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County moves to redirect nonemergency callers to 311 and 988; online reporting still limited
Summary
County officials described efforts to expand telephone reporting and to educate residents to use 311 and 988 for nonemergencies; staff cautioned that current online-reporting products require staff transcription and therefore are not yet a full substitute for voice triage.
County staff told the committee that a significant share of 911 calls (staff estimated roughly 60% in some remarks) would be better routed to other services and that the ECC is developing outreach and transfer protocols to reduce unnecessary 911 volume. "At least 60% of the calls that come into 911 shouldn't go to 911," an ECC official said during the briefing, and staff proposed public-education campaigns to channel the public to 311 or 988 when appropriate.
Panelists described telephone-reporting expansion (calls still triaged through ECC before routing) and warned that off-the-shelf online-reporting systems tested so far require back-end staff to convert submissions into formal reports. On crisis transfers, county staff reported that transfer-to-988 is already in practice: "It's happening. We transfer the calls to every minor 988 and or the crisis center," a panelist stated. Officials emphasized that public education, better online tools and funding to staff alternate lines will be necessary to reduce 911 load and hold times.
