The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Communication Division said people have called 911 almost 966,000 times locally this year. That’s roughly a 1.2% increase, and the emergency call center is struggling to keep up with the higher call volume amid a staffing shortage.
The 911 center answers 60% of calls in less than 10 seconds and 84% of calls in less than minute, officials say. That means one in six 911 calls takes more than a minute to answer.
To help limit non-emergency calls that can back up the line, CMPD officials released a video Monday reminding residents to call 911 for absolute emergencies:
"You should not call 911 if you're not happy with your order at a restaurant,” said CMPD Communications Supervisor Aesah Harrison.
“And you definitely should not call 911 just because you're not happy with the police. So we need parents to make sure we're having the children keeping those cell phones away from them, because some of the phones that we believe are no longer active can still call 911. And we do not need those calls to come into the center unless they actually are in need of assistance.”
CMPD is facing a lack of telecommunicators to answer calls and dispatch first responders. The department is currently 40 call-takers short of full staffing. This leaves them with 2% fewer call-takers on staff than last year.
With an industry shortage in telecommunications operators, CMPD has tried to remedy the situation by creating new initiatives to attract workers, including new hiring practices. CMPD has also permitted overtime work for supervisors to help fill schedule gaps. On average, the local emergency hotline receives 1.2 million calls a year.
