PHILADELPHIA – Today, Councilmembers and public safety officials celebrated improvements to the City of Philadelphia’s 9-1-1 system. These changes follow Councilmember Jamie Gauthier’s hearing on PPD’s 9-1-1 Call Center.
“I worked with the Philadelphia Police Department to remedy challenges facing our 9-1-1 Call Center,” said Councilmember Jamie Gauthier (3rd District). “After the botched response to a 9-1-1 call about the first victim in last year’s mass shooting in Kingsessing, I knew the City had to show the community that we would not fail them like this again. And that’s exactly what we did. Thanks to the improvements we are announcing today, the 9-1-1 Call Center is better equipped to serve residents with excellence.”
Councilmembers Gauthier and Jones made several budgetary suggestions to improve the 9-1-1 Call Center, which Mayor Cherelle Parker included in the FY25 budget proposal approved by City Council. For instance, Councilmember Gauthier advocated and won a 10% pay increase for dispatchers, aligning their starting salary with the regional average.
Police Commissioner Kevin J. Bethel said, “Our 9-1-1 dispatchers are our city’s first, first responders and valued members of the Philadelphia Police Department. They deserve to be paid a salary that reflects the critical, and oftentimes traumatizing, role they play in keeping our communities safe. I am confident this salary increase will help us recruit and retain first-class talent to our first-class city.”
PPD established a new Civilian Police Radio Dispatcher Supervisor position in partnership with Council, allowing the PPD to reallocate sworn supervisors to Patrol Operations. This initiative also provides career advancement for civilians within Police Radio. Previously, 9-1-1 dispatchers interested in a promotion had to seek employment elsewhere, which made retaining veteran dispatchers difficult.
“We brought back the Civilian Police Radio Dispatcher Supervisor position to incentivize the best-of-the-best to stay with the City of Philadelphia,” noted Deputy Police Commissioner Krista Dahl-Campbell. “This supervisory role will improve dispatcher retention and morale, and gets more sworn officers out of Police Headquarters and into neighborhoods.”
PPD revised how dispatchers answer calls. The previous 9-1-1 greeting — “Police Radio Dispatcher #, how can I help you?” — has been changed to “Police Radio Dispatcher #, what is the location of your emergency? Does this address have a directional indicator?” When a street supervisor contacts the operations desk for an emergency callback, operations desk personnel relays the caller’s CCI location to the street supervisor. These policies have empowered law enforcement personnel to identify and correct incorrect addresses.
Chief Public Safety Director Adam Geer said, “We want Philadelphians to call 9-1-1 during an emergency or to report a crime and have confidence that they will receive quick and effective help. That’s why the Parker Administration prioritized improving 9-1-1 to ensure residents receive professional and rapid emergency services every single time they call.”
Councilmember Gauthier called for a hearing on 9-1-1 after dispatchers sent police to an address three miles from where Mr. Joseph Wamah Jr. was killed in Kingsessing. Two days later, Mr. Wamah’s suspected killer returned and allegedly killed four residents, including a 15-year-old boy, and wounded two more in the City’s deadliest mass shooting since the Lex Street Massacre.
“Our 9-1-1 System is the first touch law enforcement receives. This critical nerve center can be the difference in life and death for citizens. We are investing in accurate and rapid response to emergencies in our communities. By providing infrastructure improvements and salaries that retain the workforce,” said Councilmember Curtis Jones Jr, Chair of the Committee on Public Safety.
At last year’s 9-1-1 hearing, dispatchers reported feeling “overworked, exhausted, and unappreciated.” Constituents informed Council about long wait and response times when they called 9-1-1.
“City Council proudly allocated additional funding to 9-1-1 dispatch,” said Council President Kenyatta Johnson. “As the City’s appropriating entity, Council ensures agencies have the financial resources they need to keep residents safe. As we continue to grapple with gun violence, nothing could be more important than an effective 9-1-1 Call Center.”
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