We’ve had a good discussion on the blog about the issues surrounding the "Verified burglary alarm response policy". Let’s get more basic and talk about the 911 system.

Did you know that the Fire Department runs the 911 system? And that the same people who answer 911 calls also take the 311 calls? While I can’t complain about the overall quality of the 311 system, and I’ll have to pass on judging the fire department responsiveness (thank goodness), the Dallas police 911 responsiveness has been pretty bad based on my experience. Part of the reason for this, especially if you listen to the police department’s side of the story, is the 911 operators aren’t trained to gather call-in information and prioritize dispatches from a police perspective.

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To give them credit, City Council has started to address this issue as reported in the DMN. This is one of those areas where a little bureaucratic shake up and some additional training can probably have a big impact on safety. Let’s hope council does the right thing.