ATLANTA, Georgia (Atlanta News First) – When you call 911, every second counts, and in some situations the difference in wait time can mean life or death.
This was the case with Alexandria Hadd. In 2022, she spoke to Atlanta News First Investigates about how long it took to get someone on the line when a man tried to get into her car.
“I don’t know if he had an acute mental attack. I don’t know why he chose my car,” she said.
She called twice and was put on hold. In the meantime, Good Samaritans helped the man get out of her car.
Wait-time cases like these are common in Atlanta. Another person told Atlanta News First that they once waited five minutes for someone to answer the phone.
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When we raised these concerns with the city over two years ago, the then director of E-911 blamed understaffing, high call volume, and technical issues.
“We have hired a lot of new staff. Last year we hired over 40 new staff,” said Ryan Solis, deputy communications director of E-911 for the Atlanta Police Department.
In a video produced by police, the city claims it has reduced its response time from over 40 seconds in 2023 to an average of 13 seconds.
“Over the past few years, we have made fundamental improvements to our technology, allowing us to intuitively distinguish emergency calls from other calls before they even reach the caller,” said Solis.
The city said the goal is to be there for Atlanta residents. Atlanta News First has reached out to the city for comment, but an interview could not be arranged.
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