Chronically Understaffed Austin 911 Call Center Can't Handle Peak Call Times

This is 911, can you hold please?

"...one public safety issue everybody agrees on: When you call 911, you should not be placed on a 30-minute..."

March 17, 2023 News Feature by Maggie Q. Thompson

Given 911 Call Taker Shortages, When Should You Call 911?

A helpful flowchart to let you know when you're out of line

"...Austin's 911 dispatch center has been severely understaffed for months, with..."

March 17, 2023 News Feature by Maggie Q. Thompson

The Call

Halle Berry plays a 911 phone operator who takes a call in which everything's on the line.

"...Claustrophobes beware of The Call, Brad Anderson’s emotionally rending thriller that transpires almost entirely..."

March 22, 2013 Movie Review by Leah Churner

Tyler, the Creator Answers ACL’s Call

Hip-hop great delivers a solid, if anticlimactic, performance

"...and irony – in Tyler, the Creator receiving the call to replace DaBaby as a marquee 2021 Austin City..."

Oct. 4, 2021 Music Post by Derek Udensi

Advocates Call on City, County to Protect Most Vulnerable During COVID-19 Outbreak

Education, health, housing, justice addressed by list of demands

"...group of local social justice and advocacy organizations are calling on city and county leaders to step up and..."

March 16, 2020 News Post by Mary Tuma

Mental Health Crisis Plan Still Lags Behind Austin’s Needs

Trying to change how the emergency response apparatus handles mental health calls

"...into how Austin's emergency response apparatus handled mental health calls for service, and offered six recommendations on how city,..."

July 17, 2020 News Feature by Austin Sanders

The Opportunity to Reimagine Public Safety Is Here Right Now. Will Austin Take It?

“We want everything that can be done outside of the police, to be done outside of the police.”

"...Communications Department, created last week to take over the 911 call center. These two decouplings, discussed for years and..."

April 30, 2021 News Feature by Brant Bingamon

Naked City

Case stems from Houston shooting death

"...its service does not include immediate access to traditional 911 emergency-number service. Abbott argues that the company's failure to..."

April 1, 2005 News Feature by Jordan Smith

Austin Police Funding Restored; Is It Too Much, or Not Enough?

The 2020 city budget finds itself coming full circle

"...civilian-driven departments, particularly Forensics and Emergency Communications (the combined 911 call center), to the APD budget from which they'd..."

July 30, 2021 News Feature by Austin Sanders

Car Enthusiasts Take Over Public Streets and the Police Union Capitalizes

Cops come upon donuts they don’t like

"...normal times – around 9pm, as a flood of 911 callers reported drivers engaging in risky buffoonery. Officers arrived..."

Feb. 24, 2023 News Feature by Austin Sanders

Portals

SF anthology brings in genre heavy hitters but still whiffs

"...tell, and everyone's experience seems different. Some hear them calling, some feel a physical pull, some disappear into the..."

Oct. 25, 2019 Movie Review by Richard Whittaker

Council Poised to Enact First APD Reforms and Budget Cuts

Change begins now

"...the potential to be the most transformative, as it specifically calls for a reduction in APD funding in the..."

June 12, 2020 News Feature by Austin Sanders

Austin at Large: Back (and Forth) to the Future

At some point Austin history will stop looping upon itself. Until next time …

"...sectors, particularly public-sector jobs with little wage flexibility like 911 call takers, but others might enjoy a spell of..."

March 17, 2023 News Column by Mike Clark-Madison

City Manager Presents $4.5 Billion City Budget

2021-22 FY proposal earmarks funds for police, parks, homelessness response

"...like police, parks, and homelessness response. The proposed budget calls for a 3.5% property tax increase, which will not..."

July 16, 2021 News Feature by Austin Sanders

Headlines / Quote of the Week

"...alongside U.S. troops has been in a Texas detention center since September, after he crossed the border seeking asylum...."

Jan. 20, 2023 News Feature

A New Council With New Energy Aims to Get City Hall Unstuck

Change is coming, but how much?

"..."equity as a guiding principle" to implement "context-sensitive strategies centered around affordability, increasing transit ridership, and displacement prevention." The..."

Jan. 20, 2023 News Feature by Austin Sanders

Know Your Rights! The City Can Help

Workshops aimed at housing, employment discrimination

"...which reshaped services ranging from anti-discrimination enforcement to the 911 call center, have been walked back in view of..."

Aug. 6, 2021 News Feature by Clara Ence Morse

Republicans Vow to “Re-Fund the Police” by Seizing Local Control

State grabs power to dictate local public safety budgets

"...for example, how Austin's reclassification of its forensics division, 911 call center, and police administrative functions like human resources..."

June 4, 2021 News Feature by Austin Sanders

On Budget, Council Agrees to Disagree (Updated)

Spending plan includes $4.6 million in last-minute additions

"...Sept. 10, without too much fuss. The two power centers on the dais (captained by Mayor Pro Tem Delia..."

Sept. 13, 2019 News Feature by Mike Clark-Madison

Murder in the Suburbs

Good Luck Penny

"...Found in a Dumpster behind Roger Scaggs' office, this..."

Dec. 11, 1998 News Feature by Kayte VanScoy

Naked City

The State of the State, Sanders lawsuit, and more

"...system and an early dismissal process for what he called "frivolous lawsuits" and for limiting discovery for lawsuits worth..."

Feb. 11, 2011 News Feature

Imagine

The music business in a post-911 world

"..."Twenty minutes after the first plane hit, NME called," remembers Gellar. "I knew at that point people were..."

Nov. 30, 2001 Music Feature by Michael Bertin

Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground

Austin slowly thaws out from an unprecedented – but not entirely unexpected – disaster

"...residents dependent on power-driven medical equipment were forced to call 911 to be transported to hospitals. Many other Austinites..."

Feb. 19, 2021 News Feature by Lina Fisher

Two Lives Lost

Danielle Martin and Jackson Ngai shared a close friendship, a passionate love for music, and mental illness. They cared for each other as best they could. And then he killed her.

"...after nine, UT graduate student Jackson Ngai made a 911 call from the home of his music professor, Danielle..."

Nov. 12, 2004 News Feature by Emily Pyle

Sí, Sí, Ccec

A Mitchell Legacy Gets the Greenlight

"...changes are afoot. Normally, when the Central City Entertainment Center (CCEC) is on the council agenda, Turner and Garrett..."

Feb. 20, 1998 News Column by Kayte VanScoy

Dead Dogs Don't Lie

If your pet escapes, pray for Animal Control

"...times, killing him instantly. Animal Protection & Control was called after the dog was killed...."

July 4, 2008 News Feature by Laurel Chesky

What’s Happening, What’s Being Done, and How We Got Into This Cold Weather Catastrophe

More chaos with continued power outages, calls for water conservation

"...Locally, 186,472 customers of Austin Energy – the ratepayer-owned utility..."

Feb. 17, 2021 News Post by Lina Fisher

Two APD Officers Indicted for Murder in 2019 Shooting of Mauris DeSilva

Death led to calls for better mental health crisis response

"...5:00 p.m. on July 31, one of DeSilva’s neighbors called 911 to report that the Ph.D. neuroscientist, originally from..."

Aug. 27, 2021 News Post by Austin Sanders

Room for the Unexpected

With the budget season not yet in full swing, there's still time for hope

"...And yes, departments are still expected to do magically more with less. Despite the fact that Austin is..."

July 1, 2011 News Feature by Wells Dunbar

Naked City

Headlines and happenings from Austin and beyond

"...• Ironically, across downtown from the Klan rally, Austin civil rights..."

Nov. 11, 2005 News Feature

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