CITY MAY ADD 911 ALTERNATE; LINE PROPOSED FOR NON-EMERGENCIES.Byline: Patrick McGreevy Daily News Staff Writer Alarmed that 80 percent of the 911 calls received by the Los Angeles Police Department "LAPD" and "L.A.P.D." redirect here. For other uses, see LAPD (disambiguation).  This article or section is written like an . are non-emergencies, delaying the response to
serious crime, officials are proposing a single phone number that
residents can use for less urgent matters.
Citing a ``911 overload See information overload and overloading. crisis,'' Police Chief Bernard C. Parks Bernard Parks (born December 7, 1943 in Beaumont, Texas) is a member of the Los Angeles City Council, representing the 8th District in South Los Angeles and former Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department. Parks attended Los Angeles City College, received his B.S. is asking the City Council for $415,000 and permission to seek bids from companies that can set up an easy-to-remember, citywide non-emergency telephone number, proposed to be (888) GET LAPD 1. LAPD - Link Access Procedure on the D channel. 2. LAPD - Los Angeles Police Department. . In addition, the contract would provide for an automated au·to·mate v. au·to·mat·ed, au·to·mat·ing, au·to·mates v.tr. 1. To convert to automatic operation: automate a factory. 2. , interactive voice-response system that would allow callers to the non-emergency number to use a menu and be routed to the proper city agency for help. The proposal is an interim measure that could be taken as the LAPD continues studying the feasibility of a more costly and complicated plan for a 311 telephone line for non-emergency police and fire calls. That study, requested by the City Council, is expected to be completed in December, said Councilman Mike Feuer. ``It's hard to imagine something that is more fundamental to a city than ensuring that the emergency-response system works for every single citizen,'' Feuer said. ``Clearly, our 911 system, which can put people on hold for a significant period of time, needs to be dramatically improved.'' Currently, the LAPD has six main non-emergency numbers in addition to the phone number of each police station. ``However, these numbers are not consistent throughout the city, they are not easily remembered and they are not significantly publicized pub·li·cize tr.v. pub·li·cized, pub·li·ciz·ing, pub·li·ciz·es To give publicity to. Adj. 1. publicized - made known; especially made widely known publicised ,'' Parks said in a report to the City Council. As a result, the LAPD's emergency 911 lines are often jammed with non-emergency calls from residents complaining about barking dogs
About 180,000 calls to 911 are lost annually when people hang up because of long waits. ``The vast majority of calls that come into the 911 center are not true emergencies,'' said LAPD Cmdr. Dave Kalish. ``I think that puts the public at greater risk, because people with true police, fire or medical emergencies have a tougher time getting through.'' Feuer endorses the interim proposal. He said he has visited three cities The Three Cities is a collective description of the three fortified cities of Cospicua, Vittoriosa, and Senglea on the Island of Malta, which are enclosed by the massive line of fortification created by the Knights of St John, the Cottonera Lines. where 311 lines have been used with success, including San Jose San Jose, city, United States San Jose (sănəzā`, săn hōzā`), city (1990 pop. 782,248), seat of Santa Clara co., W central Calif.; founded 1777, inc. 1850. , which reduced the response time for emergency calls by 20 percent. In Baltimore, the creation of a non-emergency line cut calls to the 911 system by 25 percent and reduced the time it takes to answer 911 calls from six seconds to two seconds. ``They've had strikingly good results,'' Feuer said, adding that San Jose also has had success. In comparison, the LAPD has had trouble meeting a goal of answering 90 percent of 911 calls in 10 seconds. ``So you can see we have more distance to travel,'' Feuer said. |
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