911 Services

Anyone who has ever been involved in a disaster understands the importance of 911 services. As captured in this Alert Net report, 911 services played an important role in the Great Blizzard of 2010 when record levels of snow were dumped on communities throughout the Northeast.

In New York, 911 services received nearly 50,000 calls. At its peak, this platform had a backlog of 1,300 calls that nearly brought the service to a standstill. Unfortunately, this disaster demonstrated some of the weaknesses in the 911 services in New York as 911 failures and the inability of EMS ambulances to get through the snowdrifts likely contributed to unnecessary deaths.

Citizens looked to elected officials to answer for the problems with 911 services and the failure to meet the unprecedented volume of emergency calls. The end result – after a riveting game of pass the buck – was the typical promises of taking the necessary steps to ensure the crisis never occurs again. To make sure this happens, however, actions must take precedence over words.

For the necessary actions to take place, however, the right people have to know where the problem with 911 services started in the first place. The technology is not so much to blame as the misappropriation of funds that is taking place at the government levels. Every year, states and localities collect hundreds of millions of dollars to support 911 services, yet much of it gets diverted to plug state budget holes and meet a range of other costly demands.

Even more disturbing is the fact that 911 services are technologically bankrupt, a problem that is not highlighted until something goes deadly wrong. Citizens have every right to voice their concerns, given they are paying for a service that is being ignored. Monies for 911 services are a direct surcharge on customer phone bills, and can be anywhere from $0.25 to $1.50 per month per phone line.

With so much money coming in to support 911 services, technology should be at the leading edge. Instead, these platforms are barely held together, operating at minimal capacities.

It can easily be argued that the same politicians pointing fingers in the aftermath of a disaster should be the same ones held accountable for the mishandling of funds for the nation’s 911 services. If changes are not made and quickly, the next Great Blizzard or Great Flood or even another Katrina could easily lead to the additional – and needless – loss of life.