NORFOLK, Va. — Inside the 911 Call Center in Norfolk, city officials said staff are stretched thin. There’s a new partnership between Southside cities that could help take some burden off 911 call takers, however.
"The thing that keeps me up at night is knowing folks might have to wait when they call 911 just because of the staffing shortages," said Jim Redick, the director of Norfolk's Emergency Preparedness & Response.
Out of 72 slotted positions, Redick said they have 28 vacancies.
"We are at dangerously low levels, but Norfolk is not alone," Redick said. "That is all of our localities, the region and the nation.”
Tuesday night, Norfolk City Council members voted to sign an agreement to participate in the Hampton Roads Computer Aided Dispatch Interoperability Project which will allow real-time dispatch of emergency services and information sharing between the cities.
"Participating localities that we will eventually get to be able to dispatch resources from both sides of the border," Redick said. "So, if there was a Chesapeake asset closer to a Norfolk home, then our folks would be able to do dispatch to that resource.”
But Redick said this is just an operational benefit later down the road. Right now, he said his department is trying to invest in other technology to aid call takers.
One example, is giving private alarm companies access to the dispatch system.
“They will be able to enter that information into our CAD directly, so bypass that call taking the time and air and anything else and go right into the system for a quicker response," Redick said.
Redick said some new employees are going through training right now. He said the city offers competitive pay at $39,226.
“And the benefits package and you could literally come out of high school making a good salary and the start of a good career," Redick said.
While the job is stressful, Redick said it’s rewarding.
“It’s an opportunity to work with some amazing people," Redick said. "They are the first of the first responders, they are heroes in there and its incredibly rewarding.”
Chesapeake, Virginia Beach, Suffolk and Portsmouth are the other cities included in the partnership.