[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6539681,"mediaKeyId","3626708-b44c94e9156c6d087ecb984ea3513ec8","parentId",3626708,"title","Committee reviews side-by-side 911 data as Richmond Ambulance Authority seeks return of medical dispatch","audioSeconds",1903,"startMs",3499000,"endMs",5402000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3626708-b44c94e9156c6d087ecb984ea3513ec8&start=3499&end=5402","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3626708-b44c94e9156c6d087ecb984ea3513ec8/thumbnail_3499000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6539681/Richmond-City-Independent-City/Virginia/Committee-reviews-side-by-side-911-data-as-Richmond-Ambulance-Authority-seeks-return-of-medical-dispatch","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6539681-14b43e74374c2ad0fd796a3a14c271d1/orig.mp4?Expires=1771137390&Signature=c7H5fj3GC6pvkZRwjNtT85Rf2Dr143FwlqrtlQfL2dVSnacGRpQezuoj5FYIHBgtWYDBGrUQohVYK1kRaGimGuqAKZb-ws2y5WSdLbpM6H9tEJIOyuOs9Q~wZpEM4h2tY4PE5r564J-K1ZYVX-y4I-iRi~~lO379eDNLAdOGBVl4fB60qqaG9ZvEacG7EP0X7NzvDKsj2-bA88SySizzj5ILd2odNwSd4muIrZz6IZ6ROkuA8orUL4U2mu35ty-ORpMjRVHPkkv17lUWMsuJ1nG9cyS0--MQUrFEOrYBCKbqjbmmFjmZgOscYS~oNsFJEB2omkSjYpaCKk5gJSZVuA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Richmond City","date","2025-05-29T00:00:00Z","article","The Public Safety Standing Committee reviewed a side-by-side comparison of call-answering and dispatch data from the Department of Emergency Communications, Preparedness and Response (DECPR) and the Richmond Ambulance Authority (RAA) as committee members pressed officials for clarity about a July 2024 operational change that shifted emergency medical dispatch (EMD) functions.

Tory May, DECPR deputy director of operations, said the chart provided to the committee was an attempt to create an \"apples to apples\" comparison over a six-month window and cautioned that the data \"fluctuate[s] week in and week out.\" She described DECPR’s figures as the October–March snapshot and said meeting the 90% standard for calls answered in a target time is difficult but that DECPR’s staffing and the nature of high-impact incidents can cause daily variations: \"The snapshot that was provided was a 6 month window...the percentages that are shown there, our data is showing from October first of 2024.\" She added that DECPR currently handles calls for police, fire, EMS and animal control and that the mix of those calls affects answer-time metrics.

Chip Decker, chief executive officer of the Richmond Ambulance Authority, told the committee RAA’s board voted to support the return of emergency medical dispatch to the ambulance authority, arguing RAA has a long experience in medical triage and pre-arrival instructions and that RAA can reduce misprioritization. \"The data shows that we can assist in making the whole experience more successful,\" Decker said, and he described instances in which calls are ‘‘under prioritized’’ or lack medical detail until callers are called back.

DECPR staff explained the administrative reasons for the 2024 change: a consultant review recommended consolidating functions and state code required 911 centers to ensure staff had EMD training by July 1, 2024. DECPR told the committee that transferring medical calls previously added about 60–65 seconds to the processing chain when callers were placed with RAA, but DECPR said it made the change to comply with the new requirement and to avoid a continued transfer process.

Committee members asked for more up-to-date and granular figures and for a site visit to each call center. One councilmember summed up the practical concern: for a caller needing an ambulance, what matters most is that the right resource is dispatched as quickly as possible. DECPR acknowledged the 911 system’s pressure points — it described Richmond as the state’s second-busiest public safety answering point — and said the phone system’s automated announcement threshold was recently adjusted from 3 seconds to 20 seconds to reduce the chance callers hear an automated message while a call is being answered.

The committee also heard that the RAA board has formally requested returning EMD responsibilities to the ambulance authority; RAA’s Decker said medical dispatchers bring specialized, protocol-driven questioning that can be critical for pre-arrival instructions such as CPR guidance. DECPR officials described ongoing refresher training and said in-person refresher sessions are scheduled before August 1 to improve categorization accuracy.

The committee did not take a vote. Members asked staff to arrange facility visits at both DECPR and RAA, to provide updated weekly or monthly answer-time reports and to follow up on counts of calls routed to automated messages or that receive callbacks. The committee indicated it will revisit the issue next month.

Ending: DECPR and RAA agreed to provide additional data and accommodate site visits; RAA’s board vote in favor of reclaiming EMD was noted as a formal position the council will consider moving forward.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Richmond City - Public Safety Standing Committee on 2025-05-29 1:00 PM - To access the meeting via Microsoft Teams, please use the following link:https://go.rva.gov/PublicSafety-May29 or dial *67-804-316-9457 and enter ID: 983 855 939#. - May 29, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Department of Emergency Communications, Preparedness and Response (DECPR) and Richmond Ambulance Authority officials presented side-by-side 911 data to the Public Safety Standing Committee as RAA reiterated its board’s request to resume emergency medical dispatch.","taxTitle","Richmond City (Independent City), Virginia","taxId",5755,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6539686,"Richmond housing authority outlines summer safety plan for public-housing hot spots",2325,1151000,3476000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3626708-b44c94e9156c6d087ecb984ea3513ec8&start=1151&end=3476","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3626708-b44c94e9156c6d087ecb984ea3513ec8/thumbnail_1151000.jpg","/articles/6539686/Richmond-City-Independent-City/Virginia/Richmond-housing-authority-outlines-summer-safety-plan-for-public-housing-hot-spots","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6539686-2d96d5516501783cf3151935368f2413/orig.mp4?Expires=1771137390&Signature=ob3TlrwK9wzJs2cDBxjuaO~4j8-Hvc1MuFy6VpuKCEpaaC1~UYRS3f8JZ9KS~His3CvYDLhLmQkmjIGiWznkS0GdAucGYxbYfRgxMeGaTGpavhvHpWY3ZGxrqZmIDH58p-fltG8JCFINdoXgnI0EonH8EG6aB3~pM9jbNWwh1uDVfs~N5yorDr6XzzZAeQmaPy-XmJG2x0hjWamNbYP2nKzRL1uCFd42GNGSWoDy~w~nMXqaYyGD5wD1Tz50O8QLv0yvyqPj070ouo1Yz4~~5FSxjX8TUrOmRng2pDnPqyC4vNsqOjzcApSnfrMPqYqVQaewH~LD7vAArWT2DROhNw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Steven Nesmith, chief executive officer of the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority (RHA), told the Public Safety Standing Committee that RHA will roll out a multi-pronged safety strategy in its six high-need public-housing sites, including summer youth employment, de-escalation training, a tip line and targeted lease enforcement.

RHA is pursuing those steps, Nesmith said, because \"year to date, we are 3 more homicides than we were at this time last year,\" a statistic he said gives the agency a \"sense of urgency.\" He told the committee the plan pairs expanded resident services and youth programming with enforcement against people who use public-housing units to sell or store guns and drugs.

Nesmith said the strategy focuses on three lines of work: prevention (youth employment and safe spaces), resident engagement (anonymous tip line and community outreach) and enforcement (use of RHA lease remedies). \"Idle minds and idle time is a devil's workshop,\" he said, and RHA will try to reduce idle time by funding jobs and safe recreational spaces.

RHA said it has secured 50 summer employment slots specifically earmarked for public-housing residents through a city partnership; the agency also described ongoing STEM labs, a youth leadership program for ages 8–13 and internships across agency offices. Vice President for Resident Services Ralph Stuckey told the committee RHA has run a summer youth employment program for about five years and this year is coordinating with the city’s larger summer program to place youth in agency offices and technology roles.

On training, RHA said it will restart a third‑party de‑escalation program called RealLife — funded by a grant the authority sought from the state attorney general’s office — and deploy trained de‑escalation specialists to management offices to mediate resident disputes before they result in eviction or criminal enforcement.

RHA also described a stepped-up enforcement posture when it finds public-housing units being used to harbor guns or drugs. Nesmith told the committee RHA will make “better use of what’s called our 2,130 lease enforcement,” describing a process in which tenants would be given 21 days to abate problematic uses of a unit or face eviction: “When we see things are wrong, then, you have 21 days to abate or correct what’s going on. If not, you’re gone.” (The transcript referenced the enforcement as “2,130 lease enforcement.”)

Agency staff emphasized resident-facing measures intended to avoid retaliation for callers who report tips. Nesmith said RHA launched an “If you see something, you say something” campaign and an anonymous tip line, and Corey Franklin, RHA’s senior vice president of affordable housing, described community cleanups, pop‑up community walks with Richmond Police Department officers, and planned National Night Out events to build relationships between residents and law enforcement.

Chief Rick Edwards of the Richmond Police Department joined the discussion and described the department’s summer plans to open gyms and other safe spaces and to coordinate “pop up” hot-spot events where RPD, RHA and community groups will be present. Edwards warned that social-media videos of fights sometimes precede real-world gun violence: \"Adults are present filming it, and they captured on that film her murder,\" he said, urging adults to intervene rather than record.

NAACP Richmond branch president James “JJ” Minor said the NAACP will partner on a citywide “Local Day Out” community outreach event on June 6 and encouraged citywide participation; he asked for figures on guns and drugs seized and arrests made during recent enforcement actions.

Committee members pressed RHA for specifics and timelines. Nesmith said community meetings to present the plan will begin with an ice-cream social kickoff in Gilpin Court in June and roll out to Creighton and other sites. RHA agreed to return with metrics and an update in the fall; Nesmith and staff told the committee they will measure immediate outputs (number of youth placed in jobs and safe spaces) alongside crime statistics and longer-term measures of resident self-sufficiency.

No formal committee action was taken; members asked RHA to report back in a couple of months with metrics and progress.

Ending: Committee members asked for a formal progress update; RHA committed to return in the fall with metrics tracking youth placements, monthly crime snapshots and measures of resident self-sufficiency.","Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority officials told the Public Safety Standing Committee they will expand youth jobs, de-escalation training, tip lines and lease enforcement in six public-housing “hot spots” after reporting a year-to-date rise in homicides in those communities.","actionData","errors"]

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Committee reviews side-by-side 911 data as Richmond Ambulance Authority seeks return of medical dispatch

Richmond housing authority outlines summer safety plan for public-housing hot spots