Auto attendant on hold: Kansas City’s proposed 911 solution will take time
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - A concept to help reduce Kansas City’s 911 hold times has been tabled for now, as the idea needs research and development.
As reported Tuesday, Kansas City would like to use prompts to allow callers to select either police, fire or medical help when they dial 911.
However, such a system would need to be created by Motorola. There is currently no similar system to copy anywhere else in the United States.
This came to light Wednesday during a Public Safety Communications s Committee meeting. The committee helps manage the regional 911 system. The Mid-America Regional Council (MARC) is in charge of the system.
That previous report from Tuesday revealed that auto attendants are being utilized on non-emergency lines in places like Denver, Colorado, and Phoenix, Arizona.
Committee appeared open to the idea, but quickly agreed such a system needs more development and research before any consideration is given to fundamentally changing the system
“So, the timeline we’ve been given by Motorola is six-plus months,” said Hassan Al-Rubaie, 911 Technical Services Manager for MARC. “They’re hoping for end of the year or first of 2024. But, you know, this is uncharted territory for them. So, they’ve never been asked to do this before.”
Kansas City’s 911 hold times have exceeded nationwide standards for was a full minute.
KCTV5 has covered this issue for years. We’ve talked with countless people who waited on hold, listening to a prerecorded message encouraging them to stay on the line, not knowing when a real person will finally answer.
People have given up and ran to firehouses for help. One family gave up and drove a seizing child to the hospital themselves. Recently, a couple called 911 for help after the husband was attacked at Arrowhead Stadium before the Luke Combs concert. Records show they waited more than four minutes on hold.
The issue grabbed the mayor’s attention when his mother needed help. His sister waited on hold for close to five minutes for help.
“No one should be waiting on hold when they call 911. Full stop,” Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said. “And, that’s something that needs to change in Kansas City. Whether it’s my mother, whether it’s anybody, it is a terrifying experience.”
The mayor asked about a prompt system to help ease the wait times at the last Board of Police Commissioners meeting. It sounded like it might be a solution that could be implemented fairly quickly.
When looking into the issue, however, the Public Safety Communications s Committee learned there are no simple solutions.
The committee voted to recommend to the board that the idea be tabled for now.
Copyright 2023 KCTV. All rights reserved.
