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Auditor's Office says King County 9-1-1 center underuses behavioral-health alternatives and relies on overtime; sheriff agrees to act
Summary
An Auditor's Office report found the Sheriff's 9-1-1 Communications Center makes limited use of behavioral-health alternatives (no transfers to 988/Crisis Connections in the audit sample), relies on overtime to meet timeliness standards, and faces staffing and language-access challenges; the sheriff concurred with recommendations.
The King County Auditor's Office told the Government Accountability and Oversight Committee on Feb. 10 that the Sheriff's Office 9-1-1 Communications Center underuses behavioral-health alternatives, is understaffed relative to its budgeted positions, and meets call-answer timeliness standards by relying heavily on overtime.
Brooke Leary, audit director, introduced the report and said the comm center fields more than 300,000 emergency calls and 200,000 non-emergency calls per year. Luke from the Auditor's Office said auditors reviewed audio and records tied to 153 incidents coded as mental-health related; 46% of those incidents resulted in police dispatch and auditors found none in the sample were…
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