Why it's taking longer for 911 calls to be answered in Waterloo region

Phones have been ringing longer than usual in the Region of Waterloo's 911 dispatch centre in recent months, a trend the police chief attributes to rising call volumes and a shortage of dispatch staff. 

The Waterloo Regional Police Service is in charge of the 911 call centre that is the first point of contact for local police, fire and ambulance calls.

The service aims to have 90 per cent of 911 calls answered within 15 seconds, in line with an international standard set by the National Emergency Number Association. 

But in the last three months of 2021, the region's call centre only hit that target 74 per cent of the time, according to a recent report that went before the police services board. The average delay to answer calls for police, fire and ambulance was 25 seconds. 

Blake Bailey, 21, said he called 911 earlier in January to report a road rage incident.

"It kept ringing, ringing, ringing, [until] I gave up," said Bailey, who told CBC Kitchener-Waterloo he later got through to police using his car's roadside assistance button. 

"I just feel like they need a better system for people … that could be really hurt, or they could be in danger."

Like many employers, Waterloo Regional Police Chief Bryan Larkin said the call centre has been hit by staffing shortages. Meanwhile, he said there's a growing number of emergency calls coming in. 

"I'm not sure that people realize the amount of volume that comes in," said Larkin. 

The heightened pressure on the call centre means dispatchers often work 12-hour days with few breaks, said union head Mark Egers. Even so, he said, there are times when staff can't answer calls as quickly as they'd like.  

"They take enormous pride in their work … they want to help people, they want to answer the 911 calls," said Egers, president of the Waterloo Regional Police Association, which also represents staff at the dispatch centre.

"It's a huge stressor for our members not being able to get there as fast as they want."

Larkin said 15 new full-time dispatchers have recently been hired, though the dispatch centre is still looking for part-time staff. 

Larkin said he believes the call centre is still providing a good level of service, overall, though he said there's "room for improvement" on general inquiry, or non-emergency, calls.