Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw Points To New Mental Health Script As One Reason Behind Slow 911 Response Times
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- It's a major issue -- reports of 911 calls going unanswered in Philadelphia and slower response times as a result. Eyewitness News heard residents' concerns and went straight to the police commissioner Wednesday for answers.
"If you dial that number and nobody answers, what are you supposed to do?" Fairmount resident Melissa Brannon said.
These are the kinds of concerns Eyewitness News has been hearing from Philadelphia residents for weeks -- 911 calls going unanswered and lagging police response times.
On Wednesday, Eyewitness News took those concerns straight to Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw during her weekly Zoom briefing.
"One of the noted impacts that led to increased times on incoming 911 calls was our adoption of the mental health script that is read at the onset of all calls to 911," Outlaw said. "And then on top of that, if there is an overall decreased staffing, whether in the 911 dispatch center or officer on patrol, there's likely going to be longer response times."
Outlaw concluded by urging all residents to continue calling 911 during emergencies and to stay on the line even when it seems like no one will answer.
What, if anything, can the police department or city do to address this issue besides hiring more officers and dispatchers?
"We needed to look at pay, which is something that has been addressed as well, but the crux of it is, I don't think we can ignore it," Outlaw said.
The commissioner says the city just added 50 new 911 dispatchers and there's another class of 25 about to graduate from training, but she says the city is still down more than 600 police officers compared to 2021.
