Update: At 10:45 PM Tuesday 7/2/24, the Oakland Police Department released a media statement saying Cal OES is now collaborating with OPD after learning the department will not make the upcoming July 26 deadline to improve its 911 response times. In a new letter, Cal OES told OPD it "...will take no further action. In the event the answer times standard does not improve, Oakland PD may be subject to referral to the Attorney General for further action."
After July 26, Oakland may lose state funding for its emergency communications center and be forced to reroute all its 911 calls through another agency’s calling center.
These are the harsh consequences Oakland Police Department’s 911 center may face because it’s not able to improve its 911 emergency response time in time for a deadline set by state officials.
In a recent interview with NBC Bay Area’s Investigative Unit, Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao confirmed the city will not meet the July 26 deadline to answer 90% of all its calls within a 15-second window set by the California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES).
Oakland had one year to comply with Cal OES standards. The state agency sent the city a warning letter on July 26, 2023 after NBC Bay Area started asking questions about Oakland’s long 911 response times in June 2023. Our news organization also asked about Cal OES’ lack of oversight of the city’s system as well as other 911 systems across the state. So far in 2024, Cal OES has not completed any of its financial and operation reviews of the approximately 440 911 centers across California. It completed only 22 reviews last year. The agency cited staffing issues during its last State 9-1-1 Advisory Board meeting. Staff said they have done some hiring.
On a recent call with NBC Bay Area, Cal OES spokesperson Amy Palmer said the agency stands by its warning letter to Oakland last year. According to the letter, if Oakland can’t comply by July 26, 2024, “Oakland Police Department will no longer be eligible for SETNA (State Emergency Telephone Account) funding and will reroute 911 calls to another PSAP.” A PSAP is a public safety answering point, also known as a 911 calling center.
“At the end of the day, I don't know how that would be helpful to actually farm out the 911 calls,” Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao told NBC Bay Area.
A series of NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit reports that started on July 7, 2023 revealed Oakland’s 911 wait times were the worst out of any city or county’s 911 center in the state. Its average wait times were commonly three to four times higher than the state mandate.
In June 2024, the average answer time was 50 seconds, a slight improvement from 54 seconds this time last year.
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This slight improvement does point to progress this past year under her administration, Mayor Thao said. She was sworn into office in January 2023 just months before NBC Bay Area’s first 911 report.
“My administration made the most substantial investment in Oakland's 911 system in years. And as a result, our 911 dispatch is nearly fully staffed,” she said. “But the reality is that our 911 challenges, it didn't just appear overnight, and they were ignored for years. In fact, Oakland has not reached answering speed standards in at least six years.”
Mayor Thao urged patience as new dispatchers are trained and the city prepares for an overhaul to its decades-old system.
“Under my administration, we’re going to continue to invest in 911, even with this budget deficit,” Mayor Thao said.
On September 11, 2023, Mayor Thao announced a $2.5 million investment into Oakland’s 911 center to fill vacant dispatcher positions and upgrade equipment.
In August 2023, only 37% of 911 calls in Oakland were answered within 15 seconds, her spokesperson told NBC Bay Area. That number improved to 50% in December 2023, and as of March 2024 it increased to 55%.
The percentage dropped to 47% in May 2024. According to Mayor Thao’s team, more than a third of OPD’s dispatchers are new and can’t take calls on their own yet. Veteran dispatchers need to leave their call stations to train newer dispatchers for now.
“We're encouraged by the progress that we have. But of course, it's still a long road ahead of us,” Mayor Thao said.
Currently 71 out of OPD’s 76 911 dispatcher positions are filled. Once the staff is fully trained – which takes about 10 months for each dispatcher – 911 response times should continue to improve, city officials said.
“It's our job to continue to do the work here, to improve our 911 system. We’ve got to hold ourselves to a high standard,” Mayor Thao said.
When asked if she knows exactly what will happen when the city fails to meet the July 26 deadline set by CalOES, the mayor deferred to the state agency.
“You know, that's actually a good question for the state, right?” Mayor Thao said. “I don't make that decision.”
NBC Bay Area reached out the California Highway Patrol and the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office asking if they’ve heard from Oakland or Cal OES about possibly taking on Oakland’s 911 calls later this month. Both agencies said they have not received notification. The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office said Cal OES would need to determine the possible impacts on its own staffing and resources.
Catch up on all the Investigative Unit’s 911 reporting here: www.nbcbayarea.com/911
