ABSTRACT

Introduction: In an effort to improve efficiency and prioritization of its 911 police calls, the City of Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, implemented the Police Priority Dispatch System (PPDS) in its 911 center on March 1st, 2023. After a year of usage, call-processing time and call prioritization efficiency were compared to the previously used system.
Objectives: To compare 911 call prioritization and call-processing times before and after implementing PPDS.
Methods: This retrospective descriptive study analyzed emergency police dispatch data collected before and after implementing the PPDS.
Results: Overall, the percentage of high priority cases decreased, PPDS significantly reduced overall call-processing time from 152 to 148 seconds. PPDS also reduced call-processing time for the high priority calls.
Conclusions: PPDS significantly decreased both frequency and call-processing time of high-priority cases assigned at dispatch. These findings can be utilized to enhance efficiency, and potentially reduce response times for high-priority police cases assigned at dispatch.

REFERENCES

1.     Messinger S et al. The Distribution Of Emergency Police Dispatch Call Incident Types and Priority Levels Within the Police Priority Dispatch System. Annals of Emergency Dispatch & Response. 2013; 1(2):12-17.
2.     Warner D et al. Characterization of Call Prioritization Time in a Police Priority Dispatch System. Annals of Emergency Dispatch & Response. 2014;2(2):17-23.