Municipal Affairs Communications Team Lead Kathy Kiel has responded to Mayor Terry Yemen’s request to find out why he was on hold after calling 9-1-1.
Yemen lost his wallet on November 28 and was on the phone with the credit card company when he found out that someone was currently using his credit card at a business here in Drumheller.
Yemen tried calling the local 24-hour RCMP dispatch, however there was no answer. Yemen then called 9-1-1 so the RCMP could catch the suspected thief before he left the business.
Municipal Affairs, Communications Team Leader Kathy Kiel, investigated further and responded, “The 9-1-1 call placed on November 28, 2015 was received by the Red Deer 9-1-1 call centre at 3:04 PM. The call was answered by staff at The City of Red Deer’s 9-1-1 Emergency Communication Centre in eight seconds and was transferred to the RCMP Southern Alberta Operational Communication Centre within 11 seconds, from the time it was answered.”
RCMP K Division Communications RCMP Corporal Franks confirmed that the call was placed on hold. Yemen received verification from the same department stating that it was actually only 3 minutes 11 seconds. “If this had been a life or death emergency, the wait time was too long,” said Yemen.
RCMP K Division Corporal Franks explained that the dispatchers were busy handling incoming calls on an emergency that several dispatchers could have been involved with.
Yemen is still not satisfied with the results and believes that there are staffing issues involved. Yemen stated, “I have also escalated this issue with Drumheller-Stettler MLA Rick Strankman and MP Kevin Sorenson.”
Kiel further said, “Many 9-1-1 calls in Alberta are non-emergency calls. In situations that are not emergencies, Albertans are encouraged to call the appropriate non-emergency numbers to ensure 9-1-1 staff can process calls that are truly sensitive and require immediate support from police, fire and ambulance services.”