The City of Austin is looking to address its shortage of 911 call takers and dispatch operators for its police department, Austin ABC affiliate KVUE reported.
Per KVUE, the city began this month with 46 911 call taker openings and 20 vacancies for police dispatchers.
These openings have led to longer response times in the face of dire emergencies, the station reported.
Genevieve Thomas has worked as a 911 call taker for the Austin Police Department (APD) for more than half a decade – and according to KVUE – says it’s a “rewarding” job.
“Very rewarding,” Thomas told the station. “And you'll surprise yourself.” Thomas added that she values listening to those who unfortunately have to call 911, recalling an instance when she and a domestic violence survivor she assisted met in person at a court hearing and the latter embraced and thanked her, KVUE reported.
Thomas said in the report that the shortage forces call takers and dispatchers to impose time limits on calls.
"A lot of the time, we're unfortunately rushing these people off the phone and not spending the time that we would normally like to spend with them to be able to calm them down, you know, to get the information that we need for our officers,” she told KVUE. "We're kind of just getting basic information at this point, so that way we can go on and help the next person.”
Per the station, prospective call takers and dispatchers must at least be a high school graduate, yield a successful background check and pass a drug screening.
APD had been struggling to fill openings within the force as well.
Austin Journal reported in October that the law enforcement agency authorized 1,812 positions, but a little over 1,400 were filled with around 190 vacancies because of leave.
Beginning early next year, APD will welcome the members of its 148th cadet class.