Reducing 9-1-1 wait times by 84.43%
Abandoned calls affect every 9-1-1 center, and every 9-1-1 center strives to reduce them. For the Peel Regional Police Communications Center in Ontario, Canada, abandoned calls had become a problem that had to be solved.
An abandoned call is when the 9-1-1 caller disconnects before the call can be answered by the 9-1-1 center.
9-1-1 centers have always had abandoned calls, usually as a result of long wait times. However, the advent of wireless technology resulted in an increase in abandoned calls, often attributed to accidental hang-ups or pocket dials. Whatever the reason, the abandoned call must be addressed to ensure no 9-1-1 caller is left behind.
Growing population, growing 9-1-1 call volume
The Peel Region, a suburb of Toronto in Southern Ontario, is one of the fastest growing municipalities in Canada. The Peel Regional Police Communications Center serves a population of about 1.6 million people, taking 9-1-1 and administration calls from anywhere in the Region. In addition to police matters, the Communications Center supports fire and ambulance as well as the Toronto Pearson International Airport, the largest airport in Canada. Plus, five major highways go through the region adding to the call volume.
“In the last several years, the population growth has impacted our call volume making our Center one of the busiest in Canada,” said Inspector Mark Noble with the Peel Regional Police Communications Center. In 2023, Peel had over 1.1 million calls into the Center and of those, 906,124 were 9-1-1 calls. “Our challenge,” explained Mark, “was that 40% were deemed as misuse of the 9-1-1 system, with a significant number being hang ups or pocket dials.”
Mark described the frequent bottlenecks that the center experienced in 2023, with 9-1-1 call surges resulting in multiple calls waiting in the queue, resulting in wait times of several minutes before calls were answered. “If there was an accident on the highway, said Mark, “we could get upwards of twenty 9-1-1 calls in less than a minute.”
Is hiring the answer?
Despite an aggressive hiring campaign the center has had for several years, Mark said it was almost impossible to keep up with the increasing call volume. “It takes time to fully train a communicator in a busy center like Peel, with the average being 15 – 18 months to train a newly hired member to become a fully cross-trained communicator.”
Maybe one of the most difficult aspects of the call-answer wait times was the community’s reaction. “People were not happy with the service,” said Mark. “We were under a lot of pressure to address the problem. All of us in the center felt the stress.”
A reader board in the center displays the number of 9-1-1 calls in the queue along with the wait time. “Seeing what we were up against added to the stress and the pressure,” said Mark. “It became evident that we couldn’t hire our way out of the situation.”
Technology and outcomes
Peel Communications Center began a major technology upgrade beginning with their CAD system in 2022 when they implemented PremierOne. In February of 2024 they implemented the VESTA 9-1-1 call handling system. One of the critical VESTA 9-1-1 features Peel implemented is Automated Abandon Callback.
“When we went live on VESTA 9-1-1, everything changed for us,” said Mark.
Within the VESTA 9-1-1 Next Generation system, the Automated Abandon Callback functionality automatically returns an abandoned 9-1-1 voice call. Should the caller answer and indicate help is needed, they are put back into the emergency call queue. In the event no one answers the automated call, VESTA 9-1-1 will try again (based on the parameters the center sets) or place the call into an abandoned call queue, signaling the need for Communications Center personnel to follow up.
The impact of the new technology was a game changer. Mark reported that in March of 2023 the average 9-1-1 call answer time in the Peel Regional Police Communications Center was 82 seconds. In March of 2024, with VESTA 9-1-1 implemented, the call answer time dropped to 11 seconds. Even in May with the peak summer call volume, Peel kept answer times down to 13 seconds. “The call volume in May was a real test for us with the new system, and we were able to respond effectively,” said Mark.
In addition to the dramatic 84.43% decrease in the average wait time for 9-1-1 calls, the Center also saved approximately 833 hours in human resource time to process hang up calls.
Since implementing VESTA 9-1-1, Peel has seen a 155% increase in 9-1-1 calls answered within 10 seconds.
The missing piece
“It wasn’t until after we went live,” said Mark, “and started to see the results that we realized the impact an upgraded technology system can have and what it would do for us.”
“In my years as a police officer and a member of this service,” Mark continued, “I’ve never seen progress like this within such a short time for such a critical area. Some of our communicators have been here in-excess of 25 years and technology changes can be stressful for them. We were pleasantly surprised to find that they are big fans of the VESTA 9-1-1 system.”
Mark said that providing a much better service to the community is the reward. “The most important thing is that this upgrade provides us the technology-based capabilities to connect callers with emergency services in an expedited manner. We are able to serve the residents of this community in the way they deserve. You feel the difference in our Center.’
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