louis residents have heard a lot over the past several months about issues in the city’s 911 dispatch system. Part of the problem is hiring enough dispatchers.
Mayor Tishaura Jones said the new public safety director has begun the process of making improvements. Long-time fire department administrator Charles Coyle was selected for that role.
“Under Chief Coyle’s leadership, our public safety divisions have hired more than 20 dispatchers since August of this year," Jones said.
“When we began this process, we were 50 dispatchers short," Coyle said.
Coyle said he believes 911 dispatchers are first responders, and recent pay increases have helped with recruiting.
Over the past several months, people have complained about being put on hold when calling 911 for help in the city.
In January, husband and father of three Richard Schlesing died in his car at this St. Louis intersection after accidentally shooting himself in the leg. 911 was the last number he dialed from his cellphone. Phone records show no one answered.
In July, Katherine Coen, 33, died after a tree fell on her car in the Grove neighborhood during severe weather. Witnesses said repeated calls to 911 went unanswered for more than 30 minutes.
There has been at least one other case, as well.
Coyle said St. Louis can hire 19 police dispatchers at a time, and five EMS dispatchers at a time. Candidates must become call-takers before they become dispatchers.
He said the city’s numbers are improving when it comes to how long it takes to answer a 911 call. Coyle said the percentage of calls answered within 0-10 seconds should improve on a weekly or monthly basis, and that is what they will be monitoring with the introduction of new dispatchers.
“As of Feb. 13 and July 1,” he said, “with the pay increases, we have hired 26 dispatchers that are in training.”
In early October, 5 On Your Side investigative reporter Christine Byers asked about 911 wait times. Coyle responded.
“Our wait time has improved overall. I think in 0-10 seconds, we’re right about 65% now,” he said. “That has improved. We’re at the high 80 percentile within a minute. So those are improving. And I expect them to improve even more as we get the trainees into a position to operate.”
Coyle said EMS dispatchers can start working on their own after about five months. Police dispatcher training takes eight months.
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