DEPARTMENT: Police Department
DEPARTMENT HEAD: William P. McManus, Chief of Police
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: Citywide
SUBJECT:
Communications Center Update
SUMMARY:
The San Antonio Police Department hired Berkshire Advisors to conduct a review of current Communications Center operations and provide recommendations for staffing improvements to attain NENA Standards. The consultant recommended hiring additional call takers, supervisors and aligning the personnel schedules with peak call volumes. The Office of the City Auditor also conducted a review of the Communications Center and confirmed the need for additional staffing.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The Communications Center has made short-term improvements in (1) Grade of Service (GOS), (2) Answer Rate; and (3) Abandoned Call Rate, through
1. Voluntary overtime;
2. Moving expediters to call taking positions; and
3. Added 25 Call Takers during the mid-year 2016 budget process.
|
Year |
Avg. Grade of Service |
Avg. Answer Time |
911 Abandoned % |
|
Week of 8/5-8/11/16 |
94.8% |
8.79 sec |
14.3% |
|
2016 YTD* |
82.3% |
11.9 sec |
18.4% |
|
2015 YTD* |
65.4% |
18.1 sec |
22.4% |
|
2015 |
53.3% |
19.1 sec |
22.0% |
|
*Year-To-Date Jan 1-August 4, 2016 |
ISSUE:
Berkshire Advisors recommended the following:
1. Call Taker positions should increase from 93 to 142 FTE;
2. Modify the current staffing hybrid staffing model;
3. Segregated from non-emergency operations within the Communications Center; and
4. Hire additional supervisory staff to provide a ratio of eight (8) FTEs to every one (1) Supervisor.
The Office of the City Auditor also conducted a review of the Communications Center and its draft report:
1. Confirms the need for additional Call Taker staffing;
2. Recommends adding staff to implement a quality improvement process; and
3. Launching a public education campaign, to ensure the citizens of San Antonio know when to call 911, and when to use the non-emergency line.
Next Steps:
1) Implement a two-year staffing plan:
a. FY17 add 42 FTE (28 Call Takers, 9 Supervisors, 3 QA/QI, and 2 Paralegals)
i. Estimated Performance Metrics after adding these positions
1. Grade of Service 83.6%
2. Abandoned Call Rate 10.0%
3. Average Answer Time 7.8%
b. FY 18 add 35 FTE (23 Call Takers, 9 Supervisors, 1 Assistant Manager, and 2 Training Officers).
i. Estimated Performance Metrics after adding these positions
1. Grade of Service 91.7%
2. Abandoned Call Rate 7.0%
3. Average Answer Time 5.2%
2) Align the staffing schedules in accordance with the consultant and auditor recommendations.
3) Separate the emergency and non-emergency calls within the Communications Center.
4) Add a quality assurance and improvement function.
5) Kick off public education campaign by the first quarter of fiscal year 2017, with ongoing efforts through the remainder of the fiscal year.
RECOMMENDATION:
The Department recommends continuing all efforts to improve the grade of service in the SAPD Communications Center, including implementation of all consultant and auditor staffing recommendations.