Next Generation 911 is being integrated by public safety agencies in their goal to enhance emergency services through improved communications powered by wireless technology. As more and more communities are adopting NG911 technology, agencies need to adapt to the changes that it will require – one of which is the staffing needs of the 911 centers.

With his proficiency in data crunching, Peter Bellmio is back on Justice Clearinghouse, this time around to discuss staffing 911 centers. Peter is a Criminal Justice Management Consultant who assesses workload data to develop a scheduling and staffing plan. With his extensive experience in this arena, his expertise is sought by many law enforcement and first responder agencies to ensure that they are equipped and staffed efficiently to serve the needs of their communities.

Points Peter addressed on this course include:

• The issues that come along with NG911 implementation as budget, potential legal concerns on information sharing, and transition to and familiarization with new systems, policies, and procedures.
• How the NG911 drives staffing needs as it changes how the agencies work when it comes to screening, prioritizing and distributing calls for service.
• The staffing questions and issues that NG911 agencies must address to arrive at an efficient staffing plan that maximizes NG911’s capabilities.
• The standards that agencies must adhere to in their tasks, the disparate sources of information and data that agencies must collect and collate to be able to correctly conduct a workload analysis.
• The Queueview Staffing Model that may be used by providing all necessary call data used to calculate actual staffing needed.
• An overview of the numbers required and the data processing involved in a dispatcher workload analysis.
• Recommendations to streamline staffing and processes in an NG911 agency.
• Using NG911 staffing data as basis for performance metrics, and baseline to understand the overall impact of the initiative.
• Audience questions Peter addressed were about:
  • How funding for 911 centers are determined.
  • The need for a dedicated IT support personnel to address NG911 technology issues or questions.
  • The limitations of software and tools like QueueView.
  • The skills training that frontline supervisors should be getting.
  • How having 311 centers affects the workload of 911 centers and the dynamics between the two.
  • Call taking standards for 911 centers.

Audience Comments

• “Knowing what the average goal for answering emergency and non-emergency calls.” — Marla
• “NG 911 growing pains are internationally similar!” — Dan
• “Reassures my talking points with my Administration on the future measures we need to take to properly staff our 911 Center.” — Edward
• “Metrics are very useful to back up the decision-making process.” — Lynn
• “Excellent” — Robert