Council members weigh in on 911 special report

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The Austin Police Department is now reviewing how to implement measures outlined in a special report aimed at exploring strategies to improve the city's 911 operations.

"We saw some instances where Austinites were on hold for even a couple of minutes before they got to someone," said Council Member Vanessa Fuentes.

She and Council Member Allison Alter requested a special report from the auditor's office to get a better look at how Austin's 911 system compares to other cities.

"How are we handling it? How are other cities handling it? I think what we learned is that there are many instances, about 4 percent of the time during the year, we have spikes in calls," Alter said.

The report also noted that APD does not have an explicit definition regarding when it reaches a time of high call volume. Alter hopes to see that change, so solutions can be better pinpointed, she said.

"We really need to be thinking more carefully and more deeply about the options we have as far as adjusting policies and using new technology to help us," she added.

Austin's 911 center has made strides with staffing. There are only 20 vacancies out of 104 call-taker positions, compared to about 50 vacancies last summer. Alter and Fuentes still emphasize the importance of filling those remaining vacancies.

The special report included solutions other cities have employed including an AI line for non-emergency calls, as well as using AI to let people know if someone else has already called 911 about something happening in a caller's area.

"We're seeing more and more call centers explore innovative technology for instances that are non-emergency, is there a way we can integrate AI to help with that all intake?" Fuentes said.

APD said it has reviewed the report and is "delving into the proposed recommendations," adding that it plans to tap the Denver Police Department to discuss a new AI pilot being used there.

If you ever find yourself on hold with 911, don't hang up. Hanging up and calling back will move you to the back of the queue, police say.