Worst 911 phone call experience of my life

[hoosierdoc]

I almost wondered if the 911 call screwed with my gps. I have never been outdoor and had Google not locate me appropriately. It was off about half a mile when I checked during the call. After the call it located me appropriately. Strange.

 

[bwframe]

...The FCC mandated a few years ago that cell phone companies install better equipment to locate callers. But they haven't done it.

If you have GPS turned off in the phone, this makes matters worse...

IIRC, calling 911 automatically turns on your gps.
Why can't the FCC work on enforcing this with the cellular companies? Too busy getting ready to start messing with the Internet?

 

[hoosierdoc]

I spoke with a supervising officer who reviewed the call. It was a positive interaction and he said he'll use it to improve the training of their dispatchers. I believe the one I interacted with was quite new at her job.

Just wanted to post that the sheriff's department was very good about following up with me and taking steps to improve the 911 services.

 

[wabash]

I called 911 a few weeks ago. after a brief conversation, the Indiana 911 person transferred my call over the river to a Kentucky 911 person.

 

[Bfish]

I spoke with a supervising officer who reviewed the call. It was a positive interaction and he said he'll use it to improve the training of their dispatchers. I believe the one I interacted with was quite new at her job.

Just wanted to post that the sheriff's department was very good about following up with me and taking steps to improve the 911 services.

Good to hear, I still can't believe she hung up on you!

 

[pitbulld45]

What do you expect, 911 operators are minimum wage jobs. The kind of people you want answering the phones don't apply for low paying jobs.

The dispatchers in Vigo County start out at $36,000 a year.

 

[pitbulld45]

I had to call 911 once for a potentially drunk driver on 70, they didn't answer and called back 12 hours later.

Something smells fishy if you were in Vigo County. If nobody picks up in Central Dispatch it rolls over to ISU Dispatch and if they don't answer it rolls over to ISP Dispatch.

 

[Indy317]

Class Title:	911 TELECOMMUNICATOR
Bargaining Unit:	Exempt and Non-exempt non-cba
Class Code:	PROF
Salary:	$25,401.58 Annually

Even if it was, would that justify for poor performance?

For a person to perform well they need intelligence. When an entity starts off with low pay, then adds preferences in terms of affirmative action hiring, hiring people on public assistance, avoiding people with too much education because "They'll just leave sooner than later for something better.", then sometimes you end up with some, not all, of the applicants not being the brightest of the bunch. Usually the good people are those who really need a job, and from what I've heard in the past, turn over at low paying dispatch centers in major cities usually is very high.

One gets what they pay for. An employer is always likely to hire some good people at low wages, but overall, intelligent people with great logic and critical thinking skills aren't going to be applying in numbers for a job that only pays $25K/year. One can go be a bank teller, work M-F, holidays off, no night shifts, and likely make the same pay if not more. There are numerous non-sales call center jobs in this area as well, again, paying about the same wage if not $10K-$15K more a year than what Marion County 911 wants to pay. The mere fact that in the past they actually had to have training classes with 10+ people shows they have a problem with high turn over. Maybe if they raised the pay to the mid-30s after a few years of service they would actually be able to retain people longer.

 

[marv]

If I need help and only my cell is available I call the local Dispatcher using the 7 now 10 digit number. Give them full info and results will be prompt.

 

[bwframe]

For a person to perform well they need intelligence. When an entity starts off with low pay, then adds preferences in terms of affirmative action hiring, hiring people on public assistance, avoiding people with too much education because "They'll just leave sooner than later for something better.", then sometimes you end up with some, not all, of the applicants not being the brightest of the bunch. Usually the good people are those who really need a job, and from what I've heard in the past, turn over at low paying dispatch centers in major cities usually is very high.

One gets what they pay for. An employer is always likely to hire some good people at low wages, but overall, intelligent people with great logic and critical thinking skills aren't going to be applying in numbers for a job that only pays $25K/year. One can go be a bank teller, work M-F, holidays off, no night shifts, and likely make the same pay if not more. There are numerous non-sales call center jobs in this area as well, again, paying about the same wage if not $10K-$15K more a year than what Marion County 911 wants to pay. The mere fact that in the past they actually had to have training classes with 10+ people shows they have a problem with high turn over. Maybe if they raised the pay to the mid-30s after a few years of service they would actually be able to retain people longer.

Throwing money at the problem is a method, although not one I subscribe to.
Proper hiring practice, initial and ongoing training, performance incentives and hands on management will do better every time. The same as would contracting out that work to a private entity.

 

[vitamink]

My old address didn't pop up on IMPD... I had to change the address to the cross streets and say the first house south. Also when you dial 911 from a cell (in Marion county) it gives the cell tower that your phone hit to make the call. So you can be in Indy making a cell call on meridian st about an issue on meridian, have the tower pick up in greenwood, and it'll cause confusion as there is a meridian in greenwood as well as Indy. In those situations you'll be asked a lot of questions.

 

[hoosierdoc]

VitaminK, do you know if it would change your phone's location to be that of the tower? While on the call my phone said I was about a mile away than I was, and I couldn't get it to "recenter" to my location, it kept using the other location. I have never had google maps not locate me correctly, but I did on the 911 call.

 

[actaeon277]

911 on a cell is iffy. If is a technological problem. If GPS is up, is it correct. If it isn't up, even more of a problem.
Have local numbers for police in your area and direct dial.
But you'd still need a street and house number.


problem is, if you need emergency services other than police.
I guess you could tell the police, you need them to call dispatch for you.

 

[DeadeyeChrista'sdad]

Some dispatchers a very good in spite of a pathetic wage.

Some, not so much no matter how much you pay them.

Oh, and Greensburg, you are so screwed. Sorry.