MOUNT VERNON — The Knox County 911 center answered 99.8% of emergency calls within 15 seconds in October. The national standard is 90%.
Operations Director Rick Lanuzza reported the figures to the county commissioners Thursday.
The National Emergency Number Association sets the benchmark. Dispatchers also answered 84% of 911 calls within three seconds.
“We start looking at some of the calls that take a little bit longer to answer,” Lanuzza said, adding that slower answers often happen when callers hang up, or all dispatchers are on other calls.
The center handled 9,231 calls in all, an average of 298 a day, about one call every 5 minutes.
Of those, 1,528 were 911 calls; dispatchers also took 4,877 non-emergency calls.
Non-emergency calls come in on the seven-digit numbers for police, the sheriff’s office and other local law enforcement or fire agencies. Lanuzza said some residents still dial those lines in real emergencies.
“Some people still don’t think that their emergency is an emergency,” he said.
The remaining calls were outgoing administrative calls, such as calling tow trucks.
Dispatchers entered 3,839 incidents into the computer-aided dispatch system, about 122 a day on average. Law enforcement accounted for 2,748 incidents. Fire and EMS accounted for 1,091.
Through October, the center had handled 40,580 calls. Lanuzza projected nearly 49,000 for the year.
At the commissioners’ request, he split call volume by agency into two charts. The first compares the sheriff’s office and Mount Vernon police. The second covers Fredericktown police, Danville police and animal control.
Commissioner Barry Lester said the sheriff’s and Mount Vernon totals were “a lot closer” than expected.
Thursday busiest day
Thursday was the busiest day for both 911 and non-emergency calls, with 911 calls peaking at 3 p.m. and non-emergency calls peaking at 2 p.m.
Lanuzza said the busiest day changes every month. Tuesday led in September.
“Our business is a complete guessing game,” he said.
About 86% of 911 calls came from cell phones. Five were text messages, and Lanuzza said some came from people testing the system.
Domestic violence calls rise
Domestic violence calls rose to 41 in October compared to 28 in September. That nearly matched the year’s high of 42 in March.
Burglaries also rose July through October compared to January through June.
However, the year-over-year trend for domestic violence and burglary is decreasing.
Lanuzza noted that a suicide occurred in November. It will appear in next month’s totals. He sits on the Knox County Mental Health and Recovery Board. He said the board is exploring a link between 911 and the 988 crisis line to connect people with services.
Staffing remains tight
The center employs 20 dispatchers. Lanuzza said 22 to 24 would be ideal.
Four new hires are in training. One works midnights (midnight to 8 a.m.), two work days (8 a.m. to 4 p.m.) and one works afternoons (4 p.m. to midnight). Midnights are the slowest shift.
One experienced dispatcher is leaving for a job in Michigan.
Space is tight when several trainees work the same shift, Lanuzza said. He and a career center official plan to discuss a possible training pipeline. The school is still launching its law enforcement program.
IT staff finished a second rebuild of the center’s systems, adding new surge protectors. Staff continues to update policies and procedures.
Dispatchers also staffed a career fair in Fredericktown and fire prevention open houses in Mount Vernon and Centerburg.
