How to reduce non-emergency 911 calls using call recording
Call recording software is used for training and dispatch improvement in 911 PSAP's. Doing monthly quality assessment can drive innovation and reduce 911 calls. In some areas, 40% of 911 calls are pocket dials and non-emergency calls asking questions not related to 911. 
Check out this article below to highlight the point:
ROCKFORD — Fire Chief Derek Bergsten knew it was time to increase public awareness on proper 911 use when a video game and electronics store abruptly closed two weeks ago and a handful of customers called 911.
“We got three or four calls wanting to know how they’re going to get their iPad or their DS or game box or whatever back,” Bergsten said. “That is not an emergency.”
Some other recent 911 calls included reports of nearby home remodeling work that is too loud, barking dogs and, yes, kittens stuck in trees.
Inquiries are another popular category, Bergsten said.
“What is the nonemergency number? We get people who do that. What time is curfew? What’s the number for a cab company? That’s another one,” he said. “Like we’re the Yellow Pages.”
Stemming the flow of nonemergency phone calls to the city’s 911 center is a serious matter. Not only do the calls tie up 911 lines, but they tie up 911 operators who are trying to discern whether an actual emergency is taking place while emergency calls to 911 are waiting to get picked up. [Full article]
Call Recording can be used to reduce these calls in three ways:
1. Listen to the recordings for the last month, quarter or year from a habitual user of 911 and educate them personally on where to call. Obviously for larger centers, you would need to use the 80/20 rule to make this most affective.
2. Create a self-help website based on the questions that persist the most from non-emergency 911 calls. The PSAP recordings will help identify those.
3. Define specifically the difference between emergency and non-emergency. I realize this sounds corny but there are diverse people in communities and this should be very explicit.
Putting these measures in place could reduce non-emergency 911 call volume significantly.
What have you tried in the past? Please comment.
