Atlanta's emergency call system is clogged with non-emergencies, causing city officials to scramble for solutions after a troubling spike in 911 calls, many of which are about trivial matters like pillow-moving and sports scores. According to FOX 5 Atlanta, calls to 911 in the metro region surged by 14% in 2023, yet only a fraction were legitimate emergencies.
Atlanta Police Department's chief administrative officer, Peter Aman, reported to the city council’s public safety committee that out of 1.3 million calls managed by ATL's E-911 center last year, only 45,000 were deemed serious emergencies with just 900 involving shootings or stabbings, there's a steady stream of these calls for when someone can't switch channels or when a spider appears menacing. "Just wasted resources," voiced Public Safety Committee Chairwoman Andrea L. Boone, as reported by FOX 5.
In response to the increase in non-emergency calls, the city is launching initiatives to redirect calls to a new number and educate the public. "We are rolling out the make the right call campaign," Boone said in a statement obtained by Atlanta News First, "to make sure people know to call 311 instead of 911." The city plans to hire more 911 operators and deploy technology to expedite call processing to alleviate the pressure on emergency services.
While some improvements have been seen, such as a decrease in call wait times from 29 to 24 seconds, Aman has emphasized the continuous challenge the volume of non-emergency calls presents; meanwhile, APD has been investing in modern infrastructures, such as ESINet for better call routing accuracy and Carbyne Universe for media-rich communications, all while facing the hurdles of transitioning to these new systems, which has paradoxically led to higher wait times temporarily. The city's E-911 center has also been grappling with staffing issues, operating with 155 full-time employees against a budget for 170 positions.
