More pressure is being put on D.C.’s troubled 911 call center, which has been plagued by errors and questions about whether the public is able to get timely help in an emergency for years.
After a tour Monday of the Office of Unified Communications in Southeast D.C., Ward 2 Council member Brooke Pinto announced she would be returning to the center every two weeks unannounced, and will hold public oversight hearings monthly.
“We are the nation’s capital, we absolutely have to have a 911 call center that every resident and every visitor can rely on when they … dial 911; (that) someone’s going to pick up quickly, that they’re going to get help,” Pinto said.
Pinto also said she’s introducing new legislation to enforce more transparency at the agency. The bill requires the agency to release after-action reports when incidents happen “or there is a separation from protocol or an error that takes place,” she said.
Under the legislation, the after-action reports would have to be released within 45 days of any incident where errors may have led to serious injury or death.
Other D.C. Council members have expressed frustration with the performance of the 911 call center. In July, Ward 1 Council member Brianne Nadeau said that she heard about more disturbing incidents involving the call center in a 10-day period than she typically does in a year.
Pinto also said she does not think the plan that OUC director Heather McGaffin announced earlier this summer involving paying bonuses to workers who show up for all their shifts is a good idea.
“To me, that’s the wrong message. You should be showing up to work because your salary is sufficient to show up to work,” she said.
However, Pinto added that she thinks the call center’s staff are underpaid.
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