AUDIT COMMITTEE SUMMARY
January 29, 2019
Follow-Up Audit of Police and Fire Departments
9-1-1 Operations and Response Time Reporting
Report Issued December 17, 2018
Audit Objective
Determine if prior audit recommendations are successfully implemented and working as intended.
Background
In December of 2016, the Office of the City Auditor completed an audit of 9-1-1 operations and response time reporting. The objectives and conclusions of the 2016 audit were as follows:
Determine if the City’s 9-1-1 call answering process is properly managed.
The Office of the City Auditor concluded that the City’s call answering process was properly managed. However, 11 recommendations were made to further strengthen existing controls and processes surrounding the 9-1-1 call answering process.
Determine if the Police and Fire Departments’ response times are accurately calculated and properly reported.
The Office of the City Auditor concluded that the Police and Fire Departments’ response times were accurately calculated and properly reported based on the departmental reporting models in use. However, two recommendations were made to further enhance transparency and accuracy.
SAPD and SAFD management agreed with the conclusions and developed action plans to address 12 of the 13 audit recommendations. The SAFD declined an audit recommendation to reduce staffing costs in the call answering process by incorporating civilian call takers and dispatchers.
Audit Scope & Methodology
The audit scope was limited to the recommendations and corrective action plans made in the original report for January 2017 through February 2018, as well as current and/or continuing activities observed during the audit (e.g. public education and business continuity planning).
Our methodology included interviews with management and staff from SAPD and SAFD. Testing criteria included the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Security Policy, Version 5.6 and National Emergency Number Association (NENA) standards. We relied on computer-processed data and reports from SAP, the 9-1-1 Computer Aided Dispatch System, and eCATS (the call answering reporting system) to validate progress on action plans.
Audit Conclusions
We determined that seven of 12 action plans were successfully implemented.
The San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) and San Antonio Fire Department (SAFD) have collaborated to develop and test a joint business continuity plan for the 9-1-1 call center, increase public education on the use of 9-1-1, and implement an interlocal agreement with Bexar Metro 9-1-1 that outlines responsibilities and roles related to 9-1-1 operations.
Additionally, the SAPD has successfully implemented three department-specific action plans. The SAPD adjusted call center staffing levels to meet call answering standards, implemented controls to ensure that Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) mandated security training is completed and properly documented, and developed and implemented a call quality review process.
The SAFD has successfully implemented its action plan to adopt a formal standard for answering calls. The SAFD has also partially implemented three action plans relating to reducing call answer times, implementing a call quality review process, and reporting emergency response times; however, additional effort is needed.
Two action plans were not implemented. The SAPD did not implement the action plan relating to reported response times. Additionally, the SAFD did not implement adequate controls to ensure that their personnel meet CJIS Security Policy requirements pertaining to background checks.
We made recommendations to address the issues. Management concurred with the updated recommendations and developed positive corrective action plan