TUCSON, Ariz. — A new 911 system in Tucson is hoping to help reduce wait times.
On November 1, 2019, the Public Safety Communications staff implemented a new call triage system called Criteria Based Dispatch (CBD). This new system is a standardized questioning system designed to standardize questions and information. The result is a faster process to dispatch police or fire responders.
Tucson is only the second city in the nation to implement Criteria Based Dispatch for both police and fire, following Washington D.C. These improvements translate to better customer service and quicker response times.
"The people that take your calls are the most important people in the building," Director of Public Safety Communication Jamie O'Leary said. "They have difficult jobs, they hear a lot of things and so it is difficult when you can't physically intervene so they deserve a lot of correct for taking over a million calls a year for service."
O'Leary has only been on the job for the past three months, but is excited to continue to help Tucson decrease wait times and make everyone in this community safer.
