Improving San José Police Department’s 9-1-1/3-1-1 Call Answering Time When Seconds Count

Conclusions 7

• CL1 Page 20
  Utilizing chronically understaffed highly-trained emergency personnel to answer non-emergency and TRAC calls is inefficient.
• CL2 Page 20
  SJPD Communications is chronically understaffed due to: ineffective recruiting practices; lengthy hiring timelines; staffing vacancies; and salaries that are lower than other local PSAPs.
• CL3 Page 21
  SJPD Communications personnel are civilian employees and often perceive their positions as less valued than sworn positions within the Department, thus adversely affecting their morale.
• CL4 Page 21
  Most other PSAPs in Santa Clara County use the South Bay Regional Public Safety Consortium for initial training. SJPD Communications conducts all its training in-house to the exclusion of other available training resources, adversely impacting its ability to timely fill positions.
• CL5 Page 19
  During the course of the investigation, the Grand Jury identified multiple factors contributing to the long call answering times at the chronically understaffed SJPD Communications Center over which the City has various levels of control. The Grand Jury found many of the same issues had been discussed in reports and audits as far back as 1995, and that until those issues are meaningfully addressed, the SJPD Communications Center will continue to be chronically understaffed and have unacceptably long call answering times.  There is a nationwide systemic problem. As reported in the Wall Street Journal on August 4, 2018, “Cities across the U.S. are struggling to find 9-1-1 dispatchers as a historically tight labor market makes it harder to fill a job that was already a tough sell.”  The City of San José’s 1997 decision to include 3-1-1 and TRAC calls in SJPD’s Communications Center’s duties has negatively impacted the SJPD Communications Center’s ability to meet State- and City-mandated 9-1-1 call answering times.  To help address the understaffing problem, in part caused by the SJPD’s unique approach to hiring, there are multiple recruiting, hiring, and training processes that could benefit from being streamlined.  SJPD’s policy of not accepting lateral transfers from other agencies or recognizing other POST Dispatch Academies creates a barrier to hiring qualified personnel from a broader candidate pool.  Morale issues identified in the City’s 1995 Audit of the San José Police Department - Communications Division’s Staffing and Scheduling remain issues in the 2019 City Audit of 9-1-1 and 3-1-1, including extensive overtime, and limited, potentially unsafe parking options during night shift.  Because issues regarding wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment are subject to labor negotiations, the City, SJPD, and the designated bargaining unit are all stakeholders in resolving these issues which impact the welfare of the employees, the agencies, and the community as a whole.
• CL6 Page 20
  FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FINDING 1 Utilizing chronically understaffed highly-trained emergency personnel to answer non-emergency and TRAC calls is inefficient. RECOMMENDATION 1 The City should remove non-emergency call-taking and TRAC responsibilities from SJPD Communications, while maintaining the current authorized headcount by December 2020. FINDING 2 SJPD Communications is chronically understaffed due to: ineffective recruiting practices; lengthy hiring timelines; staffing vacancies; and salaries that are lower than other local PSAPs. RECOMMENDATION 2a To improve recruiting practices, the City recruiting staff should develop a recruitment plan for SJPD Communications positions dedicated to outreach and recruitment and complete a written plan by January 2020. The plan should review the salaries of local PSAPs for competitiveness and focus on creative solutions already in place at other PSAPs, to include part-time and per diem employees. RECOMMENDATION 2b To reduce the loss of applicants during the hiring process, the City should examine the delays associated with the current hiring process and develop a strategy to reduce the timeframe from application to hire date and complete a written plan by January 2020. RECOMMENDATION 2c To better address staffing vacancies, the City should develop a strategy to over hire to address the historic vacancy and high attrition rates, and in anticipation of retirements and other known future vacancies. RECOMMENDATION 2d To increase the recruiting pool of potential new hires, the City should recognize external POST- certified training programs.
• CL7 Page 21
  FINDING 3 SJPD Communications personnel are civilian employees and often perceive their positions as less valued than sworn positions within the Department, thus adversely affecting their morale. RECOMMENDATION 3 The City should conduct an employee survey of SJPD Communications staff with a commitment to discuss the results directly with employees. Additionally, the City should develop a plan to address issues that create poor morale. FINDING 4 Most other PSAPs in Santa Clara County use the South Bay Regional Public Safety Consortium for initial training. SJPD Communications conducts all its training in-house to the exclusion of other available training resources, adversely impacting its ability to timely fill positions. RECOMMENDATION 4 The City should develop alternative training strategies to include use of other available training resources in addition to the in-house SJPD training by January 2020.