16 If 12-hour shifts are a consideration, the staffing need will be 42 (working supervisors) to 46 (dedicated supervisors). An example 12-hour shift configuration is shown below.
Days (x 2) Nights (x 2)
x Dispatchers (two fire/EMS and two law
enforcement) – 4
x Call takers – 3 to 4
x Relief person – 1
x Power shift person (noon to midnight) – 1
x Persons on leave31 –2 t o 3
x Dispatchers (two fire/EMS and two law
enforcement) – 4
x Call takers – 2
x Relief person – 1
x Persons on leave – 2
Total – 11 to 12 Total – 9
2.2 Technology (Software and Hardware Options)
Leveraging technology to augment staff or to establish more efficient operational workflows is essential in an ECC. There are technologies, systems, and applications that can be applied to help reduce the workload and that may reduce the level of complexity.
2.2.1 Automatic Call Distribution (ACD)
ACD is a system that integrates with the 911 call handling and administrative telephone systems, which automatically receives the incoming calls and distributes them to an available call taker based on pre- determined priority definitions. For example, 911 calls would take priority over 10-digit phone calls and would be routed to a call take position that has been idle the longest. This would allow the 911 calls and certain 10-digit telephone numbers to be answered ahead of other non-emergency phone calls.
2.2.2 Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) More intuitive than ACD are AI and ML because the advanced technology spans beyond a pre-determined protocol by phone line and enables an ECC to develop algorithms based on actual calls received. As an example, “Amazon Web Services (AWS) is helping the 911 community mitigate the impact of staffing shortages on call wait times by providing 911 centers the means to automate the receipt and resolution of designated non- emergency calls ... non-emergency calls placed to administrative 10-digit lines can be addressed with Amazon Connect, leveraging interactive voice response (IVR) to provide automated call resolution and reduce the burden on personnel.”32 With IVR, AI, and ML, “AWS can help reduce the burden non-emergency calls placed on 911 centers and allow personnel to focus on life and property saving support.”33 31 Based on the current leave usage, at least two people would be on leave each day. If leave usage is reduced, staffing numbers can likely be reduced.
32 Supporting 911 centers with non-emergency response solutions: An architecture guidance | AWS Public Sector Blog (amazon.com)
33 Ibid.
17 ML and AI programs are currently being piloted or fully deployed in multiple ECCs across the country, including Charleston, South Carolina; Portland, Oregon; and Alexandria, Virginia. There are several CAD vendors offering a similar product in addition to AWS that can provide alternative processing for low acuity calls such as Versaterm’s Case Services offering. Agencies that are piloting ML and AI are reporting between 33% and 45% reduction in selected non-emergency (e.g., animal control calls) and administrative calls coming into the center.
The use of AI/ML was not addressed in the Needs Assessment as a viable strategy to reduce the workload of the telecommunicators and possible impact on minimum staffing requirements. MCP recommends that Berkeley form a task force to explore ML to offset low acuity and non-emergency calls. The task force would consist of communications center management and supervisory personnel, information technology staff, and command level staff from Berkeley Police and Fire. The task force would conduct research on the available AI/ML pilot programs and the potential impact on the center, including cost impacts, and provide recommendations to a program manager. This task force can also support implementation if Berkeley decides to move forward with a pilot program.
2.2.3 Call-answer Attendant
The Needs Assessment does not include recommendations related to the call-answer attendant, which can be used to direct calls to or away from the communications center. As a cost-effective interim solution, the auto attendant for the Berkeley Police Department should be reprogrammed to eliminate the communications center from the call flow. MCP recommends that the auto attendant be programmed with a message that advises the public to hang up and dial 911 if they have an emergency or need emergency law enforcement, fire, or EMS assistance and remove the communications center from the options. This will mitigate the regular occurrence of callers selecting the communications center option when they cannot reach other departments or do not know an extension. As noted above, currently administrative calls are 51.65% of the call volume (62% if combining inbound and outbound calls on the administrative phone lines); this operational change will likely significantly reduce the telecommunicator workload by reducing these inbound calls. To support this, MCP recommends a public relations initiative to educate the public on how to reach various City services, including the police department and when to dial 911. A summary of test calls to the police department main phone number and various extensions is included in appendix A.
2.2.4 Mobile Data Terminals (MDT)
The MDTs, which are an extension of the CAD system for field responders, should be utilized by law enforcement, fire, and EMS as much as possible because it reduces the telecommunicator workload, which directly impacts the staffing needs of the communications center. MCP agrees with the Needs Assessment that MDTs should be used by field responders as much as possible to reduce the telecommunicator workload. MDT use should be supported by policies, procedures, established workflows, and ongoing refresher training for field units.
2.2.5 CAD-to-CAD
CAD-to-CAD interfaces allow for the rapid transmission of automatic mutual aid requests to the respective ECC, without requiring a Berkeley telecommunicator to make a phone call to the jurisdiction in question. CAD-to-CAD interfaces also provide backup capabilities should 911 calls roll over or if cell phone calls are misrouted, potentially eliminating the need for call transfers, thereby improving call-processing times and likely call dispatch times.
CAD-to-CAD would play an integral role with continuity of operations. If CAD-to-CAD were established with the Alameda County Regional Emergency Communications Center (ACRECC), it would not only support the
18 seamless transfer for medical calls for EMD but could provide additional continuity for fire incidents if Berkeley could not perform that function.
CAD-to-CAD interfaces require agreements and policies to establish the workflows between ECCs. CAD-to- CAD does not replace the need to be able to dispatch calls to the field responders. The ability to alert stations and notify field responders of incidents is essential with CAD-to-CAD; otherwise, the ECC would have to resort back to a 10-digit phone call to relay the information.
Leveraging CAD to seamlessly transfer incidents and supplemental information can improve operational efficiencies by reducing call transfer times and improving situational awareness.
MCP agrees with the Needs Assessment that Berkeley should explore CAD-to-CAD opportunities with ACRECC, the University of California Berkeley, and any other locations where calls are routinely transferred.
2.3 Facilities
The Needs Assessment recommended facility expansion based on staffing numbers that were higher than what MCP has recommended. Given the staffing recommendations of four dispatch and four call take positions34 staffed 17 hours a day in an ideal configuration when fully staffed, MCP recommends 12 to 13 workstations that are fully equipped with call-handling equipment (CHE), CAD, and radio. Ideally, the workstations would accommodate the following:
• 4 dispatch positions
• 5 call take/relief positions
• 1 working supervisor
• 2 – 3 training/overflow/call surge positions
There are numerous options for furniture and configurations but based on a rough estimate of approximately 100 square feet per position (workstation), this would require approximately 1,200 to 1,300 square feet, which does not include adjacencies or office and ancillary space. Assuming there is the option to expand in the current facility, MCP recommends a programming study to determine the space needs of the communications center and budgetary estimates.
2.4 Expanded Fire Dispatch
There are numerous advantages to expanding the operation to bring on other partner agencies in the region; however, MCP does not recommend the expansion of services until communications center staffing stabilizes because this would add more strain on the telecommunicators and the system. Prior to growing the communications center, staffing and operations should be as stable as possible, regardless of the size of the partner agency.
Once staffing stabilizes, bringing on new agencies that have low annual incidents (e.g., less than 1,500) would have a minimal impact on operations as their call volume is negligible. For example, small fire departments that share the same talkgroup as the Berkeley Fire Department (BFD) would have little impact on operations. An 34 And the potential for 10 to 12 telecommunicators to be on duty at one time if 12-hour shifts were chosen.
19 incident volume of 3,600, for example, is roughly ten calls a day or one every two hours. While this is easily absorbable, MCP does not consider this a priority.
2.5 Training and Accreditation
2.5.1 Training
Currently, all telecommunicators are cross-trained to call take and dispatch law enforcement and fire/EMS. This should continue to be the operating model given the current challenges with staffing the communications center.
That said, there are opportunities to train ATCs (see Section 2.1.1).
MCP recommends a tiered approach to training new hires, which will, at the same time, increase the communications center’s ability to staff dedicated call taker positions. A tiered approach to training means that call takers are trained and certified to call take before they move to dispatch positions so they can be utilized as call takers if necessary. This will provide additional support to answer 10-digit and administrative calls as an interim solution. MCP recommends that the training program be modified to reflect a tiered approach to training new hires that provides the new hires with the minimum training needed to answer calls, including 911 and the ability to provide EMD.
The training program should align with national standards and best practices (see more information regarding this in section 2.5.2 below). Ideally, the training program would be managed by a training/QA coordinator (see section 2.7.4)
2.5.2 Accreditation
There are several common accreditations and program certifications that should be pursued by the communications center (e.g., The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies [CALEA®], IAED Accredited Center of Excellence [ACE] for protocol usage, and APCO Agency Training Program Certification [ATPC]). If the BFD were to seek accreditation, and subsequently maintain it, BFD would need to rely on the communications center to meet established parameters, including call answering and call processing times. The APCO ATPC, specifically, ensures that Berkeley’s training program aligns with the national telecommunicator standard, which is important with the current turnover rate and the number of new hires coming on board. There are additional standards through NFPA, NENA, and guidelines from the National 911 Program that support accreditations, credentialing, and programs that align with national standards and best practices.
Accreditation programs establish processes to systemically review and internally assess operations and procedures, which is a practice that would benefit Berkeley and enhance its service levels. Accreditation programs require staff resources that are not in place currently and there are metrics that the communications center would be required to meet that may not be achievable until staffing stabilizes. These accreditations align with national standards and best practices and should be explored as soon as there are resources, including an external program manager and a training/QA coordinator available to manage the program(s).
2.6 Emerging Alternative Triaging, Resources, and Response Options The evolution of alternative response services enters ECCs in different ways and at different times for different reasons. Distinguishing what calls should be entering an ECC versus what calls are is a process many centers are undertaking due to increasingly high volume and low staffing levels. In MCP’s experience, a large number of calls received by primary ECCs are triaged and, in cases when calls are not emergency public safety-oriented,
20 they are transferred to appropriate resources. ECCs are in a unique position to examine the services they provide and determine if expanding those services will achieve the public safety mission of getting the right resource to the right location at the right time. This trend is being addressed in several ECCs across the nation by shifting a traditional public safety response to other response entities such as community-based organizations, city/county departments, or as a non-emergent service, which is the concept behind the Specialized Care Unit (SCU) in Berkeley.
Driven by many external factors outside of public safety’s control, alternative response in the 911 community is a relatively new concept. Agencies across the United States (U.S.) have instituted several programs with the ability to safely transition calls from the ECC and traditional fire, medical, and law enforcement responses to more appropriate services. Alternative responses have the potential to deliver appropriate resources faster, increase community engagement, decrease the risk to public safety personnel and citizens, and, most importantly, make communities safer.
While no national standards have been issued to the public safety community for how to appropriately respond to individuals experiencing a behavioral health event or for allocating resources other than traditional fire, medical, or law enforcement to other community-based needs, numerous states and local entities, including the City of Berkeley, are working to address this issue.
2.6.1 Use of Commercial Protocols
Today, the communications center is dispatching fire and EMS field responders; however, it contracts with ACRECC to provide EMD, which means the caller is transferred after the initial information is attained. There is a priority need for the center to certify staff in IAED’s EMD program so callers are not transferred to another ECC for EMD.
The IAED defines a protocol as “a highly defined procedure placed into a reference system … designed to lead the call taker through a predictable, repeatable, and verifiable process for a specific situation.”35 “Protocols have become an integral part of modern day, emergency dispatch operations. Protocols reduce variance, ensure a continuity of care, reduce liability, standardize response decisions, and provide a basis for performance measurement and quality improvement efforts.”36
Protocols can also be an important method for training new hires, especially for fire incidents, which are generally low-frequency high-risk events. Given the persistent turnover and that EMD is a best practice and a level of service that is prevalent throughout the state and country, MCP recommends that Berkeley adopt the IAED EMD program and take steps to incrementally train telecommunicators in the program. Although MCP is vendor-agnostic, it is our understanding that the use of IAED protocols impacts EMS funding for the fire department and there may be shared system advantages to using the same protocol system as ACRECC.
Telecommunicators must be trained before using the protocol system to reduce liability; EMD training is a 3-day course.
35 The National Academies of Emergency Dispatch® (2011) Emergency Telecommunicator Course Manual. Salt Lake City, Utah: Priority Press.
36 “Protocol Use in Emergency Dispatch: An Evolving Standard of Care,” 911 Magazine.com, May 13, 2011, http://dispatchingdiscussions.blogspot.com/2013/05/protocol-use-in-emergency-dispatch.html.
21 2.6.2 EMD and Behavioral Health Situations
An augmentation to Priority Dispatch Corporation’s (PDC37) EMD protocol system38 is a behavioral health solution that provides further call screening tools. While MCP maintains our commitment to vendor neutrality, in MCP’s research, PDC appears to be the only vendor providing a commercially available standardized emergency behavioral health call-intake protocol.
The Emergency Mental Health Dispatch (EMHD) protocol, LifeBridges Flex-Protocol, is integrated with the existing EMD protocols, which allows enhanced call screening to a behavioral health event through the EMD protocol system. This augmentation of the EMD software provides seamless navigation through the protocols.
When an Omega39 or Alpha40 determinant is selected, further screening can be applied to properly determine what crisis response services are needed.
PDC’s recently released EMD version (V5.1.1.45) significantly revised Protocol 25, Psychiatric/Mental Health Conditions/Suicide Attempt/Abnormal. Changes to Protocol 25 included more situations where transferring calls to the most appropriate level of care can be reviewed and approved by medical and behavioral health authorities. Two determinant levels or call categories have been updated or added that have been fully vetted by the IAED’s College of Fellows; these should be carefully vetted by local agencies as well.
Prior to Berkeley implementing EMD, all stakeholders—Berkeley, medical director, behavioral health staff, law enforcement—should be involved in developing the requisite agreements, policies, procedures, implementation plans, and training. It is further suggested that Berkeley communicate with Cal OES to ensure that behavioral health-related activities are in alignment with the State’s 988/911 interaction planning41 (Section 2.6.4).
The new protocol and its implementation will impact the call flow. As such, the changes to this protocol should be carefully reviewed so that when an Omega (or Alpha if desired) determination(s) is selected, the call can be approved for transfer/conference to 988 or another alternate resource. This newly defined call flow, call intake, and conferencing will increase call taker time-on-task but may reduce dispatcher workload. Implementation planning, including data from allied agencies already practicing this call flow, should be conducted to identify successes and roadblocks to implementation.
2.6.3 Nurse Navigation
Over the past four decades, emergency services response often errs on the side of caution when a caller categorizes their situation as an emergency when it may very well not be. While 911 call takers do their best to screen for acuity levels that provide responders with a mental picture of what to expect, the customary response model has remained the same. In Berkeley, when someone calls 911 for a medical event, the call is received by the communications center, which quickly screens the caller’s need to determine if they need police, fire, or medical resources. If the caller requires medical assistance, the telecommunicator will gather the chief complaint information (location, nature, age, conscious breathing) and transfers the call to ACRECC for a medical dispatch, while simultaneously dispatching the fire/EMS to the incident (if applicable). In this sequence, the idea is to divert calls from the dispatch of an ambulance to a more appropriate resource when it is 37 PDC is the distributor of the IAED’s medical, fire, and police priority dispatch system. 38 A protocol system uses scripted question designed to gather specific information from the caller to determine the appropriate response level (i.e., Omega, Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, and Echo). 39 Omega is a determinant in protocol dispatch systems. Calls with this determinant are generally referred to other agencies, such as poison control, or may require a special response. 40 The Alpha determinant is used for non-life-threatening situations, such as a citizen assist call or patient transport. The next higher determinant, Bravo, is generally where specifics are unknown. These determinants are typically handled with a basic life support (BLS) level of care.
41 www.CALOES.ca.gov/988; https://www.iaedjournal.org/response-now
22 determined that the caller or patient status is non-life threatening. A way to mitigate low acuity calls is through nurse navigation systems. In MCP’s research and experience, to date, there are two turn-key nurse navigation systems currently in use in the 911 pre-hospital care setting—Access2Care Nurse Navigation from Global Medical Response (GMR) and Emergency Communications Nurse System (ECNS) from the IAED.
Access2Care is a contract service-triage solution where a nurse call center is staffed 24 x 7 and offers a catalog of services that includes providing all EMD call screening, nurse navigation, and treatment protocols. At the communications center’s request, embedding personnel in the center itself is also an option.
ECNS is a nurse triage system that includes over 200 evidence-based protocols that work in conjunction with the EMD system in the communications center. The foundation of the ECNS program is the use of PDC’s LowCode software. This software is designed to interface with most CAD systems and continues the call flow from the EMD protocols to the LowCode software. To use the LowCode system and interface it with the EMD system, the communications center must be an EMD ACE.
A third option is a home-developed system where data could be entered into an algorithm software program from APCO that requires full medical, clinical, and emergency communications development. While possible, the likelihood of agencies choosing an option that would require extraordinary amounts of human and financial resources is remote.
The goal of nurse navigation is to provide the right care to the acuity level described and, when appropriate, pre- empting a 911 response on a call that did not warrant it.
The emphasis must be made that while the caller is in the 911 system, the standard EMD questions will be asked to prioritize the patient’s signs and/or symptoms from high to low, which results in the selection of a call type also known as a nature code. Call types have a corresponding priority-level recommendation for the dispatch of emergency personnel (i.e., lights and sirens or no lights and sirens), which is determined locally.
ECNS is operational in several cities in the U.S., including Reno, Nevada; Las Vegas, Nevada; Fort Worth, Texas; Memphis, Tennessee; and New York City, as well as several international locations. Fort Worth and Reno have been operating the ECNS program for approximately ten years. The Fort Worth program has achieved patient satisfaction scores of 4.9 out of 5 and has achieved the expected results. Another example of a successful nurse navigation program is the County of San Bernardino’s largest fire/EMS communications center, CONFIRE, which outsources nurse navigation to the Reno Emergency Medical Services Authority (REMSA).
From a staffing perspective and spacing accommodation, no additional call takers are needed. Registered nurses (RNs) are the only personnel that can use nurse navigation under the PDC system. While the technology for this practice is connected to CAD, RNs can use ECNS remotely, so no space accommodation is needed either.
2.6.4 988
Effective July 2022, 988 became the three-digit, nationwide phone number to connect directly to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.42 Regional crisis call centers can be reached when a caller dials 988 and, based on their area code, calls are routed to the designated regional or local call center. Callers can also access services via a 10-digit number (800-273-8255). There are approximately twelve 988 centers in California43. 42 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline | Federal Communications Commission (fcc.gov) 43 www.CALOES.ca.gov/988
23 The 988 number has, in some instances, replaced state and/or local 10-digit mental health crisis lines, while in other cases, a third-party service has been contracted to provide these services. Among several goals, this new N1144 number aims for persons in crisis to easily access resources by calling the 988 number rather than customarily dialing 911. When callers or persons in a mental health crisis do dial 911, ECCs are in a position to either conference or transfer the call to the appropriate resources or dispatch traditional police, fire, and/or medical response. In either scenario, agencies, cities, and counties are now able to develop enhanced relationships, policies, procedures, and workflows with the designated 988 provider for calls that could be transferred from 911 to 988 and vice versa.
The process of determining when a call is appropriate for either a transfer or conference call from 911 to 988 is complex, as several primary objectives should be met:
• Caller or person in crisis safety
• Field responder and scene safety
• Caller or person in crisis consents to being transferred or conferenced to another resource • Mechanisms to dispatch alternative responders are in place While a relationship has always existed between 911 and the Suicide Prevention Hotline, this enhanced relationship between 911 and 988 is in its infancy and just beginning in primary ECCs across the country— including the 417 in California. Cal OES as well as the State’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is actively working on the technology and operational elements of this relationship. As the 988 initiative further develops, depending on decisions made at the state and local levels, agreements between an ECC and 988 provider, detailed policies and procedures involving both entities, and approval from behavioral health and field response authorities will need to be addressed in some manner.
Berkeley should maintain awareness of 988 activities as they unfold and explore opportunities to interface with 988, including any alternatives for processing calls with more efficiency and with more appropriate resources.
2.7 Other Considerations
There are several other vital areas that are related to the recommendations contained in this executive brief that MCP recommends be in place to support their execution.
2.7.1 Strategic Planning
A strategic plan is essential to an organization’s ability to achieve, proactively and incrementally, its long-term goals. The public safety communications ecosystem is a technologically sophisticated environment that is essential to effective emergency response operations. The more complex the ecosystem becomes and the faster it expands, the harder it is to maintain clarity of direction and alignment. There are multiple components of ECC operations that should be included in short- and long-range planning to sustain current operations and plan for and meet future budgetary needs (e.g., workforce, facility, technology, and other essential elements).
Except for managing initiatives within established budgets, on schedule, and providing the outcomes established in the scope, much of what is considered best practice from an organizational leadership perspective is subjective. The ability to execute initiatives is partly due to leadership’s influence and 44 N11 codes are used to provide three-digit dialing access to special services. In the U.S., the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) administers N11 codes. The FCC recognizes 211, 311, 511, 711, 811, and 911 as nationally assigned, but has not disturbed other traditional uses. https://www.nationalnanpa.com/number_resource_info/n11_codes.html
24 effectiveness in navigating the political landscape to meet mission-critical needs, such as approvals for additional employees, technologies, facilities, funding, and access to support resources. A plan is needed to organize this information into prioritized objectives with clear and concise goals and outcomes and maintain a rhythm to track progress and maintain accountability.
2.7.2 Program Manager
There are numerous recommendations included in this executive brief. MCP urges stakeholders to consider hiring or appointing a program manager to oversee the development and execution of the recommendations.
The communications center does not have the staffing capacity to fill this role and success factors will rely heavily on the ability to form committees, develop programs, execute prioritized initiatives, and gain buy-in from City executives and elected officials. Ideally, the program manager would oversee the planning, executing, and tracking of strategies, initiatives and programs and would include the following skills and responsibilities:45 The program manager should be familiar with public safety and the current challenges and opportunities facing the communications center. It is highly advantageous for the program manager to have established working relationships with public safety leadership—and City leadership—as this person would be working closely with them to coordinate and move initiatives forward and gain buy in.
Table 3: Program Manager Responsibilities and Skills
Responsibilities
x Daily management through the life cycle of the program. x Define the program controls, or the processes, procedures, reporting, etc., to manage the program. x Plan the overall program and monitor progress to ensure that milestones are being met across various projects and programs.
x Manage the program budget.
x Manage the risks and issues that might arise over the course of the program life cycle and take measures to correct them when they occur.
x Coordinate the projects and their interdependencies between the various projects and programs. x Manage and use resources across the various projects and programs. x Manage stakeholders who are involved in the projects. x Ensure deliverables are aligned across the projects and programs.
Skills
x Strong project management experience with large and complex projects. x Broad knowledge of project and program management methodologies. x Understand the wider objectives of the program, such as business and strategic goals. 45 https://www.projectmanager.com/training/program-manager-responsibilities
25 Responsibilities
x Ability to work with a wide range of individuals.
x Strong leadership and managerial skills with appropriate experience. x Strong knowledge of budgeting and resource allocation procedures.
2.7.3 Reclassification into Public Safety
At least 19 states and the District of Columbia, including the state of California, have reclassified their telecommunicators to the protective service classification.46 This reclassification initiative reflects the actual work of telecommunicators and shifts the role of the position to that of a first responder. The reclassification justifies the need to reassess the position to ensure the wage classifications are consistent with that of a professional and highly trained first responder and contain information to support the concept of telecommunicators as first responders, such as the essential worker concept that requires the telecommunicators be held over or to report to work during emergencies and times when other government agencies are closed. The model job description contained in the reclassification toolkit contains modern essential job tasks, knowledge, and skills that are consistent with advancing public expectations and emerging technology job tasks, such as texts, videos, and automated data feeds that are becoming available with the implementation of Next Generation 911. The public’s expectations have transformed from traditional hardline calls with predominately one-way communications to wireless and now the next generation of 911 with intuitive call processing and intelligence gathering (see the following figure).
Figure 2: Expectations of the Public Safety Telecommunicator47 46 https://www.nena.org/page/reclassification_map
47 https://911-assets.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/BLS_Toolkit_Parts_1-4_01DEC2021_Final.pdf
26 As Berkeley continues to leverage advanced technology to process emergency and non-emergency calls, it will be critical to evolve with the minimum job knowledge, skills, and abilities contained in the job descriptions, performance appraisals, and training programs relevant to the positions. It will also be critically important for Berkeley to offer commensurate compensation and benefits for the highly skilled telecommunicator first responders (see Section 2.7.1). Compensation and benefits are an area of the reclassification initiative that has lagged in California and across the country. There is an opportunity for Berkeley to use the reclassification to potentially reclassify the telecommunicators into public safety, including an appropriate union, to improve recruiting and retention and cultural alignment.
2.7.4 Key Performance Indicators and Performance Management One of the easiest ways to evaluate an organization using this cycle is to review key performance indicators (KPIs). KPIs are a set of quantifiable performance measures used by an agency to gauge progress toward meeting its strategic and operational goals. KPIs—such as the abandoned call rate, 911 call wait times, pick up to queue, queue to dispatch, non-emergency call wait times, and total call processing times—can all be used to measure ECC performance. KPIs also help evaluate if the strategies being implemented are resulting in the intended outcomes, indicating continuation of the effort or a course correction is warranted.
Using these measurements, an organization’s leadership can begin to evaluate if emergency and non- emergency requests for service are processed in a timely manner. If the numbers fall outside of what would be considered the norm for an ECC—State call answering standards, for example—leadership can establish processes or procedures to help move these values more toward the norm. Once implemented, leadership can re-evaluate the statistics to determine if there has been an improvement. KPIs should be established and used to continuously monitor the impact of changes within the organization. For example, negative trends in KPIs may be used for change justification, especially those with fiscal impacts. The following two standards provide ECC management with key performance indicators related to personnel and PSAP operations, which can assist with measuring key areas of performance that impact service levels. • APCO ANS 1.118.1-2020, Key Performance Indicators for Public Safety Communications Personnel
• APCO 1.117.1-2019, Public Safety Communications Center Key Performance Indicators Related to KPIs is QA, which falls under performance management and is considered a best practice. QA and quality improvement (QI) is a formal assessment process by which actual performance, behavior, and outcomes are compared to established standards to ensure compliance, consistency, and accuracy in the delivery of service. The national standard48 requires ECCs to generally review 2% of all calls (dependent on the call volume). If the 2% is too burdensome or too low to accurately reflect performance, the number of calls reviewed should be adjusted accordingly. (If IAED protocols are used, the IAED provides the parameters for QA reviews for ACE accreditation.) Generally, all types of calls (law enforcement, fire, and medical) are reviewed, and 100% of high acuity calls are reviewed. QA will be a requirement when the EMD program is implemented, and IAED QA/QI requirements would need to be followed. MCP agrees with the Needs Assessment that a QA program should be developed and implemented. The QA/QI program can be supported by software integrated with the master recorder to proactively review law enforcement, fire, and medical calls and incidents. MCP also concurs with the Needs Assessment that Berkeley should hire a training/QA coordinator to support training and manage the QA/QI program. It would be ideal for this position to also oversee accreditation. 48 https://www.apcointl.org/~documents/standard/11071-2015-aqi?layout=default
27 MCP recommends Berkeley establish KPIs and a QA/QI program that will enable management and leadership to monitor organizational and operational performance and change impacts.
Aside from establishing and monitoring KPIs, management should establish a rhythm for reporting on the established KPIs and QA/QI to the leadership of the served agencies so they are able to monitor KPIs that impact their service levels. This will support transparency and promote collaboration when it comes to organizational and operational change.
2.7.5 Organic Regionalization
MCP would be remiss without discussing the concept of regionalization as an opportunity to improve emergency response outcomes. Given the challenges with staffing that are impacting Berkeley and many other ECCs across the country, there continues to be opportunities to consolidate resources and reduce the number of ecosystems within the same geographical area.
There are seven ECCs49 in the vicinity of Berkeley, which offers opportunities to explore organic regionalization.
Organic regionalization occurs naturally without external forces (e.g., funded or unfunded government mandate) when stakeholders work collaboratively toward a common goal focused on improving emergency response outcomes. Organic regionalization can be physical or virtual (e.g., technical and policy) in nature and provides the following values to participating entities50:
• Shared Resources – Shared resources include policies, operations, and any other support services (e.g., information technology, geographic information system, administration, HR). • Elimination of Duplicate Costs – Duplicate costs related to administration, operations, technologies, and facilities may be significantly reduced and, in many cases, eliminated through organic regionalization.
• Coordinated Responses – Coordinated responses address joint responses, including automatic and mutual aid, and other shared responses that would be coordinated from the same ECC rather than individual entities. Examples include multi-jurisdictional responses to grass fires, pursuits, and mass casualty incidents, all of which require a coordinated response. • Greater Interoperability – Interoperability expands with regionalization, enabling the sharing of mission-critical equipment and technologies (e.g., CHE, CAD, radio). • Effective and Efficient Service – Efficiencies will often occur, and service levels improve, when regionalization is properly executed. Call transfers are often reduced as the number of ECCs decreases as there is less opportunity for misroutes, and situational awareness is improved through regionalization. There are often improvements that can be gained in all functional areas of an ECC (workforce, operations, personnel and workforce, training, performance management, leadership and planning, technology, facilities, and organizational structure) as the number of ECCs decreases.
Berkeley stakeholders are encouraged to explore regionalization, especially partners with contiguous borders, with the goal of maintaining sustainable service levels, improving emergency response outcomes and strengthening continuity of operations
.
49 Contra Costa County Sheriff, Contra Costa County Fire, Alameda County Fire/EMS, Alameda County Sheriff, Santa Clara County Consolidated, San Mateo County Public Safety Communications, and Marin County ECC 50 https://transition.fcc.gov/pshs/docs/csric/CSRIC-1A-Report.pdf
28 3S u m m a r y
Daily, dedicated communications staff in the Berkeley communications center work to assure that all field responders and members of the community are served when emergencies arise. For years, staff have done this under more than challenging conditions.
Based upon MCP’s analysis and interaction with Berkeley staff, there is a high level of motivation to meet the needs of the community and improve emergency response outcomes. As the workload is balanced and staffing stabilizes, there will be an opportunity to mend the organizational culture in pursuit of organizational health and wellness.
29 Appendix A: Berkeley Police Department Answer Attendant Test Results
MCP requested staff to test the police department inbound administrative phone lines to determine which lines route directly or indirectly into the ECC. The following is a summary of those tests. As noted in section 2.2.3, MCP recommends that stakeholders eliminate the ECC from the call answer options and direct the public to dial 911 if they have an emergency. Steps should be taken to prevent administrative calls, that do not require dispatch involvement, to be routed to the proper department.
Traffic Division
x Violations/ Tow Hearing/ Installations
o Message stating you have reached the traffic bureau, currently unavailable, leave a message. x Parking matter or towed vehicle
o Dispatch answered the call
Dispatch stated that the call comes in under a non-emergency number Calls related to parking should be routed to extension #5890 (has been reported to management for a change)
Phone is answered 24/7
x Contest or Pay a Citation
o No Answer
Records /Copy of Crime/Accident Reports Warrants Division x Copy of Police records
o Phone was answered by an office staff member
o Phone is answered - M-F 8a to 5p
o After hours- automated voicemail to leave a message
x Warrants Division
o Phone is answered by retired annuitants
o Phone is answered M-10a-2p and T-Th 7a-2p
o After hours- automated voicemail to leave a message
Non-Emergency Police
x To make a police report or to reach a specific officer o Dispatch answered the call
o Phone is answered 24/7
o Is Staffed 24/7
Jail
x To contact jail personnel regarding a prisoner
o Call is answered by the jail # 5766
o Phone is answered 24/7
o Is Staffed 24/7
30 Animal Care
x The City’s animal shelter (981-6600) services homeless pets from cities of Berkeley, Albany, Piedmont, Emeryville, and provides adoption services, advice on animal-related topics, lost and found pet reports, and free or low-cost spay/neuter vouchers for Berkeley residents’ dogs and cats. o Message directs you to dial 0 during open hours or call a non-emergency police number (#3) outside of regular hours
o Other options are included in the message
Dial #1 for directory
Dial # for location and hours
After dialing 0 reached a human (not dispatch)
Phone is answered 8a-4p all days except Wednesday hours are 8a to 6p After Hours - see the above message
Mental Health
x Mobile Crisis Team is dispatched through non-emergency dispatch (981-5900) but after care, consultations and direct crisis team line is 981-5254
o Reached a long outgoing message including
To reach the Mobile Crisis Team - the message states the team is available from 11:30 to 10:00 pm except on Tuesday and Thursday- leave a message For crisis assistance and to speak to a mental health clinician call 10-5 pm (510) 981- 5244 For 24 hours call Alameda Crisis Services (800) 309-2131 For Homeless Outreach- Neighbor (510) 981-2489
Police Area Coordinator- Community service
x Community Engagement
o Phone is answered by an office member
o No regular hours to answer phones, often out in the field o When phone is not answered it goes to webmail system and that is checked regularly o Estimated that between 5-10 calls a day should have gone to dispatch Investigation Division
x Property Crime, auto theft, vandalism, fraud
o Answered by police department staff
o Unknown what hours phone is attended
x Homicide/ Missing Person / Felony Assault
o Person answered not dispatch
o Phones are answered between 8a-5p
o Message outside of office hours
x Robbery
o Answered by office staff
o Hours 8a-5p
o After Hours- Voicemail by an officer- please leave a message x Youth Services
o Answered by a detective in office
o Typically attended M-F 6a to 4p
o When out office or outside hours calls go to a message system
31 x Sex Crimes / Domestic Violence
o Answered by an office staff
o M-F 7a-5p
o After hours there is an automated voicemail that will be transcribed and sent by text message x Property and evidence Unit
o Outgoing automated message- leave a voice message that will be transcribed and sent by a text message to receive a quicker response.
o Fire
o Provides the admin number of (510) 981 FIRE
32 Appendix B: Alternative Perspectives
Key Finding/Results Section Needs Assessment MCP Alternative Recommendation Turnover 2.1.1 9% 25% or more
Span of Control 2.1.2 9 supervisors 5 supervisors are acceptable Call Answer Standards 2.1.3 Used the same call standard for 911, 10-digit, and administrative calls
Separated 911 from 10-digit and administrative
calls and used a lower call answer metric (80%
within 30 seconds)
Administrative Call Diversion 2.1.3 N/A MCP recommends diverting non-emergency calls from the communications center
Administrative Call Takers 2.1.3 N/A MCP recommends developing an ATC position to support the non-emergency and
administrative call volumes
Emergency Medical Dispatch 2.1.4 Recommends EMD program when staffing stabilizes
Based on the minimal impact of average
processing times, MCP recommends EMD
program implementation begin as soon as
possible
Fire/EMS Dispatcher 2.1.7 N/A MCP recommends a tactical fire dispatcher 24 x 7
Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning 2.2.2 N/A MCP recommends that staff explore methods for redirecting and re-engineering how non-
emergent and administrative calls are
processed
33 Key Finding/Results Section Needs Assessment MCP Alternative Recommendation Call-answer Attendant Programming 2.2.3 N/A MCP recommends reprogramming the call answer attendant to reduce the number of
administrative calls that are entering the
communications center, which will impact
minimum staffing levels
Facilities 2.3 Recommends 15 workstations MCP recommends 12 to 13 based on lower staffing numbers than the Needs Assessment
Training 2.5.1 N/A MCP recommends a tiered approach to
training, beginning with call taking, and all new
hires are certified as call takers to augment
staff with call takers that can answer
emergency and non-emergency calls
Use of Protocols 2.6.1 Recommends a workshop to develop call triaging workflows, including the
use of protocols
MCP recommends that Berkeley adopt the
IAED EMD program and take steps to
incrementally train telecommunicators in the
program
EMD and Behavioral Health Situations 2.6.2 Recommends a workshop to develop call triaging workflows, including use of
protocols
MCP recommends implementation of the IAED
EMD program and policies to support PDC’s
recently released EMD revised Protocol 25,
Psychiatric/Mental Health Conditions/Suicide
Attempt/Abnormal.
Nurse Navigation 2.6.3 NA MCP has included information in the brief related to the nurse navigation option for
Berkeley, which should be explored with the
implementation of EMD
34 Key Finding/Results Section Needs Assessment MCP Alternative Recommendation 988 2.6.4 NA Berkeley should maintain awareness of 988
activities as they unfold and explore
opportunities to interface with 988, including
any alternatives for processing calls with more
efficiency and more appropriate resources
Strategic Planning 2.7.1 NA MCP recommends the development of a strategic plan that is centric to the
communications center and the priority
recommendations included in this brief
Program Manager 2.7.2 NA MCP recommends hiring or appointing a program manager to oversee the development
and execution of the recommendations
Reclassification 2.7.3 NA MCP included information related to reclassification to evolve with the minimum job
knowledge, skills, and abilities contained in the
job descriptions, performance appraisals, and
training programs relevant to the
telecommunicator position
35 Appendix C: Prioritized Recommendations
The highest priority is for Berkeley to designate a program manager with internal knowledge of the communications center to lead the overall efforts discussed in this executive brief to achieve the following:
• Implementing dispatch protocols
• Implementing tiered dispatching
• Exploring alternatives for low-acuity calls
• Achieving a more professional workflow for fire dispatch • Mending the organizational culture in pursuit of organizational health and wellness A program manager is critical to obtaining the buy-in and support from City officials as well as leadership within the served agencies. The program manager should have extensive knowledge of the communications center and its challenges, opportunities, and threats. The program manager would be responsible for planning, executing, and tracking the various projects needed to achieve the identified goals. Ideally the position would be filled by a staff member from either the police or fire department.
Once onboard, the program manager would begin to address the priority recommendations, shown in the table below, ranked as follows:
• High – Urgent and important; most critical priorities • Medium – Urgent, not as important; less critical priorities • Low – Urgent or important; least critical priorities
The recommendations include high-level steps that can be used as metrics, with outcomes once the recommendation is achieved.
The program manager, after meeting with executive leadership, would have the authority to re-prioritize, as necessary, the recommendations.
36 Recommendations Metrics Outcomes Report
Reference
High Priorities
Develop a strategic plan that is
communications center focused
x Design the strategic plan format and
structure
x Create an oversight committee to
actively engage in the strategic
plan’s development, its execution,
follow-through, and outcomes
x Determine if outside facilitation is
needed
x Complete strategic plan workshops
x Write the plan
x Train/educate staff and identify
owners
x Develop a communications plan to
keep all staff and stakeholders
engaged and informed as strategic
plan initiatives are planned,
executed, and measured
x Framework is developed that
identifies and supports the
organizational strategy
x A common language is used to
express strategy
x A well-developed habit of using the
framework and language to
continually evaluate the
organization’s progress is in place
2.7.1 Hire a dedicated recruiter and/or contract
for recruiting and hiring support services
x Select hiring or appointment team
x Identify core skills and
responsibilities
x Create job description (if not
contractual)
x Recruiter completes onboarding and
is acquainted with the
communications center’s staffing
situation
x Recruiter develops a comprehensive
recruiting plan, including timeline and
budgetary impacts
2.1.10
37 Recommendations Metrics Outcomes Report
Reference
x Determine and approve salary (and
benefits package if applicable)
x Hire or appoint recruiter
x Additional support needed for
recruiting is identified and tasks are
assigned
Implement staffing and workflow changes
(dispatch positions, call taker, and
records desk)
x Validate staffing recommendations
and continue to monitor key
performance indicators, service
levels, and use of time off that may
impact optimal staffing needs
x Consider over-hiring in anticipation
of turnover
x Develop job descriptions and policies
to support new positions (e.g., ATC)
x Identify appropriate wages for new
positions
x Develop a strategy to hire the
recommended staffing complement
(program manager, management,
and HR)
x Identify labor management impacts
x Recruit, hire, and train employees
x New job descriptions are complete
x Policy, procedure and workflows are
created or updated to reflect any
new positions
x Recommended authorized strength
of staff is in place
2.1 Hire a training/QA coordinator x Select hiring or appointment team x Identify core skills and
responsibilities
x Develops and manages the QA
program
x Direct oversight of the training
program
2.7.4
38 Recommendations Metrics Outcomes Report
Reference
x Create job description (if not
contractual)
x Determine and approve salary (and
benefits package if applicable)
x Hire or appoint training/QA
coordinator
x Manages any accreditations or
credentialing programs
x Ensures alignment of programs with
national standards and best
practices
x Works closely with staff and
agencies to determine training needs
of the organization and develops
appropriate programs
x Budget development support for
training-related costs
Continue to engage in continuous
recruiting cycles
x Assess the current recruiting
strategies and identify gaps
x Continuous recruitment rhythm is
established
x The “virtual bench” expands
2.1.10 Develop standing reports that tracks
performance metrics (e.g., call processing
times, time off usage)
x Develop standing reports to KPIs
x Establish distribution workflow and
rhythm
x KPIs are consistently reviewed and
adjustments made where needed to
reach goals
2.7.4 Reprogram the auto attendant to
limit/redirect administrative calls from
entering the communications center
x Review the existing call flow
x Determine necessary changes
x Educate the public about the change
and 311
x Identify staff to handle the changes
x Implement changes
x Administrative call volume decreases
x Public awareness campaigns are
used as refreshers
x Telecommunicators have more time
on task
2.2.3
39 Recommendations Metrics Outcomes Report
Reference
x Monitor the change and make
necessary adjustments
Audit ancillary duties to determine if any
non-core duties can be eliminated,
reassigned, or re-engineered
x Identify the staff member to handle
this task
x Determine the tool(s) that will be
used to conduct the audit
x Conduct the audit, compile the
results, and recommend changes as
warranted
x Ancillary duties are germane to the
work of the communications center
are removed from the center
x Production within the center
improves
2.1.8 Medium Priorities
Form a workgroup to explore technical
and/or operational workflow options (e.g.,
AI/ML, CAD-to-CAD integration)
x Identify workgroup participant (cross
section of communications center
staff, stakeholders, and agency
representatives)
x Identify viable options (ACD, AI/ML,
auto attendant, workflow
adjustments)
x Explore cost impacts
x Identify applicable KPIs and statistics
to monitor the impact of the program
x Non emergent and administrative
calls into the center are reduced
x KPIs are routinely tracked and
reported out
x CAD-to-CAD interfaces are
established, reducing time on tasks
2.2 Implement EMD and a related QA
program that aligns with national
standards and best practices
x Explore IAED EMD program
x Identify cost impacts (e.g., training,
certification, and maintenance)
x EMD is implemented into the training
program
x EMD is transitioned from ACRECC
to Berkeley
2.1.4 2.6.2
40 Recommendations Metrics Outcomes Report
Reference
x Begin procurement process
x Select vendor
x Develop project plan and timeline
x Identify applicable KPIs and statistics
to monitor the impact of the program
x Develop procedures to frame out
EMD and QA
x Conduct training and receive
certifications
x Citizens are provided life-saving pre-
arrival instructions
Conduct a job analysis on the supervisor
positions to determine if any job tasks can
be reassigned, re-engineered, or
eliminated
x Survey employees to determine all
job tasks and responsibilities,
including time on task
x Compile data and findings and
analyze them to identify what
secondary duties can be eliminated
from essential functions
x Supervisor workload is reduced,
allowing more time for oversight and
employee engagement
x Job description is updated
2.1.2 Low Priorities
Form a workgroup to review policies and
procedures related to MDTs
Update and conduct refresher training
with field staff and supervisors
x Identify workgroup members (staff
and field users)
x Review existing procedures for MDT
use (internal and external) (task
force)
x MDT usage is commonplace,
reducing radio traffic
x Routine incident statistics are
captured by field users, rather than
telecommunicators
2.2.4
41 Recommendations Metrics Outcomes Report
Reference
x Review existing field training
practices for MDT use
x Update and/or create procedures, as
needed
x Telecommunicator workload is
reduced
Conduct a comprehensive compensation
and benefits study and establish a policy
for annual compensation reviews of
regional ECCs
x Identify methods for the
compensation study and resources
needed to support it
x Identify participants
x Conduct survey
x There is a current view of
compensation within the area
x The City can begin planning for
changes
x Personnel are assured that the City
values their work
x Compensation may increase
2.7.3 Partner with regional agencies for
possible opportunities to share in
recruitment efforts; partners can include
other public safety agencies
x Identify regional partners
x Discuss available opportunities
x Educate the public on the
campaign(s)
x Contributes to the strategy to
compete with the private sector
x May recognize greater applicants
2.1.10 Form a working group to engage with a
firm to develop a space plan that includes
a current needs assessment and
identifies a growth factor for the next 30
years
x Identify working group participants
x Budget for an assessment
x Identify and contract with a third-
party firm and/or architect for a
space needs study
x Berkeley understands the space
constraints of the center and can
begin planning for future needs
2.3 Establish an alternative response
committee involving relevant stakeholders
to determine the feasibility of
x Identify committee participants from
all disciplines, including the
communications center
x Telecommunicator workload may be
reduced
2.6.2 2.6.3
42 Recommendations Metrics Outcomes Report
Reference
implementing alternative response
procedures and technology x Identify what might be eligible for alternative responses and possible
solutions
x Explore cost implications, if
appropriate
x Present findings to City leadership
x The right resources are prioritized
over field response (as appropriate)
x The right resources are sent to those
in crisis
x The appropriate resource is handling
the communication
2.6.4
Prepared by:
Federal Engineering, Inc.
10560 Arrowhead Dr, Suite 100
Fairfax, VA 22030
703-359-8200
City of Berkeley
Communications Center
Needs Assessment and Recommendations Report
October 25th, 2022
City of Berkeley
Needs Assessment and
Recommendations Report
October 25, 2022 Page 2 of 123
Table of Contents
Executive Summary 8
1. Introduction 9
1.1 Background 9
1.2 Methodology 9
2. Initial Findings 13
2.1 Communications Center Overview 13
2.2 Recurring Themes 13
2.3 Crisis Response Model Challenges 16
2.4 Berkeley Communications Center (ECC) 17
2.4.1 Governance 17
2.4.2 Facility 18
2.4.3 Power Systems 18
2.4.3.1 Physical Security 18
2.4.3.2 System Furniture 19
2.4.4 Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) 19
2.4.5 Staffing 19
2.5 Berkeley Police Department 20
2.6 Berkeley Fire Department 20
3. Organizational Analysis 22
3.1 Observations 22
3.1.1 Governance 23
3.1.2 Recommendations 24
4. Staffing 25
4.1 Current Staffing 25
4.2 Salary Ranges 27
4.3 Supervision 27
4.4 Recruiting Process 29
4.5 Ancillary Duties 30
4.6 Recommendations 31
4.6.1 Succession Planning 31
4.6.2 Recruiting 31
4.6.3 Employee Wellness Program 31
5. Workload and Performance Data Indicators 32
5.1.1 Summary Performance Data 32
5.1.2 Telephone Statistics 32
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Recommendations Report
October 25, 2022 Page 3 of 123
5.1.3 CAD Statistics 35
6. Staffing & Workload Analysis 38
6.1 Standards and Best Practices 39
6.2 Staffing Recommendations 40
6.3 Call-Taking 42
6.3.1 Observations 44
6.3.2 Recommendations 45
6.4 Dispatching 46
6.4.1 Assignment of Multiple Primary Dispatch Talkgroups 47
6.4.2 Use of Current Technology to Reduce Radio Traffic 47
6.4.3 Tactical or Operational Talkgroups and Channels 47
6.4.4 Dedicated Dispatch Positions 48
6.4.4.1 Observations 48
6.4.4.2 Recommendations 49
6.5 Supervision 50
6.5.1 Observations 53
6.5.2 Recommendations 53
6.6 Methodology for Staffing Recommendation 55
6.6.1 Recommended Staffing Model 55
6.6.2 Staffing Recommendations for Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) Implementation 59
6.6.3 Recommendations for Staffing & Recruiting 60
6.7 Facilities Analysis 61
6.7.1 Space 61
6.7.2 Recommendations: 62
6.7.3 Considerations: 62
6.7.4 Long-Term Needs 63
6.7.5 Backup Facilities & Business Continuity 63
6.7.6 Recommendations for Back-Up Facility: 64
6.7.7 Recommendations for Business Continuity: 66
6.8 Next Generation 9-1-1 66
6.8.1 Recommendations 67
6.9 IT Support Model 67
7. Call Processing & Workflow Analysis 69
7.1 Call Flow Description 69
7.2 Call-Taking and Dispatch Processes 70
7.2.1 Police Call-Taking Procedure 70
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Needs Assessment and
Recommendations Report
October 25, 2022 Page 4 of 123
7.2.2 Fire Call-Taking Procedure 70
7.2.3 9-1-1 Call Triage and Process 71
7.2.4 9-1-1 Call for Berkeley Police Service 71
7.2.5 9-1-1 Call for Berkeley Fire Department Call 72
7.2.6 9-1-1 Call for EMS 74
7.2.7 9-1-1 Call for Mental Health Incidents 75
7.2.8 10-digit Emergency Lines 76
7.2.9 Non-emergency Police Complaint Line 76
7.2.10 Ten-digit Non-Emergency Lines 76
7.3 Observations 77
7.4 Recommendations – Call Processing 77
7.4.1 Workflow and Operations 77
7.4.2 Call-Taking and Dispatch Protocols 78
7.4.3 Implementation of EMD Protocols 78
7.4.4 Implementation of EFD & EPD Protocols 79
7.4.4.1 Accreditation 79
8. Crisis Response 80
8.1 Observations 82
8.2 Recommendations 82
9. Training Practices and QA Review 86
9.1 Training 86
9.1.1 New Employee Training 86
9.1.2 Call-Taker Training 87
9.1.2.1 Dispatcher Training 87
9.1.3 Supervisor Training 88
9.1.4 Continuing Education 88
9.1.5 Quality Assurance and Quality Improvement 88
9.2 Recommendations - Training 88
9.3 Recommendations – Quality Assurance 90
10. Technology 93
10.1 Computer Aided Dispatch 93
10.1.1 CAD Discipline Modules 93
10.1.2 CAD Interfaces 94
10.2 Mapping/GIS 94
10.3 Mobile Data Devices 95
10.4 9-1-1 Answering Equipment 96
10.5 Logging Recorder 96
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Needs Assessment and
Recommendations Report
October 25, 2022 Page 5 of 123
10.6 Emergency Notification System 97
10.7 Emergency Dispatch Protocols 97
10.8 Radio Dispatch Consoles 97
10.8.1 Interoperability 98
10.9 Law Enforcement Records Management System (LERMS) 98
10.10 Fire Records Management System (FRMS) 99
10.11 Recommendations 99
11. Assuming Dispatching for Piedmont Fire 100
11.1 City of Piedmont 100
11.2 City of Piedmont Fire Department 100
11.3 City of Piedmont Emergency Communications Center 101
11.4 Current Workload – City of Piedmont 101
11.4.1 Telephone 101
11.4.2 Total Calls by Year 101
11.4.3 Calls by Day of Week 102
11.4.4 Calls by Hour of Day 102
11.5 Staffing at the City of Piedmont Communications Center 103
11.6 Current Dispatching Process 103
11.7 Current Interactions with Other Agencies 104
11.7.1 Alameda County Regional Emergency Communications Center (ACRECC) 104
11.7.2 City of Oakland 104
11.8 Policy Manual Review 105
11.9 Training Manual Review 105
11.10 Operational Considerations for Integrating PFD Dispatch 105
11.10.1 Telephone Systems 105
11.10.2 Radio 105
11.10.3 CAD 106
11.10.4 Emergency Notification System 107
11.11 Training 107
11.12 PFD/BFD Dispatch Policies 107
11.13 Consolidation Cost Considerations 107
11.14 Recommendation 108
12. Berkeley Assuming Dispatching for Albany Fire 109
12.1 City of Albany 109
12.2 City of Albany Fire Department (AFD) 109
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October 25, 2022 Page 6 of 123
12.3 City of Albany Emergency Communications Center (AECC) 110
12.3.1 Staffing at the AECC 110
12.3.2 Current Workload 111
12.3.3 Fire Incidents 112
12.4 Current Dispatching Process 112
12.5 Current Interactions with Other Agencies 113
12.5.1 Alameda County Regional Emergency Communications Center (ACRECC) 113
12.5.2 City of Berkeley 113
12.6 Policy Manual Review 113
12.7 Training Manual Review 113
12.8 Operational Considerations for Integrating AFD Dispatch 113
12.8.1 Telephone Systems 113
12.8.2 Radio 114
12.8.3 CAD 114
12.8.4 Interfaces 115
12.8.5 Fire Station Alerting 115
12.8.6 Mobile Data Computers (MDC) 115
12.8.7 Automated Vehicle Location (AVL) 116
12.8.8 Paging 116
12.8.9 Emergency Notification System 116
12.8.10 Training 116
12.8.11 Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) 116
12.8.12 AFD/BFD Dispatch Policies 117
12.9 Consolidation Costs 117
12.10 Recommendation 119
13. Funding Model 120
14. High Level Implementation Plan 121
Table 1 - ECC Employees............................................................................................. 25 Table 2 - Minimum Staffing ........................................................................................... 26 Table 3 - ECC Current Salary Ranges .......................................................................... 27 Table 4 - Percentage of Total Calls – 2021................................................................... 32 Table 5 - Percent of Total 9-1-1 Calls – 2021................................................................ 32 Table 6 - Berkeley ECC Phone Statistics 2017 – 2021 ................................................. 33 Table 7 - CAD Events 2017 – 2021............................................................................... 35 Table 8 - Percentage of CAD Events - 2018 – 2021 ..................................................... 36 Table 9 - Berkeley ECC – Staffing Recommendations.................................................. 40
City of Berkeley
Needs Assessment and
Recommendations Report
October 25, 2022 Page 7 of 123
Table 10 - Recommended Staffing without Turnover Factored In ................................. 41 Table 11 - Recommended Staffing with Turnover Factored In...................................... 41 Table 12 - All Telephone Calls ...................................................................................... 42 Table 13 - Phone Calls by Month .................................................................................. 43 Table 14 - Hourly Call Volume Distribution and Recommended Call-Takers ................ 45 Table 15 - CAD Events.................................................................................................. 47 Table 16 - Dedicated Dispatch Positions....................................................................... 48 Table 17 - Hourly Call Volume Distribution with Recommended Dispatchers ............... 49 Table 18 - Hourly Call Volume Distribution with Recommended Supervisors ............... 53 Table 19 - Current ECC Employees.............................................................................. 56 Table 20 - Recommended ECC Employees - No Turnover........................................... 56 Table 21 - Recommended ECC Employees - With Turnover........................................ 56 Table 22 - Recommended Staffing by Hour of the Day................................................. 57 Table 23 - Incoming Call Statistics ................................................................................ 63 Table 24 - Berkeley Communications Center Interfaces ............................................... 94 Table 25 - Primary Dispatch Talk Groups - Police ........................................................ 97 Table 26 - Primary Dispatch Talk Groups - Fire ............................................................ 98 Table 27 - Piedmont Fire CAD Event Types ............................................................... 103 Table 28 - AECC Incoming Calls................................................................................. 111 Table 29 - Albany Call Processing Times.................................................................... 112 Table 30 - Albany CAD Call Types.............................................................................. 112 Table 31 - Financial Analysis & Projected Costs Estimates ........................................ 120 Table 32 - High-Level Implementation Plan ................................................................ 121 Figure 1 - Call Volume by Hour - All Calls 2017 – 2021 ................................................ 33 Figure 2 - Call Volume by Day of Week 2017 – 2021 ................................................... 34 Figure 3 - Percentage of Calls Answered < 15 Seconds............................................... 35 Figure 4 - CAD Events by Discipline 2018 – 2021 ........................................................ 36 Figure 5 - Percentages of Law, Fire, and EMS Calls - 2018 – 2021 ............................. 37 Figure 6 - Piedmont Calls by Month ............................................................................ 102 Figure 7 - Piedmont Calls by Day of Week 2016 – 2021............................................. 102 Figure 8 - Piedmont Calls by Hour of Day 2016 – 2021 .............................................. 103
City of Berkeley
Needs Assessment and
Recommendations Report
October 25, 2022 Page 8 of 123
Executive Summary
Federal Engineering, Inc. (FE) is pleased to provide the City of Berkeley with this report concerning the current conditions, needs assessment, and initial findings of the Berkeley Emergency Communications Center (ECC).
To prepare this report, FE followed a data collection process which included the submission of a Request for Information (RFI), a data collection survey tool (survey), and formal stakeholder interviews and focus group meetings. The information and data collected via the survey and the user and stakeholder input, was then analyzed by FE’s subject matter experts (SMEs), who applied their collective experience and knowledge of industry best practices and standards towards the development of this Assessment.
The intent of the system observations, analysis, and recommendations found in this report is not to be an all-inclusive list of everything mentioned or discovered during FE’s virtual interviews, staff meetings, and system compone nt descriptions. The intent is to provide Berkeley management and the stakeholders with a high-level overview of the most common or frequently heard comments, concerns, or observations, as well as an actionable list of next steps towards a path forward. An all-inclusive list of deficiencies, enhancements, and applicable recommendations will be included in the new system’s functional requirements, the next logical step for the City to take, as the follow-on initiative of this project.
Based on the various meetings, individual interviews, observations, review of existing documentation and the survey results, FE gained an understanding of the operations, service requirements, workflow processes, training programs, and deficiencies of the ECC.
The scope of work of this project includes current state, requirements gathering, needs assessment, and recommendations for the ECC, including an evaluation of Berkeley’s efforts to “Reimagine Public Safety,” as well as a recently conducted feasibility study for a Specialized Care Unit (SCU). This effort is designed to include an alternative mental health and substance use crisis response model that does not involve law enforcement.
The findings from this review and interaction served to benchmark the current conditions at the ECC. A description of the analysis and review, supporting narrative and references, and recommendations based on these standards and best practices, as well as our experience, formed the content of this report.
City of Berkeley
Needs Assessment and
Recommendations Report
October 25, 2022 Page 9 of 123
1. Introduction
1.1 Background
Federal Engineering, Inc. (FE) was contracted to provide the City of Berkeley (the City) with professional consulting services to conduct a needs assessment and strategic planning effort for the Berkeley Communications Center (ECC). The focus of the initiative is to assist in transitioning the ECC to a prioritized fire and medical dispatch system through a needs assessment based on trending call volumes into the ECC, as well as identifying products/solutions that are the best fit for the City.
The ECC functions as a primary Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) for the City of Berkeley and is operated under the command of the Berkeley Police Department. The ECC is part of the Support Services Division of the Berkeley Police Department, overseen by a sworn police captain. The ECC is staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year by a team of well-trained Public Safety Dispatchers (PSDs) under the direction of a non-sworn Communications Center manager.
The ECC receives and dispatches all emergency and non-emergency police, fire, and medical calls for the greater Berkeley community. The ECC also provides fire dispatching services for the University of California (Berkeley) campus. While medical calls are dispatched by the ECC, today they are transferred to Alameda County Regional Emergency Communications Center (ACRECC) who is contracted by City of Berkeley for the provision of International Academy of Emergency Dispatch (IAED) Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD)™ processing and relevant Pre-Arrival and Post-Dispatch Instructions. This is a requirement for ALS funding in agencies within Alameda County.
Berkeley Fire Department is looking to implement EMD call-taking in the Berkeley ECC, thus it is one of the primary focus areas of this study and report.
1.2 Methodology
To successfully conduct a comprehensive analysis and operational needs assessment of the ECC an understanding of the current state related to operations, systems, and infrastructure is imperative. The Berkeley community is unique, and there must be a thorough understanding of the intricacies of the workflow and relationships between, and within, agencies to identify opportunities for improvement, develop a future vision for solutions, and guide the City of Berkeley through implementation and cutover to new processes, technologies, or systems. To answ er questions driving this evaluation, a
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mixed-methods approach is required. Part of the methodology involves analyzing the ongoing reporting data captured by the FE Data Collection Survey Tool.
To build interest, ownership, and engagement for the assessment and change vision, stakeholders were approached to participate in on-site and remote interviews to provide qualitative data on current state including organizational structure, process, workflow, challenges, and opportunities for growth. These interviews were conducted to develop a thorough understanding of the unique technological and staffing aspects of the Berkeley ECC operation, as well as to gain an understanding of the emerging innovative solutions currently in development to meet community health needs. This dual approach is intent on exploring current practices with a goal of enhancing the quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of services to marry system-oriented outcomes and community-oriented outcomes.
This research also includes information gleaned from the larger effort to Reimagine Public Safety, as well as a recently conducted feasibility study for a Specialized Care Unit (SCU), that included an alternative mental health and substance use crisis response model that does not involve law enforcement.
This Needs Assessment and Recommendations Report is a consolidated document that is structured to focus independently on the following assessment factors:
Our assessment of ECC operations includes, but is not limited to, the following:
භ ECC operation policies
භ Organization charts
භ 9-1-1 and non-emergency telephony configuration and deployment භ Mutual aid agreements
භ Facilities space and layout
භ Scheduling software/practices
භ Workflow/process maps for call-taking and dispatching භ Call processing and workload statistics
භ Call volume statistics
භ Training requirements and processes
භ QA/QI requirements and processes
භ Mapping/GIS, voice logging, CAD, RMS technology
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භ Performance metrics
භ Current budgets and operations costs
භ Operational and reporting requirements
භ Service level agreements
භ Human resources/contract information
The mixed methods approach provided the opportunity for the participating police and fire departments, as well as other agencies and stakeholders to confirm and validate the FE statements and descriptions that are the basis and foundation for all subsequent steps of the project.
Specifically, stakeholder representatives included managers and frontline staff from:
භ Berkeley ECC
භ Berkeley Police Department
භ Berkeley Fire Department
භ City of Berkeley Human Resources
භ Specialized Care Unit (SCU)
භ Albany Fire Department and Communications Center
භ Piedmont Fire Department and Communications Center
FE used interviews and meetings to provide participants with ample opportunity to present their views regarding the feasibility, options, requirements, and concerns around the ECC and the proposed pilot programs. Our subjec t matter experts (SMEs) systematically evaluated the feasibility of modifying the ECC’s dispatch methodologies that included:
භ Existing challenges and concerns regarding the integration of the Alameda County Regional Emergency Communications Center (ACRECC) in the provision of emergency medical dispatch (EMD) protocol pre-arrival instructions and changes that could be made to address these concerns
භ The onboarding of Albany Fire Department and Piedmont Fire Department as new fire dispatch services clients
භ Technologies, staffing, and requirements needed for the city to effectively adopt EMD protocols and onboard new fire dispatch clients
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To prepare this report, FE followed a data collection process which included the submission of a Request for Information (RFI), a data collection survey tool (survey), and formal stakeholder interviews and focus group meetings. The information and data collected via the survey and the user and stakeholder input, was then analyzed by FE’s SMEs, who applied their collective experience and knowledge of industry best practices and standards toward the development of this Draft Assessment report.
FE’s assessment, and the subsequent development of recommendations resulting from an exhaustive elucidation and review proces s, becomes the formulation of a long-range strategic plan that meets the vision and objectives of this effort.
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2. Initial Findings
2.1 Communications Center Overview
Throughout our site observations and interviews, our interactions with the Berkeley team were positive. We found both frontline and leadership alike to be committed to the process, aware that there are opportunities for service enhancement, thus this project, and were forthcoming and professional in their interviews about the current state, the desired future vision and project outcome, as well as the barriers and concerns that are typical in the migration toward structured call-taking and dispatch protocols.
It is apparent that from every corner of the organization, staff are dedicated to the mission of serving the community and are ready for needed change and improvements in the current environment.
2.2 Recurring Themes
Recurring themes reported throughout our data gathering, observation, and interview process include:
භ Primarily, that despite any challenges the ECC and team are facing, they are exceptional professionals. They recognize the need for change and understand the necessity for implementing Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) and improving their operational practices, staffing levels, facility, and standard of care and practice. They welcome the opportunity in front of them. භ There is a perception that Supervisors and Dispatchers are not on the same page and there is inconsistent application of training, policy and procedure, coaching, evaluation, and discipline. Utilizing an aligned leadership approach that is consistent across all teams, and a system that has clear expectations and an objective, standardized Quality Assurance program is welcome and required to increase morale.
භ Staffing challenges in the ECC which include:
o Staffing shortages
o Increase in call volume and population, as well as expanded Police and Fire response and service/program provision without the increase in ECC staffing to accommodate it.
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o ECC staff belong to the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1021; a labor union that represents clerical, maintenance, and other City staff, and is not representative of public safety/first responder professionals or conditions.
o Workplace culture that is suffering. Staff are doing their best given the circumstances. However, a combination of short staffing, overtime, inconsistency in supervision, leadership, mentorship, a lack of training and professional development opportunities, combined with a heavy workload and trauma and stress exposure from the work performed leaves staff fatigued, and increases illness, absenteeism, workplace conflict, and if left unchecked will continue to perpetuate a difficult working environment and culture. භ Recruiting challenges including:
o All hiring is completed by the Personnel and Training Team in collaboration with City of Berkeley Human Resources Division
o Length of time and the process it takes to recruit and process qualified candidates (minimum 6-8 months from posting to first day of work) o Lower wages when compared to neighboring ECCs
o There is a continuous lateral program for experienced Dispatchers; however, applications are limited due to lower wages and retirement tier differences in comparison to other PSAPs in the area
o Lack of hiring incentives (as compared to neighboring PSAPs that offer them) o A gap in ability to remain competitive in the labor market, considering the challenges noted above
භ Training
o The ECC is tasked with managing, creating, and delivering their own training program.
o There is no designated training position whose primary role is to oversee the training program. Instead, staff conduct the development, delivery, and maintenance of the training program while performing their other duties as Supervisors/Dispatcher.
o Communications Training Officers (CTOs) that are POST certified receive a 10% wage increase when they are conducting training for Police Dispatch and a 5% increase when providing training for all other non-police positions.
This is not a continuous pay increase and is only applied during actual training delivery hours.
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o New recruits receive a combination of classroom and direct hands-on training at the workstation amid (high) active call volume. While exposure to high call volume for portions of the trainees at the workstation time is beneficial, in the current environment, high call volume is the norm due to the workload without staffing capacity to support it. This hinders a recruit’s ability to learn effectively, or for the trainer to have capacity to effectively coach them. o Because there is no scripted call-taking protocol software, there is inconsistency and variation in the training process and call processing performance expectations.
o Staffing shortages often prevent staff from attending training courses or conferences for continued dispatch education.
o Training is lengthy (9-12 months) and previous data indicates that only 45% of trainees are successful.
භ Change Management and Inclusion in the Change Process:
o Overall, there is intentional effort in effective communication and change management between the ECC, and Police and Fire Departments. o When procedures or policies change for Police or Fire Departments, ECC management is included in the early stages of the process. o When Fire or Police implement changes to their response, procedure, or programs, there is seldom a gap between when it is implemented and when there is a collective understanding of the change and ability (or capacity) for the ECC to fully support them.
භ A concern that the ECC will not be able to resolve its current staffing situation and operating challenges in time to support upcoming EMD and Crisis Response programs and pilot projects.
භ COVID impacts; the pressures, stress, short staffing and additional workload and procedural changes that it brought (and continues to bring). There was an initial hiring freeze during COVID, and the Recruitment and Retention Team was abolished.
භ A facility/room that the ECC has outgrown – there is no room for expansion or re- organization within the current ECC facility.
භ There is no backup center to relocate to, no evacuation or emergency management plan, no contingency or business continuity plan despite Berkeley being located on a major fault line. While there are no federal requirements for a backup center, NFPA 1225, Section 12.2.2 requires a comprehensive emergency
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plan (CEMP), and Section 12.2.6 requires that an alternate communications center be provided.
භ Openness to and interest in the possibility of implementing Emergency Medical Dispatch and Emergency Fire Dispatch protocol.
2.3 Crisis Response Model Challenges
The capacity for the ECC to take on new process to support alternative response programs is limited due to the current staffing crisis. However, there is opportunity for the current call triage process utilized for the Mobile Crisis Team to be improved and formalized without a significant impact on the ECC staff. There is no structured method or interrogation process to determine if a call is mental health in nature, instead, there is a reliance upon the caller to self-disclose. The introduction of the Specialized Care Unit (SCU) will affect the ECC on a much larger scale and will require a change management methodology in order to be successful. The ECC and other stakeholders need to initiate dialogue immediately so that there is staff buy-in, and to ensure the change management process is successful. The ECC must be included in the conversation and the decision- making process so that there is mutual understanding, training considerations, and input when creating policy, designing work practices, and training programs. Specific process with detailed steps and clear ECC direction is required when the new policy is implemented. Appropriate staffing levels must be in place prior to implementation.
Current Crisis Response Model challenges include, but are not limited to, the following:
භ Mobile Crisis Team (MCT) is currently operational
o The team is rarely dispatched first instance by the ECC; thus, this is not a true ‘diversion’ team because it generally does not eliminate the need for patrol response to police call for service.
o There is no formal risk assessment to determine appropriate dispatch criteria. o The team works 5 days per week and only work until 10 PM. භ Specialized Care Unit (SCU) pilot program currently in development o Designing the Specialized Care Unit is part of the City of Berkeley’s broader effort to reimagine public safety in Berkeley. This process has included significant stakeholder involvement, including from the Berkeley Fire Department, to design a team to meet the community need for behavioral health crisis response services.
o The request for proposals for the SCU Provider was released on June 30 and closed on August 23, 2022. As the review process is complete and a provider
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is selected, additional engagement opportunities will emerge for the SCU and ECC to determine exact calls for service and training.
o Recommended calls for SCU were determined by research from alternative models in other cities, community stakeholders and crisis responders. The ECC was not included in the process to recommend appropriate calls for service.
o Dispatch triage process has not been determined to clearly define and code appropriate calls for service or determine dispatch criteria. o Currently, the SCU has no clearly structured integration plan in the continuum of care. Clear distinction between MCT and SCU calls for service must be determined to prevent redundancy and confusion for ECC and for the community.
o 9-1-1 and SCU phone line integration was recommended by Resource Development Associates (RDA), yet the ECC has not been included in process or technological plans.
o There is no defined method of data mining or evaluation of programs to ensure consistent delivery of services and continuous improvement of programs. Data collection and reporting will fall upon the selected Community Based Organization who may or may not have the technology or process required to continuously monitor and evaluate the Pilot Program.
The remainder of this report will outline cu rrent conditions at the ECC and will expand further on some of the themes and gaps above as informed by our findings during data collection and site observations, and recommendations to address them.
2.4 Berkeley Communications Center (ECC)
The ECC is located within the Public Safety Building at 2100 Martin Luther King Jr Way and serves the entire geographical area of the City of Berkeley as well as supporting fire dispatch for the University of California (Berkeley) campus. The City of Berkeley has an estimated population of 121,485 (2019) and encompasses an area of about 18 square miles. The ECC’s total annual call volume average is more than 200,000 emergency and non-emergency calls.
2.4.1 Governance
Management and oversight of the ECC is administered by the Berkeley Police Department (BPD). The ECC serves as the Primary Public Safety Answering Point
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(PSAP) for the City of Berkeley. The ECC is responsible for answering and processing 9- 1-1, ten-digit emergency and non-emergency calls for service and provides dispatch services for Berkeley Police Department (BPD) and Berkeley Fire Department (BFD).
Further, the ECC also provides call answer, dispatch, and support for City Departments such as Animal Services and internal calls for service to the City’s Public Works, Utilities Departments, and Parking Enforcement.
2.4.2 Facility
The ECC is located on the 2nd floor of the Public Safety Building, along with offices for the police and fire departments.
2.4.3 Power Systems
The building has an ONAN DFEC-3379147 450KW backup power generator, capable of handling all the power requirements of the building during an interruption of commercial power. The generator was installed in year 2000 and is a diesel-power system. The generator is tested weekly for 15 minutes, but it is not known if that is under full load.
There is an uninterruptable power supply (UPS) system for the ECC that will keep all electronics up and running while the diesel generator is starting and coming up to full power.
Without doing an extensive power use study, the existing emergency generator appears to be sufficient for the ECC. An evaluation of the UPS loads should be undertaken to ensure that there is at least the NFPA required fifteen minutes load capacity on the system
1. Only mission critical equipment (computers, other electronics on the dispatch floor and in the server room) should be on the UPS. Policies should be in place prohibiting the unauthorized use of UPS outlets at the workstations.
2.4.3.1 Physical Security
There are a minimum of two locked doors between the ECC and public access areas.
The building itself is located adjacent to the street, but it was undetermined if any of the street-facing windows were impact resistant. The main entrance has been retrofitted with a roll-down steel door that can be closed if needed to protect that entrance. 1 National Fire Protection Association 1225 Standard for Emergency Services Communications, 2022 Edition, Section 12.8.8.3
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2.4.3.2 System Furniture
There are eight system furniture positions installed in the ECC. All eight positions have CAD, 9-1-1 answering equipment, and radio dispatch consoles. The furniture is provided by Watson, and all positions have CAD, radio and 9-1-1 equipment.
2.4.4 Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD)
Berkeley ECC receives requests for Emergency Medical Services (EMS) calls via 9-1-1 and 10-digit emergency lines. EMS calls receive initial triage in the ECC, and EMS dispatch is provided by Berkeley ECC within the City of Berkeley. The PSD call-taker creates a call in CAD using the “medial” call type; they obtain basic information such as verifying address, phone number, obtain the reason for EMS request, along with age and sex, then enter the call into pending in CAD so the PSD assigned to fire dispatch can dispatch Berkeley EMS to the call. The call is then transferred to ACRECC, who are responsible for providing Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) call-taking protocol and post-dispatch and pre-arrival instructions.
2.4.5 Staffing
ECC staffing is provided by civilian staff who are trained in 9-1-1, Police, and Fire call- taking and dispatch. Typical shift staffing includes one Supervising Public Safety Dispatcher (Supervisor), two dispatch positions covering police or fire, one records dispatch position, and up to three call-taker positions depending on time of day. The staff work modified ten-hour shifts with five different start times (6 AM, 10:30 AM, 12 PM, 4 PM and 8:30 PM).
All staff are cross trained to perform both call-taker and dispatcher roles. This allows flexibility in the ECC; staff can rotate roles and provide back-up support and coverage for one another throughout their shifts as required.
Ancillary duties listed in the data collection workbook and noted via observation included:
භ Answering administrative switchboard calls after hours and on weekends as well as during regular business hours when during periods of limited staffing භ Training
භ Maintaining other supplemental information systems
භ Minor troubleshooting for sworn personnel (Supervisor) භ Ongoing scheduling and overtime scheduling (Supervisor)
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Detailed information on staffing can be found in Section 4. Staffing, and Section 6. Staffing & Workload Analysis.
2.5 Berkeley Police Department
The Berkeley Police Department provides law enforcement protection for the City of Berkeley and is responsible for the operation of the ECC.
In addition to responding to all law enforcement incidents in the city, the Police Department regularly co-responds on numerous Fire and EMS incidents. For EMS calls, Berkeley ECC receives the original 9-1-1 call and dispatches EMS, but transfers EMS calls to ACRECC for EMD provision. Berkeley ECC also dispatches BPD for EMS calls when required. Further information on this process will be included in Section 6.1, Call Flow Description.
Similarly, ECC staff process all 9-1-1 calls for Fire, and are responsible for the subsequent notification and dispatch of Fire Department resources. When Fire requires police response to one of their calls, they advise the ECC by radio, and the dispatcher creates a call for service in CAD for BPD.
2.6 Berkeley Fire Department
The Berkeley Fire Department (BFD) is an integrated fire and emergency medical services (EMS) ALS department that provides 24-hour response to emergencies including fire suppression, medical emergencies, hazardous materials events, water rescue, disaster response and other life-threatening emergencies to the City of Berkeley citizens and visitors. BFD operates out of seven separate locations within the city, housing seven engine companies, five truck companies, and four ambulances.
Berkeley Fire Department responds to a wide variety of fire, rescue, and medical calls.
For Fire calls in Berkeley, the ECC receives the original 9-1-1 call. The call-taker will obtain information such as address, the nature of the incident, and other pertinent details to categorize the call type and priority, which includes fires – structure, vehicle, or other, medical assist, or police assist. The dispatcher then accepts the call into CAD, dropping the call into the pending screen where the dispatcher can review and dispatch the appropriate BFD units to respond. Call location, information, and a run number is provided via mobile data terminals (MDTs) housed in the fire response vehicles.
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For EMS calls in Berkeley, the ECC receives the original 9-1-1 call. When EMS is requested, ECC staff will first verify and record in the CAD event (call form) the address of the emergency, the nature of the medical incident, and the patient’s age and sex, and will then transfer the voice call to ACRECC via a “hot button” transfer on the call handling system. ECC call-takers will enter the incident type as a medical call and will accept the call, dropping it into the CAD pending screen, where the fire dispatcher can review and send the appropriate BFD Ambulance to respond. Once the call is transferred to ACRECC, it is processed using the Medical Priority Dispatch System ™ structured Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) protocols. Additional detailed information on this process is provided in the Call Flow Description section below.
All BFD personnel are cross trained as Firefighters and Advanced Life Support (ALS) Paramedics and as part of the Department’s service provision, respond to all medical calls for service to provide patient care and transport the patient to the hospital.
Although there are frequent calls for response to EMS incidents, there is no electronic means or CAD to CAD interface to share call information or real time updates between the ECC and ACRECC, or from ACRECC to the BFD MDTs. Any further updates are provided by each ECC calling one another over the telephone and manually entering the information into CAD. This process is cumbersome and further complicated by difficulties reaching ACRECC during periods of peak call volume.
Berkeley Fire and Police respond together regularly. When Police require Fire response, the request is made through the ECC, with alerts going to the acting on-duty fire chief via radio, as well as electronically through the MDTs. There is a CAD to MDT interface that allows the sharing of information, as well as a radio talk group (channel) that Police and Fire communications share.
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3. Organizational Analysis
3.1 Observations
The Berkeley ECC, like many other similar communications operations, finds itself at the crossroads of change. The ECC has outgrown its current organizational model, and a re- examination of its oversight is in order.
While most public safety agencies have embraced the changing needs of the community, including the adoption of best practices, public safety communications facilities in general have not been included. The vision and direction of the ECC have changed, and the desire to implement EMD as well as a sophisticated call diversion program have jump- started a migration to a new model.
If the migration to a change in operations is to be achieved, there are certain key elements that will need to be addressed that will enable an improved standard of care and practice for the citizens of Berkeley. This will include providing specialized care to calls pertaining to mental health, behavioral health, substance abuse, and/or homelessness and will bring new and innovative levels of response to those requiring special care.
Public safety communications organizations are facing unprecedented personnel shortages and are desperately trying to hire and retain new employees. Wages and incentives to attract and retain qualified and experienced candidates may be needed to attract workers. In addition, new employee training programs have been moderately successful due to an outdated classroom approach as well as the lack of dedicated training staff. This is compounded by the fact that without protocol-based call-taking, or a training program led by dedicated training staff, it is difficult to train new employees with the consistency or the necessary support required to be fluent and confident in call-taking early in the process. The result is the washout and turnover of new employees, with some recruits not finishing their training and leaving either before, or shortly after being assigned to a regular shift.
It must be acknowledged that the ECC personnel are doing the best they can with the capacity and resources they have. However, with frequent staffing shortages, the lack of staff, support, and adequate time off combined with overtime takes its toll and impacts every level of the ECC operation. In short, turnover is occurring and will continue until the oversight and staffing issues are addressed.
Since its inception, the ECC has lived within the Berkeley Police Department organization.
While the City of Berkeley has grown in population, so too have call volumes. The
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traditional service delivery models that include police, fire, and emergency medical services are being challenged by our citizens. This includes the adoption of a brand-new service delivery model, driven by public opinion, which includes the diversion of certain call types from a police response to a mental health care approach. In the case of the ECC, staffing levels, and the operational and organizational model has not grown to support these changes in the response models which will impact workload, call volume, and staffing within the ECC.
As previously stated, the governance and leadership model are no longer serving the dynamic and demanding needs of a 21
st century Emergency Communications Center.
The process to hire a new Communications Center Manager is underway, and it is expected that this position will be staffed in Q3 or Q4 of 2022. It is anticipated that this will signify the first significant step to the migration of an enhanced service model.
The ECC, located in the police headquarters building, is managed, and funded by the PD in every respect. There is a commonly held perception that the ECC favors the police operation over fire and emergency medical services. While the respective chiefs work collaboratively to ensure both agencies’ needs are met, the reality is that the ECC has not grown in size to meet the expected level of service delivery. It is timely that thoughtful consideration be given to transition the ECC to become an independent city department.
3.1.1 Governance
Governance refers to establishing a shared vision and a collaborative decision-making process supporting in teroperability efforts to improve communication, coordination, and cooperation across jurisdictions.
Developing an appropriate governance structure for an independent ECC that supports multiple departments is a critical component to enabling leaders to effectively manage center resources and provide the best possible service to all user agencies and the community. The development of a governance structure is often be impacted by political and user agency control issues. It is therefore important to realize when collaborating on the shared services model, and combining services into an independent emergency communications facility, that the decisi on makers and leaders need to utilize ECC resources to best balance the needs of all user agencies as opposed to a single agency.
While this balance can be easily achieved, the governance structure can positively or negatively impact the ability of ECC management to maintain the balance long term.
Governance considerations will need to include a review process, lessons learned, scheduled system health checks, clear resource needs for support staff number, roles, training, and funding. Other considerations to include in governance planning is defining
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the structure of the system, how it will be maintained and by whom, and how to gain support from secondary agencies. The shared goal among the City, Police, and Fire must be that the ECC becomes an entity that is independent, but cooperatively supported by all parties.
3.1.2 Recommendations
To achieve the operational model the City of Berkeley needs and desires, we recommend:
භ The City of Berkeley begin implementing the High-Level Implementation Plan as described in Section 4 of this report.
භ Leadership in the ECC must be educated and experienced in Public Safety Communications specifically.
භ The ECC has outgrown its current model of organizational structure and leadership. Consider transitioning the ECC to a separate business unit in the City - not under the leadership of Police or Fire but reporting to a board of stakeholders that include Police and Fire.
භ Addressing and improving workplace culture. The ECC has lacked Public Safety Communications-specific leadership and continuity in leadership. As a result, there has been insufficient training and mentorship in how to lead effectively in an ECC. Staff work in perpetual overtime and short staffing conditions (limited time off and a minimum overtime requirement of 5-20 hours per week). The call volumes and workloads are at times nearly double what it should be for each team member on duty during a shift (based on staffing calculations). All of this combines to make a challenging work environment while on duty, and not enough rest between shifts while off duty. It creates additional stress, illness, absenteeism, workplace conflict, and has all the ingredients necessary to create and perpetuate a toxic workplace culture, which will further add to the cycle. FE recommends that the necessary steps to address staffing issues and other critical gaps in the ECC be implemented immediately, and that leadership work with ECC staff to support and promote measures for workplace culture improvement. Positive workplace culture is a shared responsibility; it is not the sole responsibility of leadership, nor the sole responsibility of frontline staff to improve culture and working environment, but rather a collaboration of working together intentionally and strategically to identify and remove barriers to create and promote effective organizational health.
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4. Staffing
4.1 Current Staffing
Current ECC staffing includes one Communications Center Manager who oversees ECC operations (currently filled by a Berkeley Po lice Lt.), and front line supervision which includes four Supervising Public Safety Dispatchers (Supervisors). Additional frontline staff include twenty-three Public Safety Dispatchers (PSDs) who are cross trained in Call- taker and Dispatcher duties; seven of the Public Safety Dispatchers are approved to act in the Supervisor role. Additionally, there are two per-diem Dispatchers. These ‘casual’ staff are limited to the number of hours they can work annually, due to the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
The following table depicts all the employees assigned to the ECC:
Table 1 - ECC Employees
Current Staffing - Berkeley
Position
Authorized
Employees – Full
Time
Actual Employees –
Full Time
Communications
Center Manager 10
Supervising Public
Safety Dispatchers 44
Public Safety
Dispatchers
28 23
Total 33 27
At the time of our site visit, the Communications Manager position was unfilled, and a Berkeley Police Lieutenant has been assigned to the position since 2019. The Manager position will be posted in 2022 with the intent to fill the role this year. The Lieutenant will return to Police operations once the new manager has been onboarded and oriented to the position.
Optimal staffing in the ECC includes one Supervising Public Safety Dispatcher (Supervisor) or Acting Supervisor who oversees the daily operation and provides supervision, three dispatchers – one Police and one Fire Dispatcher, and one records desk operator (RB1), and between three to five call-takers depending on time of day, who also provide Dispatch support on Police Channel 2 in addition to their call-taking duties.
Staff are hired as a Public Safety Dispatcher and are cross trained to provide call-taking
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and dispatch in Police and Fire disciplines in the ECC. The ECC does not hire call-taker only positions.
Minimum staffing between 0000 and 1030 is six staff which include one supervisor, three dispatchers - one fire dispatcher, one police dispatcher, and one Records Desk (RB1) Dispatcher and two call-takers. There are seven staff on duty between 1030-2200 on Sunday to Wednesday, and 1030–2359 Thur sday to Saturday, consisting of one supervisor, three call-takers and three dispatchers.
While minimum staffing requires a supervisor on duty at all times, in instances where there is no Supervisor on shift, staff would defer to a Patrol Sergeant or Lieutenant for direction. Due to five different staggered shift start times, staff do not work with the same Supervisor or team regularly.
The following table shows the minimum ECC staffing levels:
Table 2 - Minimum Staffing
Minimum Staffing - Berkeley
Day Hours Supervisors Call-Takers Dispatchers Total
All 00:00 to 10:30 1 2 3 6
Sun-Wed 10:30 to 22:00 1 3 3 7
Thu-Sat 10:30 to 23:59 1 3 3 7
භ Call-takers are not solely dedicated to call-taking; they support monitoring Police Channel 2 dispatch responsibilities.
භ Dispatchers are not dedicated to dispatch only; they are often required to answer, and process calls due to short staffing.
භ Supervisors are not dedicated to Supervisor only roles. They provide call-taking and dispatch responsibilities as required to support call volume and short staffing impacts, in addition to their supervisor duties.
Every year in January, staff bid on the shift schedule they prefer, and new shift schedule reassignments commence in March. Time sheets change every four months, and selection is based on seniority. Staff work four days a week and have three days off. If necessary, staff are required to work up to 25 hours overtime per week on their scheduled workdays (extension of shift), with the ability to swap shifts to suit their personal schedule.
Staff submit their preferred over-time shifts and Supervisors manually schedule staff as needed. If additional over-time is required Supervisors first approach working staff to extend their shift (up to sixteen hours) and then send emails or texts requesting assistance from off-duty staff.
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There are currently five vacant Public Safety Dispatcher positions in the ECC. In 2018, a City of Berkeley Auditor Report recommended an annual staffing analysis of required minimum staffing levels and budgeted Dispatchers to meet demand and reduce the estimated $1 million dollars paid in over-time in 2017 and subsequent years.
In addition to the vacancies and staffing study issues noted above, staff turnover in 2022 will compound staffing challenges and further impact staffing capacity.
4.2 Salary Ranges
The following tables depict the current salary ranges for the ECC employees.
Table 3 - ECC Current Salary Ranges
Current Salary Ranges – Berkeley ECC
Position Low - Annual High - Annual Average
Communications Center Manager $114,399.96 $139,464.00 $126,931.98 Supervising Public Safety
Dispatchers $109,699.20 $119,038.32 $114,368.76
Public Safety Dispatchers $95,638.32 $103,791.96 $99,715.14
4.3 Supervision
The ECC is overseen by the Support Services Division Captain who is responsible for the Records Bureau, Property and Evidence Unit, Warrant Detail, Administration (Fiscal and Grants), Police Technology Unit, and Court Liaison.
The Communications Manager is a civilian posi tion who reports to the Support Services Division Captain and conducts the overall strategic and operational oversight and management of the ECC. This position was traditionally filled by a Police Lieutenant until 2012, when the decision was made to create a Civilian Manager position for the ECC.
However, a Berkeley Police Lieutenant has been assigned to this role (temporarily) since 2019, after the previous Manager retired, and the hiring freeze that occurred due to Covid.
At the time of this report writing, Berkeley is in the process of hiring an ECC manager.
Interviews will occur in July 2022, with a new Communications Manager to be hired in September 2022.
A Supervisor is required to be on duty for each shift. If a Supervisor is on leave, their shift is covered by an Acting Supervisor on their team. If an Acting Supervisor is not available on their team to cover, a Supervisor will be brought in on overtime to cover the position.
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The intent is to have direct supervision scheduled in the ECC 24/7, where Supervisors are not assigned as team strength to perform frontline work and have the capacity to maintain situational awareness in the center and provide supervision and support to staff.
However, due to frequent staffing shortages in the ECC, that is not possible. Supervisors are tasked with call-taking and dispatch throughout their shift in order to keep up with workload in the center. In turn, this increases the Supervisor’s workload and leaves the ECC without direct supervision.
The Supervisor is assigned the supervisory specific workstation, located in the northwest corner of the room on an elevated terminal, providing them the ability to observe all workstations, and have increased situational awareness. Supervisors have full access to CAD, a radio console, the Eventide logging recorder, and fully functioning call handling system capable of answering 9-1-1, emergency, and non-emergency lines.
Throughout their shift, Supervisors are responsible for staff supervision and support, monitoring call volume and calls in pending, scheduling breaks each shift and ensuring current shift and upcoming shifts are adequately staffed, as well as arranging for part time staff or overtime support to fill in, as necessary. They are active supervisors, listening for requests for assistance from the team on duty. There is no call light, intercom, or other means of easily requesting supervisor support; team members call out to the supervisor when required.
There are many administrative tasks Supervisors perform on shift as part of their duties including, but not limited to the following:
භ Maintain the personnel scheduling
භ Oversee staffing, overtime, and payroll paperwork (manual paper process) භ Review, deliver and develop training materials
භ Coordinate training for existing and new ECC staff
භ Perform QA/QI reviews
භ Act as an Agency Terminal Coordinator (ATC) for the ECC (NCIC/CLETS) භ Perform Fire Liaison Supervisor tasks
භ Complete requests for audio and call recordings
භ Assist with recruitment
භ Work with CAD & GIS team to provide administrator functions and support
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Staff are promoted to Supervisor positions based on qualifications. This promotional process and criteria were recently created and implemented by the ECC Lieutenant, in conjunction with the City of Berkeley. The entry point for becoming a Supervisor is to first become an Acting Supervisor. There are Acti ng Supervisors on each shift, who cover in the Supervisor’s absence. They receive a 5% pay increase for the hours worked in an acting capacity.
Supervisors are mandated to complete Civilian Supervisor and Dispatch Supervisor training through the California Peace Offi cer Standards and Training (POST) organization. However, these courses are not a comprehensive Supervisor or leadership program, and Supervisors still require additional training specific to the ECC. Training for those staff in an Acting Supervisory role is often not possible due to current staffing levels within the ECC.
4.4 Recruiting Process
The recruiting process for Public Safety Dispatchers is administered by the City of Berkeley Human Resources Division and Berkeley Police Department (PD) Personnel and Training Bureau. Recruiting is a lengthy process, taking between six and eight months from the time a position is posted until the candidate is onboarded for their first day of work.
Requirements to fulfill a Public Safety Dispatcher position include a high school diploma or equivalent, minimum accurate typing of 35 wpm, a written POST comprehension test, a Criticall test, a panel interview, a Computer Voice Stress Analysis (CVSA) evaluation, a background evaluation, and a medical exam. Experienced Dispatchers can be hired at any time with the qualifications of two years Public Safety Dispatch experience or three years non-consolidated Public Safety experience and a POST Dispatch Certificate.
The testing is conducted by a combination of City of Berkeley HR, Berkeley PD Personnel and Training Bureau and various outsourced contracted staff for medical and psychological assessments.
Recruiting advertising includes posting internally and externally for the respective position(s), candidates are vetted by HR for minimum qualifications and relevant training, education, and experience. Candidates are then brought in to complete the written POST test and receive instructions on how to download the personal history form. Applicants that successfully pass the exam are invited to the oral panel interview. The panel generally includes the Communications Manager or Lieutenant, a minimum of two
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Dispatch Supervisors, and the Personnel and Training Bureau Sergeant. The interview is 30 minutes and includes scenario based and work experience questions.
Selected candidates are then invited to a pre-investigative interview with a Professional Standards Sergeant or Lieutenant. The applicant completes required waivers and questionnaires and engages in an informal conversation with the Officer, following which the CVSA is completed. A Sergeant, a Lieutenant and two Captains provide input and if successful a conditional employment offer is presented. Medical and psychiatric tests are required before the hiring process is completed. The background check process is the longest point of delay as it was understood that Sworn Officer hiring is given priority over Dispatchers. Additionally, Officers conducting the checks have other responsibilities as well and the contracted company are only able to complete four assessments at a time resulting in a six-week delay at times. Hiring is further complicated by the decimation of HR staff during COVID. HR believes that there would be a conflict of interest for the ECC to post or proctor tests and therefore is solely responsible for these steps in the recruiting process.
4.5 Ancillary Duties
Ancillary duties the communications staff pr ovided in the data collection workbook and noted via on-site observation included:
භ Notification of Public Works
භ Training
භ Call-taking and notification of Animal Control
භ Dispatch for University of California, Berkeley (UCB) Fire භ Initial Center response for UCB medical
භ After hours parking complaint call-taking and notification භ Maintain other supplemental information systems.
භ Minor troubleshooting for sworn personnel (Supervisor) භ Scheduling for overtime (Supervisor).
භ Maintain the personnel scheduling (Supervisor)
භ Oversee staffing, overtime, and timesheet paperwork (manual paper process) (Supervisor)
භ Review, deliver and develop training materials (Supervisor)
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භ Coordinate training for existing and new ECC staff (Supervisor) භ Perform QA/QI reviews (Supervisor)
භ Act as an Agency Terminal Coordinator (ATC) for the ECC (NCIC/CLETS) (Supervisor)
භ Perform Fire Liaison Supervisor tasks (Supervisor)
භ Complete requests for audio and call recordings (Supervisor) භ Assist with recruitment
භ Work with CAD & GIS team to provide administrator functions and support (Supervisor)
4.6 Recommendations
4.6.1 Succession Planning
භ Annual performance reviews and goal setting
භ Leadership Training opportunities for potential A/Supervisors භ Employee evaluation and succession planning program/efforts
4.6.2 Recruiting
භ Fast track onboarding for entry level and experienced candidates භ Review recruiting process, job requirements, and incentive programs භ Establish competitiveness in the job market
භ See other recommendations in the recruiting recommendations section of the report
4.6.3 Employee Wellness Program
භ Implement an employee wellness program
භ Training, education and support for mental health and wellbeing භ ECC specific peer support
භ Understand the impacts of the trauma/stress exposure, shift work, etc., and have the tools to navigate it
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5. Workload and Performance Data Indicators
The information in this section includes statistical information for phone calls and CAD events processed by the Berkeley Emergency Communications Center.
5.1.1 Summary Performance Data
භ Average number of abandoned calls received per day: 29 භ They average time to answer 9-1-1 calls is 10.9 seconds භ The average talk time for 9-1-1 calls is 105.3 seconds භ The average call wrap-up is between 45 seconds
භ The busiest day of the week is Tuesday/Wednesday/Friday භ Busiest time of day is between 1500 and 1600 hours
භ The busy month is October
5.1.2 Telephone Statistics
The following tables depict the telephone call volume for 2021 as reported by Berkeley.
Table 4 - Percentage of Total Calls – 2021
Percentage of Total Calls - 2021
% of all Calls 2021
Total Calls 201,434
% of All Calls that were 9-1-1 28.0%
% of All Calls that were Ten-Digit 48.7%
% of All Calls that were Text to 9-1-1 0.1%
% of All Calls that were Outgoing 23.2%
Table 5 - Percent of Total 9-1-1 Calls – 2021
Percent of Total 9-1-1 Calls - 2021
% of Total 9-1-1 Calls 2021
Total 9-1-1 Calls (Wireline, wireless, text) 56,582
% of 9-1-1 calls that were Text-to-9-1-1 0.10%
The following table depicts the telephone call volume as reported for the years 2017 through 2021.
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Table 6 - Berkeley ECC Phone Statistics 2017 – 2021
Berkeley ECC – Phone Statistics
Berkeley ECC 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Average
Total Wireline 9-1-1 Calls 13,275 13,720 13,770 12,354 12,666 13,158 Total Wireless 9-1-1 Calls 42,175 45,032 47,811 40,955 43,716 43,938 Total 10-digit Emergency
and Non-Emergency Calls 172,761 193,743 174,931 101,725 98,041 148,240 Text-to-9-1-1 Calls 0 0 0 141 200 68
Outgoing Calls 42,312 50,671 52,023 45,666 46,811 47,677 The following graphs depict the telephone call volume as reported for the years 2017 through 2021.
Figure 1 - Call Volume by Hour - All Calls 2017 – 2021
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Figure 2 - Call Volume by Day of Week 2017 – 2021
Both the NFPA and NENA standard for answering incoming emergency lines is within 15 seconds 90 percent of the time 23. While the ECC complies with these standards in the overnight hours, they fall below the standards during daylight hours. This can be attributed to the higher call volume during the day but shows that staffing needs to be augmented during these hours.
2 National Fire Protection Association 1225 Standard for Emergency Services Communications, 2022 edition, Section 15.4.1 3 National Emergency Number Association Standard for 9-1-1 Call Processing, NENA-STA-0.20.1-2020
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Figure 3 - Percentage of Calls Answered < 15 Seconds
5.1.3 CAD Statistics
The following tables depict the total number of CAD Events as reported for the years 2017 through 2021.
Table 7 - CAD Events 2017 – 2021
Berkeley – CAD Events 2017 - 2021
Agency Type 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Average
# of Law Enforcement
Incidents 63,222 56,677 58,422 45,863 62,899 57,417
# of Fire Incidents 5,538 5,357 5,821 5,348 5,310 5,475 # of EMS Incidents 10,406 9,972 9,899 8,064 8,760 9,420 Total 79,166 74,006 74,142 59,275 76,969 72,312
There is an expected drop in call volume in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and 2021 shows a slow return to anticipated call volumes in the future. t
s
70.00%
75.00%
80.00%
85.00%
90.00%
95.00%
100.00%
0:00
1:00
2:00
3:00
4:00
5:00
6:00
7:00
8:00
9:00
10:00
11:00
12:00
13:00
14:00
15:00
16:00
17:00
18:00
19:00
20:00
21:00
22:00
23:00
Percentage of Calls
Hour of Day
ζͳͷ
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
NFPA/NENA
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Figure 4 - CAD Events by Discipline 2018 – 2021
Call volumes between the three disciplines (law, fire and medical) reflect the 2020 decreases except for the fire department, which remained steady in 2020.
Table 8 - Percentage of CAD Events - 2018 – 2021
Berkeley – Percentage of CAD Events 2018 - 2021
% of CAD Events 2018 2019 2020 2021
Total Events 89,167 89,459 71,908 74,369
% of Events that were Law 81.74% 82.18% 80.65% 80.46%
% of Events that were Fire 4.47% 5.32% 6.41% 6.13%
% of Events that were
EMS 13.78% 12.5% 12.94% 13.41%
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Figure 5 - Percentages of Law, Fire, and EMS Calls - 2018 – 2021 Percentages between the disciplines also remain fairly consistent, with minor increases in the fire department percentages from 2018 to 2021.
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6. Staffing & Workload Analysis
To provide efficient service to the public and local emergency services, ECCs must always maintain an adequate number of qualified staff on duty. When this does not occur, service quality can diminish and the short and long-term effects on employees often lead to staffing shortages, overworked personnel, increased attrition, increased complaints from citizens and response agencies, and a reduced level of confidence in the ECC’s operations.
The staffing needs of a 24/7 public safety communication center operation require constant monitoring of the workload and staffing assignments to maximize coverage across all shifts. The work hours and assigned positions per shift are based on need, skill sets, experience, and call volume. ECC management and supervisory staff are responsible for monitoring these.
The NFPA 1225 (2022), Annex A.15.3.1.1 states “ Telecommunicator staffing is an important issue in achieving prompt receipt and processing of events. Consider the following two concepts of communications center operations:
1. Vertical Center: A telecommunicator performs both the call-taking and dispatching functions.
2. Horizontal Center: Different telecommunicators perform the call-taking and dispatch functions separately
Telecommunicators working in a vertical center are known to engage in multitasking that can inhibit their ability to perform assigned job functions. Routine evaluation of telecommunicator staffing, number of inbound emergency and non-emergency calls, and other operational statistics are necessary to allow a prompt receipt and processing of events.”
Across the industry, there are many ECCs who utilize a Horizontal Center call model to avoid the risks that the vertical model poses. However, in horizontal model centers, often staff assigned to Dispatch and Supervisor positions are still found assisting with answering and processing calls due to short staffing. This is the circumstance in Berkeley ECC.
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6.1 Standards and Best Practices
Key public safety industry organizations recognize that the on-going evolution of 9-1-1 requires establishing minimum standards for ECC employee training, operations, technology, and facilities.
These organizations include:
භ International City/County Management Association (ICMA) භ National Emergency Number Association (NENA)
භ Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials - International (APCO) භ International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC)
භ Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) භ National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
The specific standards applicable to City of Berkeley include the following service quality and performance goals in call-taking:
NENA-STA-020.1-2020, 9-1-1 Call Answering Standard, states, “90% of all 9-1-1 calls arriving at the Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP):
භ SHALL be answered within 15 seconds. Ninety-five percent of all 9-1-1 calls SHOULD be answered within 20 seconds."
භ The interval between Call Arrival and Call Answer should be evaluated, at a minimum, for each preceding month using a full month of data. Determining if a PSAP has successfully met the call interval metric of 90% in 15 seconds (and 95% in 20 seconds), should be based upon the one-month evaluation. An authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) may measure this metric on a weekly or daily basis for a more detailed analysis.
භ "Ninety percent of all 9-1-1 calls arriving at the Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) shall be answered within ten seconds during the busy hour (the hour each day with the greatest call volume, as defined in the NENA Master Glossary 00-001). Ninety-five percent of all 9-1-1 calls should be answered within 20 seconds."
The call processing requirements section in NFPA 1225 (2022) states:
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භ Section 15.4.1 - "Ninety percent of events received on emergency lines shall be answered within 15 seconds, and 95 percent of events shall be answered within 20 seconds.
භ Section 15.4.1.1 - "Compliance with 15.4.1 shall be evaluated monthly using data from the previous month."
භ Section 15.4.4 - "Emergency event processing for the highest prioritization level emergency events listed in 15.4.4.1 through 15.4.4.2 shall be completed within 60 seconds, 90 percent of the time."
6.2 Staffing Recommendations
As the staffing analysis and recommendations in this report are comprehensive, FE has included a staffing recommendations overview in the beginning of this section to provide a high-level understanding immediately. The methodology, analysis, and recommendations will be explained in further detail throughout the Call-Taking, Dispatching, Supervision, and Methodology for Staffing Recommendation sections below.
The table below identifies the required number of call-takers, dispatchers, and supervisors by hour of day, based on call volume from the busiest month in 2021.
Table 9 - Berkeley ECC – Staffing Recommendations
Berkeley ECC - Staffing Recommendations
Hour
% Per
Hour
Per Hour
for Month
Call-
Takers
Needed
Dispatch
Needed
Supervisor
Needed
Total
Positions
0:00 2.36% 15.7 3 4 1 8
1:00 2.28% 15.2 3 4 1 8
2:00 2.26% 15.0 3 4 1 8
3:00 1.67% 11.2 2 4 1 7
4:00 1.61% 10.7 2 4 1 7
5:00 1.71% 11.4 2 4 1 7
6:00 2.07% 13.8 2 4 1 7
7:00 3.34% 22.2 3 4 1 8
8:00 4.44% 29.6 4 4 2 10
9:00 5.37% 35.8 4 4 2 10
10:00 5.53% 36.9 4 4 2 10
11:00 6.33% 42.2 4 4 2 10
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Berkeley ECC - Staffing Recommendations
Hour
% Per
Hour
Per Hour
for Month
Call-
Takers
Needed
Dispatch
Needed
Supervisor
Needed
Total
Positions
12:00 6.12% 40.8 4 4 2 10
13:00 5.89% 39.3 4 4 2 10
14:00 6.38% 42.5 4 4 2 10
15:00 6.89% 45.9 5 4 2 11
16:00 6.51% 43.4 5 4 2 11
17:00 5.28% 35.2 4 4 2 10
18:00 4.96% 33.1 4 4 2 10
19:00 4.79% 31.9 4 4 2 10
20:00 4.19% 27.9 4 4 2 10
21:00 3.44% 22.9 3 4 1 8
22:00 3.16% 21.0 3 4 1 8
23:00 3.41% 22.7 3 4 1 8
TOTAL 100.00% 666.4 3.46 4.00 1.54 9.00
The tables below identify the recommended number of staff by position and job function.
The first table will have recommendations wit hout turnover factored in, and the second has turnover factored into the total recommended number of staff.
Table 10 - Recommended Staffing without Turnover Factored In Recommended Staffing without Turnover - Berkeley ECC
Position Title Total Number of Employees
Shift Supervisors 9
Dispatchers 24
Call-Takers 21
Total PSAP Staff 54
Table 11 - Recommended Staffing with Turnover Factored In Recommended Staffing w/Turnover - Berkeley ECC
Position Title Total Number of Employees
Shift Supervisors 9
Dispatchers 27
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Recommended Staffing w/Turnover - Berkeley ECC
Position Title Total Number of Employees
Call-Takers 23
Total PSAP Staff 59
Note that a detailed explanation of the staffing analysis methodology, findings and recommendations can be found in each of the sections below.
6.3 Call-Taking
Call volume is the prime factor in determining the number of trunks, workstations and call- taking positions needed to manage an ECC’s projected call-takin g workload. Of equal importance in determining the number of staff, is the standards by which an agency complies with call answering. The NENA
4 and NFPA5 standards, used by the Insurance
Services Office (ISO), is to answer 90% of all 9 -1-1 calls within 15 seconds and 95% answered within 20 seconds.
The first step in determining staffing levels is to estimate the total telephone call volume the ECC will handle, including 9-1-1, ten- digit emergency, and non-emergency phone calls. To determine these statistics, FE used the reported 2021 total call volumes submitted by the City which included incoming 9-1-1 calls, ten-digit emergency and non- emergency phone calls, and outgoing phone calls.
The combined 9-1-1 call volume for the ECC for 2021 including wireline, wireless and Text-to-9-1-1 calls was 56,582, the total ten-digit emergency and non-emergency call volume was 98,041 and the total outgoing calls were 46,811. The total call volume, including all 9-1-1, text-to-9-1-1, ten-digit emergency and non-emergency phone calls, and outgoing calls for the ECC in 2021 was 201,434.
Table 12 - All Telephone Calls
Berkeley ECC – Phone Statistics
Berkeley ECC 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Average
Total Wireline 9-1-1 Calls 13,275 13,720 13,770 12,354 12,666 13,158 Total Wireless 9-1-1 Calls 42,175 45,032 47,811 40,955 43,716 43,938 Total 10-digit Emergency &
Non-Emergency Calls 172,761 193,743 174,931 101,725 98,041 148,240 Text-to-9-1-1 Calls 0 0 0 141 200 68
Outgoing Calls 42,312 50,671 52,023 45,666 46,811 47,677 4 NENA-STA-020.1-2020, 2.2.3 and 2.2.4
5 NFPA 1225, 15.4.1
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Berkeley ECC – Phone Statistics
Total 270,523 303,166 288,841 200,841 201,434 253,081
The next step is calculating the number of call-taker positions requiring 24/7 staff to manage the total call volume for the ECC. The Hourly Call Volume Distribution and Call- taker Count table reflects the monthly and per-hour estimated call volume determined by the busiest month from the 2021 annual statistics by hour supplied to FE.
The City provided hourly call volumes for 2021 and that data was used to determine the combined busy hour estimates. The busiest month was determined to be the month of October, which had a total of 20,657 phone calls. The slowest month was February with a total of 14,580 phone calls.
Table 13 - Phone Calls by Month
Berkeley ECC
2021 Phone Calls
January 16,065
February 14,580
March 16,514
April 16,298
May 17,179
June 16,268
July 17,288
August 17,208
September 15,081
October 20,657
November 17,224
December 16,895
Total 42,312
The following Hourly Call Volume Distribution and Call-taker Count table also highlights the slowest and busiest hours in a 24-hour period in an hourly table. FE arrived at the number of call-taker positions listed in the hourly table by using an Erlang C calculator.
The Erlang C calculator is a traffic model tool developed in the 1970s by telephone companies to project the number of operators needed to manage specified call volume.
This tool is the foundation of the current 9-1-1 industry staffing standards and tools available through APCO and NENA. The calculator is enhanced by 9-1-1 industry and individual PSAP data to form a methodology that projects how many full-time equivalent (FTE) staff are needed to process calls. Note that only call-taking positions and number of call-takers are all that these staffing tools can accurately project.
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The Erlang C calculations performed by FE allow the call-taking performance standards desired to be entered, to arrive at the correct number of physical call-taking workstations that need to be staffed, by hour of the day, to meet those standards. Calculations do not allow two separate service level objectives for emergency and non-emergency calls, therefore the more stringent NENA standard of 90% within fifteen seconds or less is used for both 9-1-1 and ten-digit incoming calls as part of the combined call load.
The call-taker performance standards used in these calculations is 105.3 seconds of call time, as provided by Berkeley ECC. Wrap up time is the time needed after the call has ended to finish a CAD incident with notes and narrative and then to prepare for the next call. For this report FE used the current industry best practice of 45 seconds for wrap up time.
The slowest hour of the day is estimated to be at 0400, and the busiest hour of the day is 1500. The table below highlights these periods. This table provides upper and lower call volume from which staffing projections can be estimated. When looking at scheduling on a more granular level, determining the busiest and slowest days of the week, along with hour of those days, allows ECC management to schedule staffing for shifts more efficiently, and based on actual workload.
The following best practice and current ECC call performance standards are the metrics used to align the calculations with the ECC workload:
භ Service level objective of 90% calls answered within 15 seconds or less භ Average talk time of 105.3 seconds
භ Average after-call wrap up time of 45 seconds
භ Number of call-takers needed are calculated based on the assumption that they are dedicated positions and do not perform dispatch responsibilities
6.3.1 Observations
භ Call-takers in the ECC are not dedicated solely to call-taking functions, they are also assigned dispatch responsibilities for Police Channel 2 භ The minimum staffing requirements do not adequately support the call volume and workload in the ECC. There are frequently not enough dedicated call-takers on duty and staff assigned to Dispatch and Supervisor positions are required to answer and process calls.
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භ While the intention is for Berkeley ECC to be a horizontal center call model with dedicated supervisor, call-taking, and dispatching positions, in its current staffing levels it cannot achieve this.
6.3.2 Recommendations
Table 14 - Hourly Call Volume Distribution and Recommended Call-Takers Berkeley ECC Staffing Recommendations – Call-Takers
Hour % Per Hour Per Hour
for Month
Call-Takers
Needed
0:00 2.36% 15.7 3
1:00 2.28% 15.2 3
2:00 2.26% 15.0 3
3:00 1.67% 11.2 2
4:00 1.61% 10.7 2
5:00 1.71% 11.4 2
6:00 2.07% 13.8 2
7:00 3.34% 22.2 3
8:00 4.44% 29.6 4
9:00 5.37% 35.8 4
10:00 5.53% 36.9 4
11:00 6.33% 42.2 4
12:00 6.12% 40.8 4
13:00 5.89% 39.3 4
14:00 6.38% 42.5 4
15:00 6.89% 45.9 5
16:00 6.51% 43.4 5
17:00 5.27% 35.2 4
18:00 4.96% 33.1 4
19:00 4.79% 31.9 4
20:00 4.19% 27.9 4
21:00 3.44% 22.9 3
22:00 3.16% 21.0 3
23:00 3.41% 22.7 3
Total 100.00% 666.4 3.46
FE recommends:
භ A minimum of two dedicated call-taker positions in the ECC at its lowest call volume hours, and five dedicated call-taker positions at its highest call volume hours.
භ That the call-taker positions be dedicated solely to call-taking operations, and not provide any dispatch functions.
භ That all positions be equipped with the same critical technology for CAD, 9-1-1 answering equipment and radio dispatch consoles. This allows any ECC
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function, call-taking, or dispatching, to be conducted at any position in the center.
This allows supervisors to easily reconfigure operational assignments as needed. භ That minimum staffing requirements are eleven staff on duty during peak time call volume and workload, and seven on duty for non-peak hours භ One additional position for EMD implementation (12 positions during peak call volume periods), and that call volume and workload analysis be conducted regularly to assess operational impacts of EMD.
භ Overall staffing increase from 32 currently authorized positions, of which only 27 positions are filled, to 59 authorized positions with turnover. An increase of 32 staff members is required to reach this level.
භ Increase to four dispatchers on duty at all times and assign one to Channel 2 and backup for others during the 1000 - 0000 hrs. Call-takers only handle Channel 2 during 0000-1000.
භ Staffing recommendations are based on having dedicated call-takers and dedicated dispatchers who do not provide both functions concurrently. භ Increase to two supervisors on duty when there are more than seven staff on duty at a time as per ICS span of control recommendations.
6.4 Dispatching
The next step in estimating staffing is determining the number of dispatch positions that require 24/7 staffing. Currently, there is not a nationally recognized calculation/formula to determine the number of dispatchers needed based on workload. However, if congestion is an issue, radio traffic/usage studies can be conducted to determine the level of use or available airtime of a radio talk group or channel to ensure they are not too busy. This type of study can assist an ECC in determining the number of talk groups or channels needed to support operations but does not directly provide the number of dispatchers needed to staff the required channels.
While there is no scientific method to calculate the number of needed dispatch positions based on the number of incidents or CAD events, FE uses a combination of reported CAD events and number of primary dispatch channels currently in use. This information is collected and reviewed along with the other types of criteria listed below when estimating dispatch workstation numbers.
The following CAD Events table shows the number of events for 2017 through 2021, as well as the averages and totals.
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Table 15 - CAD Events
Berkeley – CAD Events
Agency Type 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Average
# Of Law Enforcement Incidents 63,222 56,677 58,422 45,863 62,899 57,417 # Of Fire Incidents 5,538 5,357 5,821 5,348 5,310 5,475 # Of EMS Incidents 10,406 9,972 9,899 8,064 8,760 9,420 Total 79,166 72,006 74,142 59,275 76,969 72,312
To maximize the efficiencies gained by combining the dispatch of various districts, each existing dispatch position should be reviewed to see if combining some of the units on to the same primary dispatch channel makes sense. If a single primary dispatch channel is not feasible, then reducing the number of primary dispatch channels to the lowest number possible, without affecting operations, is always the goal.
It is not a recommended best practice to assign additional tasks to primary dispatchers other than dispatching events. Dispatchers must be available and ready as soon as a new event arrives in CAD, or when a field unit has a radio message for the dispatcher.
This is accomplished by thoroughly reviewing and taking into consideration the following items.
6.4.1 Assignment of Multiple Primary Dispatch Talkgroups It is a recommended best practice that multiple primary dispatch talkgroups not be assigned to a single dispatcher. A single dispatcher should not be expected to manage more than one emergency event on one channel/talkgroup.
6.4.2 Use of Current Technology to Reduce Radio Traffic The use of current technology such as mobile data computers (MDCs) or terminals (MDTs) and Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) should be used to the greatest extent possible to help reduce radio traffic. The exception is for officer location during a dispatch or officer-initiated event or action because the safety of the officer(s) may be negatively impacted.
6.4.3 Tactical or Operational Talkgroups and Channels
The use of tactical or operational talkgroups and channels is common in fire and law enforcement communications to effectively manage event communications, operations, and incident management. A dispatcher should be assigned to monitor and support field
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personnel during significant events that require active structure related events, multi-unit incidents, and special or high traffic special operations.
6.4.4 Dedicated Dispatch Positions
The following Dedicated Dispatch Positions table illustrates the recommended number and type of dedicated dispatch positions needed in the ECC. A dedicated dispatch position requires an employee to be assigned 24/7/365.
Table 16 - Dedicated Dispatch Positions
Dedicated Dispatch Positions - Berkeley ECC
# Position Type 9-1-1 CPE CAD Radio Dispatch
Console
1 Police Dispatch Yes Yes Yes
1 Fire Dispatcher Yes Yes Yes
1 RB1 Dispatcher (NCIC/CLETS) Yes Yes Yes
1 Police Channel 2 Dispatcher & Support for
other Dispatchers as necessary Yes Yes Yes
6.4.4.1 Observations
භ Today, there are three dispatch positions in the ECC whose primary role is dispatching; this includes a Police Dispatcher, Fire Dispatcher, and an RB1 Dispatcher. However, the Fire Dispatcher and RB1 positions often support call volume workload by answering overflow calls when needed, and this does not allow them the dedicated focus for radio traffic monitoring and response personnel support, or to monitor for incoming calls in CAD that are ready for dispatch. In an ECC with the call volume that Berkeley experiences, this creates risk in both delayed dispatch or missed calls for dispatch and missing (critical) requests for support from field responders.
භ There are three Call-taker positions scheduled between 1030 - 2200 Sunday to Wednesday and 1030 - 0000 Thursday to Saturday who also act as Channel 2 Dispatchers.
භ NFPA 1225 (2022) 15.3.2 requires that during major incidents "When requested by the incident commander, a telecommunicator shall be dedicated to the incident and relieved of other duties within the communications center." Should a police or fire event require tactical dispatching, there is not sufficient staffing assignments and dedicated dispatch positions in the center to achieve this while covering other call-taking and dispatch operations adequately today.
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6.4.4.2 Recommendations
Table 17 - Hourly Call Volume Distribution with Recommended Dispatchers Berkeley ECC - Staffing Recommendations - Dispatchers
Hour
% Per
Hour
Per Hour
for Month
Call-
Takers
Needed
Dispatchers
Needed
0:00 2.36% 15.7 3 4
1:00 2.28% 15.2 3 4
2:00 2.26% 15.0 3 4
3:00 1.67% 11.2 2 4
4:00 1.61% 10.7 2 4
5:00 1.71% 11.4 2 4
6:00 2.07% 13.8 2 4
7:00 3.34% 22.2 3 4
8:00 4.44% 29.6 4 4
9:00 5.37% 35.8 4 4
10:00 5.53% 36.9 4 4
11:00 6.33% 42.2 4 4
12:00 6.12% 40.8 4 4
13:00 5.89% 39.3 4 4
14:00 6.38% 42.5 4 4
15:00 6.89% 45.9 5 4
16:00 6.51% 43.4 5 4
17:00 5.28% 35.2 4 4
18:00 4.96% 33.1 4 4
19:00 4.79% 31.9 4 4
20:00 4.19% 27.9 4 4
21:00 3.44% 22.9 3 4
22:00 3.16% 21.0 3 4
23:00 3.41% 22.7 3 4
TOTAL 100.00% 666.4 3.46 4.00
FE recommends:
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භ Increase to a minimum of four dedicated dispatch positions in the ECC at all times. These positions should be dedicated solely to dispatch operations, and not provide call-taking functions.
භ That all positions be equipped with the same critical technology for CAD, 9-1-1 answering equipment and radio dispatch consoles. This allows any ECC function, call-taking, or dispatching, to be conducted at any position in the center.
This allows decision makers to easily change operational assignments as needed.
භ That the goal to cross train staff for call-taker and dispatcher job functions in police, fire (and eventually full EMS) continues.
භ That the goal to cross train staff for call-taker and dispatcher job functions in police, fire (and eventually full EMS) continues.
Cross training allows for ultimate flexibility in staffing assignment and coverage. While daily position assignments would change for PSDs, and even throughout their shift, cross training allows any employee to be utilized at any position for call-taking or dispatch in any discipline. This methodology ensures a higher level of efficiency and lower overtime costs. The ability to cross train all staff is a benefit of an ECC this size. As centers grow and become more complex there is a need to split job functions by specialty; but the ECC benefits greatly when all staff can perform dispatcher and call-taker functions in a horizontal call model center.
While a Horizontal call model structure works well in the ECC, it does add a layer of complexity to scheduling and training. However, cross training employees for all functions in the ECC eases the complexity when looking for staff to fill shifts and for Supervisors who need to re-configure the operations floor and/or staff additional positions based on a fluctuating workload throughout the day.
However, we recognize that in the current staffing shortage that the ECC is facing, it may be necessary to augment or pause cross training to accelerate onboarding and training of staff. Ideally, entry level recruits would fill call-taker positions initially, while lateral recruits with existing ECC training and experience could fill call-taker and dispatcher positions quickly upon hire. Entry level recruits could be cross trained for dispatching as capacity and/or staffing levels are increased to support it.
6.5 Supervision
Public safety best practices require 24/7 supervision in the ECC. NFPA has developed codes, standards, and recommended practices through a process approved by the
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American National Standards Institute (ANSI). The Technical Committee on Public Emergency Service Communication prepared the latest edition of NFPA 1225, Standard for Emergency Services Communications Systems (2022 Edition). Chapter 15 sets forth the standards for ECC operations: Section 1 of Chapter 15 addresses management:
භ NFPA 1225 (2022) 15.3.4 states: "Supervision shall be provided when more than two telecommunicators are on duty."
භ NFPA 1225 (2022) 15.3.4.1 states: "Supervision shall be provided by personnel located within the communications center who are familiar with the operations and procedures of the communications center."
භ Annex A of NFPA 1225 (2022) provides further explanation. A.15.3.4 states: "The supervisor position(s) in the communications center are provided in addition to the telecommunicators positions. Although supervisory personnel are intended to be available for problem solving," 15.3.4.2 further states "The Supervisor shall be allowed to provide short-term relief coverage for a telecommunicator, provided that the telecommunicator does not leave the communications center and is available for immediate recall as defined in the policies and procedures of the AHJ."
The Standards for Public Safety Communications Agencies (SPSCA), established jointly by Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) and APCO, does not specifically address staffing or supervision in an ECC. However, both sets of standards reference utilizing Incident Comm and System (ICS) protocols. It should be noted that CALEA Standard 46.1.2 and SPSCA Standard 7.1.2 are mandatory for CALEA accreditation.
The Department of Homeland Security, coordinating with federal, state, and local governments established the National Incident Management System (NIMS). ICS falls under the Command and Management element of NIMS. ICS represents best practices and is the standard for emergency management across the country. ICS requires a supervisor when there are between three and seven persons performing similar functions (the optimal span of control is five). A manageable span of control allows supervisors to supervise and control their subordinates, while allowing for efficient communications between all parties.
While NFPA standards and ICS require dedicated supervisory personnel, there are in- house considerations as well. A dedicated supervisor(s) must be assigned to each shift.
Duties shall include, but not be restricted to, the following:
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භ Provide coordination and direction during major emergency incidents, such as severe weather, high profile incidents, wildfires
භ Available for problem solving
භ A single point of contact for subscriber agencies
භ Readily able to identify areas for growth among subordinates භ Allow for formalized development of career paths
භ Document employee performance for annual/periodic reviews භ Provide a narrow scope of supervision when implementing new policies and procedures
භ Provide additional supervision for diversified complex tasks භ Stay current with technological changes/advancements
භ Provide guidance to new employees who have less training and experience භ Impart greater knowledge of laws, procedures, and administrative processes භ Focus on the operations of the ECC and not have to split responsibilities with a dispatch position
භ Focus on customer service to public, subscriber agencies භ Allow for improved communications with management, subordinates, and subscriber agencies
භ Spend more time with subordinates individually, daily භ Allow for operational efficiency
භ Identify areas for remedial training, counseling, or discipline, when appropriate භ Address issues upon occurrence, not after the fact
භ Set operational and administrative priorities
භ Allow for delegation of tasks and responsibilities
For the purposes of the supervisor staffing estimate FE reviewed the number of call-taker and dispatch positions that needed to be staffed for each hour of the day. Then, using the recommended optimal span of control of one supervisor for every five to ten employees, the average number of supervisors per shift is one, or a total number of five supervisor positions.
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6.5.1 Observations
Minimum staffing in the ECC requires a Supervising Public Safety Dispatcher on duty each shift. In the event the Supervisor is absent, there are Acting Supervisors on each shift who can step in and provide supervision.
The Supervisor provides a number of tasks and duties to support staffing and operations, in addition to also assisting with call volume regularly. The Supervisor is not intended to be utilized as team strength except in rare call surge instances. However, due to call volume and staffing shortages, this is not a possibility. In an ECC with the number of staff on duty and call volume that Berkeley experiences, it is difficult for a supervisor to maintain situational awareness, effectively support on duty staff when required, complete supervisory tasks and duties, while also answering and dispatching calls for service.
The current span of control in the ECC is between five – six employees assigned to one supervisor when minimum staffing requirements are met. Optimal staffing assignments would see between six – eight employees on duty during a shift, which places the span of control recommendation over the recommended amount of seven employees to one Supervisor.
In the recommended staffing section below, the overall minimum staffing recommendation will see upwards of 11 employees on duty during peak call volume periods, placing a single on duty Supervisor outside of span of control regularly.
6.5.2 Recommendations
Table 18 - Hourly Call Volume Distribution with Recommended Supervisors Berkeley ECC - Staffing Recommendations
Hour
% Per
Hour
Per Hour
for Month
Call-
Takers
Needed
Dispatch
Needed
Supervisor
Needed
Total
Positions
0:00 2.36% 15.7 3 4 1 8
1:00 2.28% 15.2 3 4 1 8
2:00 2.26% 15.0 3 4 1 8
3:00 1.67% 11.2 2 4 1 7
4:00 1.61% 10.7 2 4 1 7
5:00 1.71% 11.4 2 4 1 7
6:00 2.07% 13.8 2 4 1 7
7:00 3.34% 22.2 3 4 1 8
8:00 4.44% 29.6 4 4 2 10
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Berkeley ECC - Staffing Recommendations
Hour
% Per
Hour
Per Hour
for Month
Call-
Takers
Needed
Dispatch
Needed
Supervisor
Needed
Total
Positions
9:00 5.37% 35.8 4 4 2 10
10:00 5.53% 36.9 4 4 2 10
11:00 6.33% 42.2 4 4 2 10
12:00 6.12% 40.8 4 4 2 10
13:00 5.89% 39.3 4 4 2 10
14:00 6.38% 42.5 4 4 2 10
15:00 6.89% 45.9 5 4 2 11
16:00 6.51% 43.4 5 4 2 11
17:00 5.28% 35.2 4 4 2 10
18:00 4.96% 33.1 4 4 2 10
19:00 4.79% 31.9 4 4 2 10
20:00 4.19% 27.9 4 4 2 10
21:00 3.44% 22.9 3 4 1 8
22:00 3.16% 21.0 3 4 1 8
23:00 3.41% 22.7 3 4 1 8
TOTAL 100.00% 666.4 3.46 4.00 1.54 9.00
FE Recommends:
භ That as soon as increased staffing levels allow, supervisors not be included as team strength to support workload, allowing them to focus on supervisor duties only.
භ That during peak times, when more than seven PSDs are on duty, an additional Supervisor be on duty to provide support.
භ That supervisors receive initial and ongoing leadership training as per NENA, NFPA and APCO standards for ECC management and supervision (and as outlined in the Training recommendations section of this report). භ That supervisor candidates receive initial leadership training before they are promoted to a supervisor position and continue to receive ongoing professional development and mentoring once they are in the role. This sets up a new supervisor and their team for success early process, and over the long term in the ECC's workplace environment.
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6.6 Methodology for Staffing Recommendation
FE uses the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) Project "Responsive Efforts to Address Integral Staffing Needs" (RETAINS) criteria to determine the number of employees required to staff the projected number of workstations. The following steps, data application and calculations, are performed in accordance with the APCO RETAINS guidance.
The annual number of work hours per employee working twelve-hour shifts is 2,080. The formula begins by subtracting the reported standard leave such as vacation, personal, compensation, training, and sick time, to arrive at the total available work hours per employee. The total number of annual work hours in this study is 1,437 hours per employee, based on the following average human resources criteria, provided by the City:
භ Vacation and holiday time - 255 hours
භ Sick - 50 hours
භ Personal/Comp Time - 80 hours
භ Training - 4 hours
භ Other - 0 hours
භ Lunch/Breaks - 90 minutes per shift
To arrive at the recommended model, the final number of employees required to cover call-taking functions is added to the number required for dispatch functions, and any required dedicated Supervisor positions, to determine the total required number of ECC staff. Based on the estimated hourly call volume FE recommends a horizontal operational model with dedicated call-taking and dispatch positions.
6.6.1 Recommended Staffing Model
FE recommends an overall increase from 33 authorized full-time employees, including the Communications Center Manager position, to 55 full time employees (without turnover factored in), and 60 full time employees (with turnover factored in).
The following tables provide the current and recommended personnel count for the City of Berkeley ECC, with and without turnover.
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Table 19 - Current ECC Employees
Current Staffing - Berkeley
Position
Authorized
Employees – Full
Time
Actual Employees –
Full Time
Communications
Center Manager 10
Supervising Public
Safety Dispatchers 44
Public Safety
Dispatchers 28 23
Total 33 27
Table 20 - Recommended ECC Employees - No Turnover
Recommended Staffing Without Turnover – Berkeley ECC
Position Title Total Number of Employees
Shift Supervisors 9
Dispatchers 24
Call-Takers 21
Total PSAP Staff 54
Total with Center Manager 55
Table 21 - Recommended ECC Employees - With Turnover
Recommended Staffing with Turnover – Berkeley ECC
Position Title Total Number of Employees
Shift Supervisors 9
Dispatchers 27
Call-Takers 23
Total PSAP Staff 59
Total with Center Manager 60
The model above assumes the following:
භ 10-hour shifts
භ An increase to four Dispatchers on duty at all times. භ Dedicated Supervisors who are not tasked with any call-taking or dispatch responsibilities and more than one supervisor on duty when required to satisfy best practices in span of control.
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භ Horizontal operational model with dedicated call-takers who do not perform any dispatch responsibilities, and dedicated dispatchers who do not perform any call- taking responsibilities.
භ An additional dedicated dispatch position, increasing from three to four positions 24/7.
Based on Erlang C calculations and the RETAINS formula, the projected minimum staffing requirements in the ECC are:
භ Seven employees during the slowest hour and 11 employees during the busiest hour
FE calculated this minimum projection using the reported call volume for 9 1 1, ten-digit emergency and administrative/non-emergency calls, text-to-911, and the required number of primary dispatch positions. It is important to remember these positions are listed here more as functions and not necessarily as employee trained skills (e.g., Fire/EMS and Police dispatcher). Cross training in both call-taking and dispatching is required to achieve a full complement of staff and to meet industry standards in the processing of the calls and overall workload. See the table below:
Table 22 - Recommended Staffing by Hour of the Day
Berkeley ECC - Staffing Recommendations
Hour
% Per
Hour
Per Hour
for Month
Call-
Takers
Needed
Dispatch
Needed
Supervisor
Needed
Total
Positions
0:00 2.36% 15.7 3 4 1 8
1:00 2.28% 15.2 3 4 1 8
2:00 2.26% 15.0 3 4 1 8
3:00 1.67% 11.2 2 4 1 7
4:00 1.61% 10.7 2 4 1 7
5:00 1.71% 11.4 2 4 1 7
6:00 2.07% 13.8 2 4 1 7
7:00 3.34% 22.2 3 4 1 8
8:00 4.44% 29.6 4 4 2 10
9:00 5.37% 35.8 4 4 2 10
10:00 5.53% 36.9 4 4 2 10
11:00 6.33% 42.2 4 4 2 10
12:00 6.12% 40.8 4 4 2 10
13:00 5.89% 39.3 4 4 2 10
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Berkeley ECC - Staffing Recommendations
Hour
% Per
Hour
Per Hour
for Month
Call-
Takers
Needed
Dispatch
Needed
Supervisor
Needed
Total
Positions
14:00 6.38% 42.5 4 4 2 10
15:00 6.89% 45.9 5 4 2 11
16:00 6.51% 43.4 5 4 2 11
17:00 5.28% 35.2 4 4 2 10
18:00 4.96% 33.1 4 4 2 10
19:00 4.79% 31.9 4 4 2 10
20:00 4.19% 27.9 4 4 2 10
21:00 3.44% 22.9 3 4 1 8
22:00 3.16% 21.0 3 4 1 8
23:00 3.41% 22.7 3 4 1 8
TOTAL 100.00% 666.4 3.46 4.00 1.54 9.00
Note that these recommendations do not include administrative or additional support/maintenance positions, such as training, QA, systems administrator(s) or support for CAD, telephone, and radio.
The staffing projections represent the number of full time equivalent (FTE) employees needed to staff the ECC at a minimum.
During the lowest call volume period of the day:
භ Two dedicated call-taking positions
භ Four dedicated dispatch positions
භ One supervisor position
During higher call volume periods of the day:
භ Five dedicated call-taking positions
භ Four dedicated dispatch positions
භ Two supervisor positions
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6.6.2 Staffing Recommendations for Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) Implementation
The staffing analysis included current call volume and workload analysis in the ECC, and because EMD call processing does not currently take place in the ECC there was no data available to include medical call processing accurately, but we will endeavor to consider some supporting data and high-level projections as best as possible.
Berkeley Fire Department responded to 8,761 EMS events in 2021. Of those events, today an average of 105.3 seconds is spent on each medical call by call-takers who will obtain address, call back number, the nature of the incident, and the high-level details of any EMS event, then transfer the call to ACRECC for EMD processing and Pre-Arrival Instructions. Following that, a Berkeley ECC Fire Dispatcher will dispatch an EMS unit to the call.
Once EMD is implemented in Berkeley ECC, the average time on the call will increase from the current 105.3 seconds while EMD protocol and pre-arrival instructions are administered. The Fire Department reports an average response time of seven minutes for most calls in the City. It is likely that for many calls the EMD call-taker will still be on the line with the caller obtaining information and/or providing any pre-arrival and post- dispatch instructions when the EMS crew arrives on scene.
Initially, if the staffing increase recommendations are implemented, and if the EMS call volume levels are similar at that time, the ECC call volume and workload should not be significantly impacted by the addition of time on task for EMD calls. However, it is imperative that ECC leadership continue to regularly conduct a staffing analysis and monitor any workload and staffing impacts that EMD may increase, in addition to regular population and call volume increase for police and fire that will occur.
FE does not recommend actual implementation of EMD until staffing is at adequate levels to support current workload. Once enough staff has been hired for the ECC to operate a minimum of 11 workstations during peak call volume periods as per staffing recommendations, EMD implementation and workload could be sufficiently supported. however, the initiative to procure and implement EMD can begin now, pending the increase in staff. It is not recommended to provide EMD certification training too far in advance of actual implementation. When medical call-taking is implemented, data will be available to analyze for any additional increase in workload/call time. To that end, the ECC will be able to monitor closely and augment staffing accordingly.
A re-evaluation of available statistical call volume and data should be performed bi- annually to validate accuracy in staffing recommendations. Annual audits and calculations
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should be performed to track workload fluctuations and to provide support and justification during budget planning when additional staff is needed.
6.6.3 Recommendations for Staffing & Recruiting
The overall staffing increase required in Berkeley ECC is 33 additional staff members to bring the current staffing levels from 27 to 60, including the Communications Center Manager, (with turnover factor included). The ECC is at a critical staffing deficiency and before any other initiatives are implemented, or considered, staffing must be at adequate levels. The stress of call volume and call or incident induced stress, combined with the requirement to work significant overtime to cover shift shortages is resulting in illness and burnout. This, coupled with the natural attrition that will occur in 2022 will place the ECC in a position where efforts to recruit staff will need to continue at an accelerated pace.
Implementing any major new initiatives without first meeting the recommended staffing levels could create circumstances where ECC loses its current, experienced staff due to fatigue, illness, and burnout, while also creating undue risk to current operations.
Further, recommendations with respect to immediate recruitment and hiring are addressed in the High-Level Implementation Plan (Section 4); however, considering the significant increase in staff required in the ECC, it would be reasonable for leadership to develop an interim contingency plan to ensure the ECC is resilient if more employees than expected resign, retire, or become ill. A strategic back-up plan will ensure operations can continue in the face of additional staffing loss. Leadership would need to consider the options available to them and have a plan in place in the event this occurs.
Questions to consider include:
භ Would frontline police and fire staff be deployed in the center to support shortages?
භ Is another center able to assist by re-routing Berkeley ECC calls to their PSAP? FE offers the following recommendations and guidance for addressing staffing including:
භ Increase the minimum on duty staff from between five - six employees to seven - eleven employees depending on time of day and anticipated call volume. භ Increase overall number of authorized full-time employees in the ECC from 33 to 55 (at minimum) while working toward the recommended 60 full time employees to account for turnover.
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භ Create and assign a Training and Quality Assurance Coordinator position as soon as possible to assist with planning, coordinating, and supporting the recruitment and training of new personnel.
භ To achieve recommended staffing levels in a timely and successful manner, both lateral experienced candidates, along with entry level candidates, must be recruited simultaneously. Every effort should be made to attract candidates who are already experienced and qualified to work in an ECC. භ The recruiting process must be accelerated by creating efficiencies in onboarding entry level and experienced candidates immediately.
භ Shorten the process for entry level applicants - explore fast track recruiting for call-taking and Fire Dispatch positions initially without initial POST requirements. (POST requirements can be made a condition of employment to be reached within a specified period upon hire. These employees would not handle police dispatching in the ECC until they have achieved POST certification). භ Review recruiting process and incentives program for lateral experienced candidates. A review of current wages, incentives, signing bonuses, etc., in the region will be necessary to ensure competitiveness in the market. Compare to current practice for any Berkeley Fire and Police lateral/experienced hire program, and other ECCs in the area.
භ That the ECC utilize NFPA 1225 (2022) Chapters 4 - 11 Standards and NENA Standards for Hiring and Selection to inform their recruiting practices for the ECC.
භ That the ECC continue to follow and adhere to any standards and requirements as indicated by California POST, but that it does not unnecessarily hinder the timely recruiting and onboarding of additional staff.
6.7 Facilities Analysis
6.7.1 Space
Current minimum staffing is seven - one Supervisor or Acting Supervisor, two dispatchers, one records desk operator, and three call-takers. There are eight workstations today, which is insufficient for surge volumes or major incidents. With the recommendation to have a minimum of eleven personnel to handle the existing call volumes and the anticipated EMD workloads, additional space for workstations will be needed.
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6.7.2 Recommendations:
To accommodate anticipated minimum staffing, and to provide for surge events and training, a total of 15 workstations is recommended. Based on the current footprint of the second floor of the Public Safety Building, there are a couple of options for additional space:
භ Option 1: Remove the walls between the current Bike Unit (offices to the east of the current dispatch floor) and take over that contiguous space for seven additional workstations.
භ Option 2: Relocate the supervisor and manager’s offices (that are to the south of the dispatch floor) and remove the walls between those offices and dispatch and install the additional seven workstations in that space.
6.7.3 Considerations:
භ BFD has indicated that they are planning to vacate 70-80% of the space they currently occupy on the second floor and relocate to another facility in the City.
This is anticipated to occur in 12 to 18 months. This would allow for a shuffling of space use to allow the expansion of the ECC.
භ We recommend an evaluation of the current furniture to determine its long-term usability or if replacement makes sense at this opportunity. We also recommend that an RFI or RFP be developed to allow furniture vendors to propose possible configurations using both existing and new furniture into the proposed space. භ It is still desirable that a supervisor's office be located adjacent to the dispatch floor to allow the supervisors to conduct business in the office but maintain contact with what is going on the dispatch floor. If the second option above is the desired path forward, additional space for a new supervisor's office would need to be in the proposed footprint.
භ The Communications Center Manager's office could be relocated into the area that is being vacated by the fire department.
භ A Training/Quality Assurance office would also need to be allocated out of the vacated office space.
භ During any remodel of the space on the second floor, consideration needs to be given to ensure that all walls and windows in the ECC be impact-resistant in
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compliance with NFPA 12256. Any new construction/wiring would also need to be in compliance with NFPA 1225.
6.7.4 Long-Term Needs
Incoming call volume has decreased 27.44% from 2017 to 2021. There were precipitous drops in incoming calls in 2019 and 2020. The year 2020 can be attributed to the COVID- 19 pandemic, but the drop in 2019 has not been clearly explained. The 2020 U.S. Census showed a population of 112,580 residents, and in 2020, the Census showed an increase of 11,741 residents for a total of 124,321 residents
7, which equates to a 0.94% increase
annually. In looking at the next ten years, Berkeley has the potential of a 9.4% increase in population.
Table 23 - Incoming Call Statistics
Incoming Call Statistics
Year Total Incoming Calls
Percent
Change from
Previous
Year
2017 256,462 -
2018 274,228 6.48%
2019 242,436 -13.11%
2020 200,701 -20.79%
2021 201,237 -0.27%
Percent Change from 2017-2021 -27.44%
Based on this predicted negative growth, the identified facility improvements should last well beyond the next ten years.
6.7.5 Backup Facilities & Business Continuity
There is no backup center or business continuity plans in place today for the ECC. If there was a catastrophic failure, or a need to relocate from its current location, there is no pre- determined location that has been outfitted to suitably provide a ba ckup facility. Further there is no business continuity plan in place, nor any procedure in place for staff to know where and how to relocate.
The current plan is to use space at the City Hall as a backup location. There are no fixed facilities, just a designated space and City IT infrastructure which is located a block and 6 National Fire Protection Association 1225 Standard for Emergency Services Communications, Section 12.7.4 and 12.7.5 7 United States Census Bureau, https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/berkeleycitycalifornia, 08/19/22, 1400 hrs.
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a half away from the ECC. It is recommended that a new location in a distant part of the City be identified (after determining possible hazards for such a location – proximity to freeways and rail lines, altitude from sea level, fault lines, etc.), and plans made for IT infrastructure and telephone service (landline and wireless access).
The 9-1-1 alternate answering point is loca ted at the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO), but there are no provisions to relocate there. In the event the ECC experienced a critical failure, they would contact AT&T to assist with rerouting the ECC’s 9-1-1 calls to the backup site at City Hall once that location was capable of handling incoming calls.
A Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) should be developed to detail the process of moving to a backup center, either for immediate need/short-term or planned need/long- term occupancy. Such a plan should also include a schedule for employee orientation as well as the testing the COOP on a regular basis.
6.7.6 Recommendations for Back-Up Facility:
FE recommends that the City identify, secure , and equip a suitable back-up facility and create and implement a business continuity plan for the ECC in accordance with NFPA 1225 (2022) Chapter 12 - 12.2 General requirements which state:
12.2.1 Communications centers and alternate communications centers shall comply with Chapter 12.
12.2.2 A comprehensive emergency management plan (CEMP) shall be in place for each communications center.
12.2.2.1 The CEMP shall comply with the applicable requirements of the NFPA 1600 and additional requirements specified in this document.
12.2.2.2 The AHJ (authority having jurisdiction) shall review the CEMP for currency and applicability annually.
12.2.4 Communications equipment shall be kept in working order at all times.
12.2.5 Each center shall be provided with a designated primary means of communication that shall be compatible with the designated primary means of communication provided at Emergency Response Facilities (ERFs).
12.2.5.1 Each center shall be provide with an alternative means of communication that is compatible with the alternate means of communication provided at the ERFs.
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12.2.5.2 The alternate means shall be available to the telecommunicator in the event of failure of the primary communications system.
12.2.6 Each jurisdiction shall maintain an alternate communications center that meets the criteria in 12.2.6.1 and 12.2.6.2/
12.2.6.1 The alternate communications center shall be capable, when staffed, of performing the emergency functions performed at the primary center.
12.2.6.2 The alternate communications center shall be separated geographically from the primary communications center at a distance that ensures the survivability of the alternate center.
12.2.6.3 Each jurisdiction shall develop a formal plan to maintain and operate the alternate communications center.
12.2.6.3.1 The plan shall include the ability to reroute incoming event and alarm traffic to the alternate center and to process and dispatch events at that center.
12.2.6.3.2 The plan shall be included in the CEMP.
12.2.6.4 When operations are from the alternate communications center, receipt, transfer, processing and dispatching of alarms and events in accordance with the requirements of this standard shall not be dependent on the functioning of any equipment at the primary communications center.
12.2.7 The communications center shall be capable of continuous operation long enough to enable the transfer of operations to the alternate communications center in the event of a dire or other emergency in the communications center or in the building that houses the communications center.
FE also recommends that:
x The back-up center should be set up to function as both a standalone relocation facility when required, and one that could also operate in parallel with the primary center when needed.
x The facility must contain enough workstations, technology, and facilities necessary to support long term operations should a lengthy relocate be required. x The back-up center should be as close to a mirror image as possible to primary center – when staff must relocate, they should have equipment and technology set up the same as the primary center at each workstation. A relocate is usually for emergent and stressful reasons; this is not the ideal time for staff to have to
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think about everything they need to do because the equipment is set up differently than at the primary center.
x Whenever technology updates occur in the primary center, there must also be a procedure to update the back-up center at the same time. This ensures compatibility and well-functioning technology and equipment at both locations. x Regular testing and drills where staff relocate to the back-up center to work a shift is necessary to ensure proficiency and familiarity when an actual relocate is required. This also ensures equipment is tested regularly and mission ready.
6.7.7 Recommendations for Business Continuity:
Investigate partnership with a neighboring center in the region for overflow/back-up 9-1- 1 calls to be routed for call answer & dispatch during call surge, critical failure, and/or center evacuation and relocate incidents.
6.8 Next Generation 9-1-1
NENA and other organizations are working on NextGen 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1) standards development, CAD system interoperability and the exchange of information between those applications. As these standards conti nue to evolve, they should be monitored, considered, and incorporated in any new in terfaces between NG9-1-1 applications and CAD systems.
The State of California 9-1-1 Branch reports that the Northern Region of California will transition to Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1) by December of 2023. All 9-1-1 Customer Premise Equipment and software must be certified by the 9-1-1 Branch as NG9-1-1 compliant before it can be cutover to the Regional and State-wide ESInet. For the most part, the transition to NG9-1-1 will be transparent to the dispatchers, and no major changes in software is needed.
Some of the same standards can be used for any future CAD-to-CAD interfaces. Many of the CAD vendors are still assessing their future need to interface and accept the additional information that NG9-1-1 data will provide. At the same time, vendors are trying to determine the actual cost that will be encountered as the needed functionality is developed and deployed.
In the first phase of NG9-1-1 implementati on there will not be a si gnificant impact to frontline staff workload. The first phase of implementation will consist primarily of new technology infrastructure for the NG9-1-1 system and will encompass new call handling
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technology. The impact will consist primarily around the new tec hnology training and internal process changes for frontline staff.
6.8.1 Recommendations
The ECC should continue to work with CalOES on the implementation of Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1).
It was reported by IT that the Berkeley ECC is ready for the migration to NG9-1-1 and noted that they are fully compliant with the NENA i3 Standard for Next Generation 9-1-1.
It should be noted that the State of California NG9-1-1 migration plan is to be completed in Alameda County no later than December of 2023.
While there is no immediate urgency to add additional staffing specifically for the NG9-1- 1 transition in the preliminary stages, there will likely be additional staffing requirements in later phases of NG9-1-1, such as when media interfaces to 9-1-1 are introduced. This is a primary reason current ECC staffing must be adequate going into NG9-1-1 and that ECC leadership monitor call volume and workload closely to ensure adequate staffing levels and shift patterns support operations to augment staffing accordingly.
It is important to monitor not only call volume but also utility rate, or time required on tasks, as NG9-1-1 implementation progresses. Call volume alone will not provide an accurate understanding of total workload capacity and activity rate, which can be affected by ancillary tasks and further processing time and action required for calls involving text messages, video and pictures and other methods of receiving 9-1-1 calls and obtaining and processing information.
6.9 IT Support Model
The Information Technology (IT) team is an integral component for any public safety agency. Therefore, it is critical that the existing IT staffing and support model be considered in a project of this nature which combines a staffing analysis for the ECC, EMD implementation feasibility, and pilot project support for the Specialized Care Unit initiative in Berkeley. Every project and new program, along with the policy and process that accompany them, at many points, have overlap and integration with technology and systems.
New programs and processes may require augmentation to the current system, the introduction of a new process and/or technol ogy, and the knowledge, skills, staffing
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capacity, and business process in place to implement and maintain them from an IT perspective.
Today, the ECC, BPD and BFD are supported by two dedicated IT resources who are responsible for all IT related issues. PSAP staff are directed to report problems to the help desk which in turn contacts the IT resource with the details of the problem or situation.
The help desk operates daily from 0900 to 1700 and is staffed by seven help desk professionals.
The list of IT responsibilities has grown substantially over the past five years, with the introduction of body cameras, the issuance of iPhones, ruggedized laptops, and iPads.
It was reported that overall, there are approximately 1,800 applications running Windows 7 throughout the Public Safety system.
Many of the ECC related issues are evaluated through remote access. Software update patches are usually performed Thursday mornings at 0500.
It was also reported that the various hardware upgrades to the ECC are currently behind schedule.
Regarding the migration to NG9-1-1, it was reported that the ECC is NG9-1-1 ready and meets the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) i3 Standard for Next Generation 9-1-1.
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7. Call Processing & Workflow Analysis
7.1 Call Flow Description
Calls for the City of Berkeley ECC are received from 9-1-1, ten-digit emergency and non- emergency calls, and text-to-9-1-1 methods. Each staff member has the option of recording their voice with the initial 9-1-1 greeting, and when they answer a 9-1-1 line, the automated system will provide the initial gree ting for them, while they prepare for the remainder of the call-taking process. This is an optional feature in the ECC phone system, and not all staff use this feature.
Once the 9-1-1 call is answered, ANI/ALI information is available and interfaced to drop into CAD for 9-1-1 calls received. The phone technology does not have an Automatic Call Director (ACD) system that directs 9-1-1 calls to specific workstations or in specific rotations. Instead, 9-1-1 lines ring at all phones on every desk each time a call comes in.
When there are additional 9-1-1 calls waiting to be answered beyond what is showing up on the 9-1-1 phone sets, there are no queue systems or visual/audible alarms in place to notify ECC staff. This may contribute to a higher-than-average amount of abandoned 9- 1-1 calls in Berkeley ECC, despite an average call answer time of 10.9 seconds.
The ECC is designed to operate in a horizontal call model where there are separate call- taker and dispatcher workstations that provide one or the other role, but not both.
However, due to a combination of call volume and staffing shortages, it must frequently operate as a hybrid vertical/horizontal call model where at times Supervisors and Dispatchers are answering 9-1-1 overflow calls and dispatching resources to those calls, in addition to the other calls to which they are tasked with dispatching resources.
There are workstations assigned specifically for supervision, call-taking, and dispatching.
All Supervisor, dispatch and call-taking workstations have CAD, phone call handling, and radio console technology and are capable of full call-taking and dispatch. The Records Desk (RB1) is unique as it has a records (green) screen to check wants and warrants.
The Fire Desk has been assigned as a static station and does not move around the room; BFD requested that they have one desk to go to in the same spot each shift to access the Fire Dispatcher easily.
All 9-1-1 calls are first answered on the call-taking workstations. While calls are answered in these positions first, each workstation in the ECC is outfitted with all 9-1-1 lines, ten- digit emergency and non-emergency phone lines, and the Rapid Deploy Text to 9-1-1 solution. In the event all call-takers are already on 9-1-1 calls, overflow 9-1-1 calls will be answered and processed by the Supervisor, or by the Fire dispatcher, or by RB1. The
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Police Dispatcher often does not have the c apacity to answer calls and still provide dispatch and support to field responders due to the volume and workload of police calls in the ECC. The Police Dispatcher would only answer calls in extreme circumstances.
Once a call is answered, staff complete the police or fire call-taking process in CAD, and the call drops into the pending screen for dispatch at the respective police or fire CAD terminal to be dispatched.
Police calls are assigned by beat, and there are 16 beats across the city. Eight to nine patrol officers are responsible for two beats between 0130-1100 Monday – Thursday, and 0230-1130 Friday - Sunday. There are 1-2 teams working at a time, with two Sergeants per team and one Lieutenant (Incident Commander) on duty.
Fire calls are assigned by Station District; there are seven stations across the City capable of Fire and EMS response. Each station has a duty Captain, and a Battalion Chief is on duty at all times.
7.2 Call-Taking and Dispatch Processes
7.2.1 Police Call-Taking Procedure
Berkeley Police Department created policy and procedure specifically for the call-taking and dispatch of police incidents. There is no specific detailed format for call-taking interrogation where it is consistently applied among all call-takers. ECC staff are trained to the policy and procedure which guides their call-taking and dispatch processes. These policies are not accessible to the staff either via desktop or binder at the workstation; however, policies are available via web-based application called Lexipol Policy and Procedure or through individual email search. There is an expected procedure for hot calls, cold calls, and alarm calls with primary and secondary questions based on basic who, what, where, when and why questioning. Training binders outline general expectations for the call-taking process. As there is no Quality Assurance process in place, there is no way to confirm the various policies are being followed.
7.2.2 Fire Call-Taking Procedure
Fire call-taking and dispatch is also guided by policy and procedure. The policy and procedure are informed by BFD policy, procedure, and response plans.
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7.2.3 9-1-1 Call Triage and Process
The following describes the initial 9-1-1 call answer triage and process methodology in the ECC:
භ The call-taker answers the 9-1-1 line on the Intrado 9-1-1 call handling screen and triages the call asking, "Berkeley 9-1-1, what is the location of the emergency?". This is done to ensure it is for Berkeley's service area. If it is not the call-taker will reroute the caller to the correct 9-1-1 center. භ Out of district calls are often received and routed to correct PSAPs in:
o Oakland
o California Highway Patrol (CHP)
o Albany
o UCPD
o Emeryville
o East Bay Regional Parks
භ The call-taker continues with the call-taking triage process by asking 'What is your emergency?'
7.2.4 9-1-1 Call for Berkeley Police Service
The following describes the workflow process for triage and processing 9-1-1 calls for Berkeley Police Service calls:
භ The call-taker verifies the address and nature of the call and enters this information into CAD. Additionally, the call back number of the caller and the caller's name is also obtained but may not always be obtained until later in the call.
භ Once the call type is chosen from the drop-down list in CAD (or entered via command line function), the call priority is automatically assigned according to call type code. The call-taker can over-ride the priority level if circumstances dictate. For priority in-progress calls, the call-taker remains on the line until officers arrive, if warranted.
භ The call drops into the pending screen in CAD for the dispatcher assigned to the Police Dispatch workstation. There are no audible or visual signals to indicate to the PSD that there is a new call for dispatch.
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භ The dispatcher reviews the incident and priority, and dispatches officer(s) accordingly, keeps track of their status, as well as adding pertinent notes as required.
භ Call-takers run queries in NCIC, as well as any other checks necessary for processing calls while preparing the call for dispatch. භ Dispatchers may also run NCIC queries and complete 'Premise Alerts' check for special address information, and any other pertinent information gathering required for officer support.
භ Dispatchers maintain radio contact with responding officer(s) and support as necessary and document pertinent call details in CAD comments section. භ Monitor officer safety and perform safety checks as necessary for officer(s) on the call. The officer may request unit alerts. Dispatchers are expected to automatically create a 7-minute unit alert for any self-generated Traffic Stop event. Public Safety Dispatchers must do a verbal check on the officers for these events.
භ Once a call is complete, the officer clears from the event using their MDT in the police vehicle, and subsequently transfers the call out of the CAD screen. This indicates that the officer is ready for any pending calls. No dispatch code is required for officers to clear from an event. Each Call for Service (CFS) has a unique event number automatically created in CAD.
7.2.5 9-1-1 Call for Berkeley Fire Department Call
The following describes the workflow process for triage and processing 9-1-1 calls for Berkeley Fire Department calls:
භ The call-taker verifies the location of the emergency, the nature of the call, and the type of structure (if applicable), and then enters this information into CAD. භ If the caller does not know their location on a wireless 9-1-1 call, the call-taker will utilize Rapid Deploy to find their location.
භ There are 80 or more call types to choose from that a call-taker must know; and some have only numbers for the call type to choose in CAD, no description next to it. Often PSDs will have to refer to "cheat sheets" they have created for quick reference to choose the correct call type code in CAD to create the call. භ Additionally, the call back number of the caller and the caller's name is also obtained but may not always be obtained until later in the call.
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භ Once the call type is chosen from the drop-down list, the call is ready to be entered into pending. An audible alarm signifies a new call. භ Once in the pending screen, the call will present on the Fire CAD and be ready for dispatch. Once the call is selected, unit recommends will automatically be presented to the Fire PSD based on criteria such as call type, priority, and location.
භ The PSD will confirm the correct units are recommended against the response plans and will add additional units if required based on new information. භ The units will be marked as dispatched in CAD, and the PSD will use a combination of the ComTech station alerting system, the radio, and CAD to dispatch the necessary personnel and apparatus. The station alerting process is not automated; the Fire Dispatcher must select the station(s) to be sent an alert, then follow a series of steps including:
o Select the radio channel and send an alert (by pressing the lightning bolt icon) and select "3" from the drop down - this sends 3 beeps
o Structure fires are a different set of tones - they are one long three second tone, sent by selecting "1" from the dropdown menu
o The Fire Dispatcher must perform this series of steps in ComTech BEFORE the Recommendations button is activated in CAD
o Then the PSD will provide voice dispatch with what the call is for and what district(s) is required to respond
o Then the recommendations button can be selected, and units can be attached to the call
o The previous step will open the ComTech system so that the voice information can be heard over the PA system at the required stations. The Fire Dispatcher will check to make sure station radios show green, then voice the message to corresponding crews on the radio
භ The call information also presents on the fire apparatus Mobile CAD (MDTs).
Crews will acknowledge receipt of the dispatch on the MDT. If they do not mark themselves enroute after two minutes, an alarm timer will present in CAD and the Fire Dispatcher will follow up with the crew to check status. Note - the alarm timer is visual only, there is no audible tone to grab attention when it goes off. භ Often the crew will not voice over the radio that they are responding, so the Fire Dispatcher must watch closely for the unit to show responding in the CAD so they can provide the call information and any updates over the radio.
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භ The dispatcher will continue to support the crew with status updates, support requests, capturing ICS or Blue Card benchmarks, and performing and recording any other supportive measures as requested by the Incident Commander. භ Once the crew returns to service, they will use their Mobile CAD to indicate such, and this transfers the call off the active incidents in CAD and indicates the fire units are ready to be assigned to any incoming calls.
7.2.6 9-1-1 Call for EMS
The following describes the workflow process for triage and processing 9-1-1 calls for EMS:
භ When EMS is requested the call-taker will verify the location of the emergency and enter "Medical" in the CAD call type and narrative/notes. භ They will then obtain further details such as the chief complaint or symptoms, patient's age, and sex, and COVID screening questions. They will enter this information into CAD, advise the caller that medical is on the way and ask the caller to stay on the line while they transfer them for further instructions. භ A supervised call transfer is conducted to ACRECC, and the call is introduced to the EMS call-taker along with the address, nature of call, and patient details provided to ECC. They wait to hear if the person speaks and then disconnect. භ Sometimes the call-taker will stay on the line for high priority calls such as CPR.
This allows them to gather information sooner so the responding EMS crew can be updated quickly. There is no policy that directs the call-taker to stay on the line. If there are updates to patient condition or scene safety concerns, ACRECC is directed to call Berkeley ECC back with the information. There is no electronic means of sharing call information between Berkeley ECC and ACRECC CADs. භ Simultaneously the call information in CAD is entered as a medical call, and entered into pending, where it presents on the Fire Dispatch workstation. An audible alarm is received to indicate a new call is ready for dispatch. භ Once the call is selected, unit recommends will automatically be presented to the dispatcher based on criteria such as call type, priority, and location. භ The dispatcher will confirm the correct units are recommended against the response plans and will add additional units if required based on new information.
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භ The units will be marked as dispatched in CAD, and then the Dispatcher will utilize the same steps for alerting the crew(s) using ComTech, radio and CAD as outlined in Fire call flow description.
භ The station alerting process is not a fully automated; the Fire Dispatcher must select the station(s) to be sent an alert, then follow a series of steps including:
o Select the radio channel and send an alert (by pressing the lightning bolt icon) and select "3" from the drop down - this sends three beeps o The Fire Dispatcher must perform this series of steps in ComTech BEFORE the recommendations button is activated in CAD
o Then voice what the call is for and what district(s) is required to respond o Then the recommendations button can be selected, and units can be attached to the call
o That will open the ComTech system. The Fire Dispatcher will check to make sure station radios show green, then voice the message to corresponding crews on the radio
භ The call information will also present on the EMS apparatus Mobile CAD (MDTs).
Crews will acknowledge receipt of the dispatch on the MDT. If they do not mark themselves enroute after two minutes, an alarm timer will present in CAD and the Fire Dispatcher will follow up with the crew to check status. Note - the alarm timer is visual only, there is no audible tone to grab attention when it goes off. භ Often the crew will not voice over the radio that they are responding, so the Fire Dispatcher must watch closely for the unit to show responding in the CAD so they can provide the call information and any updates over the radio. භ The Fire Dispatcher will continue to support the crew with status updates, support requests, capturing benchmarks, and performing and recording any other supportive measures as requested as provided by ACRECC. භ Once the crew returns to service, they will use their Mobile CAD to indicate such, and this transfers the call off the active incidents in CAD and indicates the fire units are ready to be assigned to any incoming calls.
7.2.7 9-1-1 Call for Mental Health Incidents
The following describes the workflow process for triage and processing 9-1-1 calls for mental health incidents:
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භ When the caller indicates the nature of the call is a mental health issue, the call is dispatched to Berkeley PD.
භ A mental health call is initially dispatched to a Police unit and the call will be entered and dropped into Police CAD (Channel 1) for dispatch. භ Police will respond first to secure the scene and will call MCT (if available) to determine if the patient is "5150". Patrol will then request a Mental Health (MH) response to take over the 5150 calls. Dispatch contacts the Mobile Crisis Team (MCT) by radio if it is noted that they are available for response. Although nearly all officers are Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) trained, they prefer MCT handles the 5150 because they have the expertise in this area. If a transport is required, a contracted ambulance agency is requested.
භ Once the call is complete, the officer will mark themselves back in service on their MDT and the call will transfer out of CAD.
7.2.8 10-digit Emergency Lines
Calls received on the 10-digit emergency lines are typically from alarm monitoring companies or other allied agencies who are transferring non-9-1-1 calls or requesting assistance at an incident. Since these calls are not received through the 9-1-1 system, ANI/ALI information is not available for them. The call location and nature of the incident is collected and entered into CAD along with the callback number, caller’s name, and any other pertinent details related to the call, specifically regarding scene safety.
7.2.9 Non-emergency Police Complaint Line
The non-emergency police complaint line is dedicated as a non-emergency line for the public to call for police assistance. Many calls for service are received on this line of varying nature from parking complaints to information requests. Often calls that would have been better made through the 9-1-1 system and can be high priority in nature, are also received on this line, but the caller has opted instead to use a non-emergency line.
The disadvantage of receiving high priority calls on a non-9-1-1 line is that ANI/ALI information is not available to the call-taker and can at times make location verification difficult.
7.2.10 Ten-digit Non-Emergency Lines
Calls for service are received on the ten-digit non-emergency lines and include general, public inquiry lines, as well as Animal Control requests for dispatch. Additionally internal requests for City departments handled by ECC are received on these lines and include
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service for the City’s Public Works and Utilities Department, which include Facilities Management, Fleet Management, Landscape Maintenance, and Streets Maintenance.
7.3 Observations
There are many process and technology barriers that create inefficient workflow and risk in police, fire, and medical call-taking and dispatch. As can often occur in public safety, ECC staff are working for technology (or finding work arounds to overcome barriers) rather than technology being set up to work for the ECC. These issues are addressed in the recommendations below.
7.4 Recommendations – Call Processing
7.4.1 Workflow and Operations
This section provides FE’s observations and/or recommendations for call processing workflow and operations:
භ There is a significant amount (in excess of 80) of number-based codes to choose in CAD when entering call types. PSDs must recall the number for the call type - there is no description beside it to explain what it is. This needs to change as soon as possible. This adds time and risk for entry error when staff must remember over 80 different call type codes for calls. FE recommends that the Chief Complaint/Call Type Description be added beside each numbered code in the drop-down menu in CAD, then organize the codes with their description in a fashion that makes logic and sequential sense for choosing the correct code quickly during call entry and make the drop-down pick list searchable by number or description for flexibility and ease of use for PSDs. The call type codes can be changed again once EMD and EFD is implemented if Berkeley chooses to show the specific EMD and EFD chief complaint descriptions in place of the current CAD call type codes, or the EMD and EFD call types can be added as an additional field on the call form screen in CAD. The EMD and EFD call types give detailed descriptions of the chief complaint/call type. භ Among other benefits listed in Section 6.3.3 Implementation of EMD Protocols, EMD implementation will immediately create workflow and call process efficiencies, such as removing the need for callers to re-verify address upon transfer to ACRECC, ability to update EMS crew based on real-time information and accessibility to pre-arrival instructions for callers.
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භ FE recommends that the ECC, in collaboration with Berkeley Fire, implement a fully automated station alerting system that is integrated with CAD and provides automated voice dispatch triggered by the CAD system upon dispatch. The current system and process for station alerting consists of a heavily manual process with many steps to achieve station alerting. A fully automated station alerting system provides consistency and efficiency in dispatching and voice alerting for response crews while allowing the PSD to remain focused on the core activities of ensuring the correct units are sent while watching for situation updates and being able to respond accordingly.
භ There will be a gap in time between now and when the ECC is staffed adequately to implement EMD protocol. In the interim, FE recommends that the ECC prioritize creating a two-way CAD to CAD interface between Berkeley ECC and ACRECC to receive real time medical call information and updates in CAD and on the MDTs in the EMS/Fire units.
භ FE recommends that a detailed audit of ECC call flow and a business process analysis be conducted to identify areas where efficiencies can be created and risk can be reduced in the call-taking, dispatch, information exchange, and records management process. Time and accuracy are of the essence in the call- taking and dispatch portion of emergency response; it has significant impact on the remainder of the overall response and call outcomes. On initial observation, there are many process and technology barriers that stand in the way of ECC staff being able to do their work efficiently, yet they still manage to, which is a testament to their dedication and professionalism.
7.4.2 Call-Taking and Dispatch Protocols
The ECC does not utilize an industry specific call-taking and dispatch protocol such as the International Association of Emergency Dispatch (IAED) Emergency Police Dispatch (EPD) protocol, Emergency Fire Dispatch (EFD), APCO Protocol, PowerPhone, Criteria Based Dispatch (CBD) or other similar industry protocols.
7.4.3 Implementation of EMD Protocols
FE recommends implementing a commercial, standardized call-taking and dispatching protocol for police, fire, and medical disciplines in the ECC. A standardized protocol creates efficiency and consistency in call processing, dispatch, and training for staff. This ensures consistent and high-level service delivery to callers and field responders. It creates a uniform methodology for information gathering of the most critical and safety sensitive information early in the calls, and for providing post-dispatch and pre-arrival
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instructions such as CPR, childbirth, choking, caller in danger, sinking vehicle, or caller trapped in a burning building. Further, it allows for effective quality assurance and standards for compliance/performance and excellent quality improvement and training opportunities.
In Alameda County, agencies are required to have all medical calls processed using the International Academy of Emergency Dispatch (IAED) Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) protocol. While FE is vendor neutral and does not specifically recommend any one vendor for agency solutions, in this instance we do recommend that IAED EMD protocol be implemented in the ECC, so that BFD maintain compliance with EMD call triage and dispatch and continue to receive its ALS funding.
EMD and medical call-taking should not be implemented until staffing levels in the ECC have increased to the point that the recommended staffing levels can be achieved regularly. Any initiatives that create additional workload and time on task for call processing without the necessary staffing to support it, will cause significant undue risk and detrimental impacts to operations.
7.4.4 Implementation of EFD & EPD Protocols
Once the appropriate staffing levels have been met, and EMD has been implemented, the ECC staff, BFD staff, and support staff have had a “burn in period” where the necessary reviews and tweaks have been made to support its efficient use, FE recommends that a commercial fire call-taking dispatch protocol be considered and implemented, followed by Police call-taking and dispatch protocol. In this instance, there will be congruency and efficiency in investi gating the IAED fire and police protocol systems for suitability; ECC staff will already understand the principles and fundamentals of protocol functions, making training, use, quality assurance/improvement, and eventually accreditation, much easier.
7.4.4.1 Accreditation
Pursue Accreditation through IAED EMD and EFD. Once established, and with the staffing to do so, the ECC can also add CALEA and/or any Fire Service Accreditation that Police or Fire choose.
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8. Crisis Response
Most officers of the Berkeley PD are trained in some form of Crisis Intervention, and many officers have attended the 38-hour Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) course. These officers can be identified by a CIT pin worn on their uniform. Callers contacting the ECC for police response can request that one of these officers respond to their request for service.
In addition to the CIT trained officers, the City of Berkeley has a Mobile Crisis Team (MCT). This team consists of mental health clinicians available for dispatch via police radio. Their proposed schedule is five days a week (11:30 AM to 10:00 PM), however, due to staffing issues the team is struggling to provide service during the hour put forth.
The Team’s goal is to reduce the impact of mental health emergencies through immediate response at the street level and through consultation with other community groups. MCT log on and are indicated in CAD as ‘MH’ call sign. They have a police radio and a marked “City of Berkeley” vehicle. They rarely respond first instance to calls for service, they are requested to respond by patrol officers at the scene, most often to assist with a 5150 designation. MCT also has a direct line that the public can call and leave a voice mail.
MCT will respond proactively to VM requests for service first instance when deemed safe to do so; however, calls for service received by the ECC must dispatch officers first to declare the scene safe. When transport is required, the team relies on Basic Life Support (BLS) unit assigned to Berkeley 5150s, contracted by Falck Ambulance Service. The City of Berkeley contracts Falck Ambulance Service at a cost of $2.7 million annually to have this unit available for their 5150 calls.
The City of Berkeley recommended several reforms in response to recommendations made by the City’s process to ‘Reimagine Public Safety.’ These reforms included, in part, the development of a Specialized Care Unit (SCU). Resource Development Associates (RDA) were contracted to conduct a feasibility study that included community-informed program design recommendations, a phased implementation plan, and funding considerations. The SCU will ultimately become a 24/7 mobile unit designed to respond to and support people who are experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis without direct involvement of the police. The SCU will be different than the City’s current mobile crisis response that is perceived as a police/mental health partnership.
The SCU comprises a mental health specialist, a peer specialist, and a medical professional. The three-person team has three distinct roles to provide a range of specialized services with the goal of engaging in collaboration to address crisis.
SCU is currently in the RFP process to contract with a community-based organization to implement and administer the program. Their plan is to respond to calls ranging from
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crisis and 5150 evaluations to substance use, and a variety of other behavioral health issues and non-emergency medical care. They would prefer to have their own phone line but realize that 9-1-1 will still be utilized by the public.
SCU has specific systemic goals; however, t hey have not yet developed clear direction or criteria on specific calls for service that warrant or prohibit their response. The program was implemented in response to community driven recommendations. There has not yet been a law enforcement or ECC collaboration to establish a systems-mapping process, no collection of baseline data prior to implementing the RFP, and no logic model to input or evaluate metrics.
The City of Berkeley Specialized Care Unit Crisis Response Recommendations Report listed a number of calls for service for SCU response that will be concerning for the ECC, the SCU staff, and the City of Berkeley. Those recommendations may or may not be implemented by SCU. Whatever calls for service eventually deemed appropriate for SCU, and the other units involved in the continuum of care, it is imperative that a risk assessment and triage process be developed prior to ‘go-live’ with all stakeholders included. This process must consider risk to public and to the SCU staff and must involve subject matter experts (dispatchers and Sworn Frontline Officers).
Community input is of the utmost importance; however, community members lack the expertise to develop the risk assessments necessary to create the call flow process. The report mentions that there is a concern regarding the ECC and their comfort level deploying SCU because the ECC is housed in Berkeley PD HQ, and a suggestion was made to move the ECC to improve coordination and collaboration. This statement may or may not have influenced the decision to not include Berkeley PD or the ECC in the existing Steering Committee for the SCU. The community wants to ensure this initiative is not police driven; however, the ECC will be receiving calls from the public for calls appropriate for SCU, therefore is inherently involved, and must take the lead on the development of the risk assessment for dispatched calls.
The report indicated the plan to ‘train and prepare’ dispatch to ask the right questions and have a decision tree, however, this process has not yet begun. Effective change management must employ early and effective engagement with project stakeholders to mitigate risk. Dispatch needs to be involved early in the project and be kept involved throughout. Waiting until a new project is developed, misses an opportunity to involve stakeholders to benefit the quality and ensure success. Early engagement builds commitment. Commitment is built when change is not being done to them, but rather, with them; when users helped develop the change and have become partially responsible for the success.
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The report also recommended using data from major medical systems, Community Health Records (CHR) and Alameda County’s Yellow Fin, and to collect and publish that data on Berkeley’s open data portal. Specific stipulations to not use CAD data are mentioned in the report, yet the data collected (speed of deployment, determinations, and dispositions of Dispatch) are specifically mentioned.
8.1 Observations
Because the SCU is still in the implementation phase, no formalized process has been developed to identify, categorize, triage or dispatch calls that are appropriate for their response. For the ECC to effectively support an important and dynamic initiative like SCU they must:
භ Be equipped with an understanding of the program, along with the training, process, policy, and the skills to respond efficiently and effectively to behavioral health-related calls.
භ Have the capability to identify calls related to behavioral health needs and the process to route those calls to the appropriate services or responders.
ECC staff expressed concern about not being included in the planning and implementation process of the team and are feeling disconnected from the program.
Statewide implementation of 9-8-8 as the national mental health crisis and suicide prevention number was implemented in July 2022. The ECC has no developed process for transferring 9-1-1 calls to 9-8-8 for telephone support and referral to services. There is no current understanding of how the cont inuum of care will work utilizing the various points of dispatch diversion. Alameda County has started discussions around 9-8-8; however, neither the SCU nor the ECC have a clear understanding of how the process will be integrated with current systems. It is essential that this process begin now to ensure proper planning, process, policies, and staffing are in place prior to implementation.
8.2 Recommendations
FE recommends that a workshop facilitated by FE be held that involves all stakeholders with the objective of establishing preliminary triage criteria, workflow methodologies, as well as process and protocols that enable effective call-taking and dispatch processes for the Specialized Care Unit Pilot Program. The purpose of this workshop is to build collective capacity to produce an improved understanding of the collaborative risk- mitigation process; and to facilitate a working linkage between the actual practitioners
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engaged in efforts to improve service to vulnerable persons. The ongoing community concerns with police involvement in alternative response have inhibited the ability of all stakeholders to connect, share, and explor e opportunities for improving the overall response to behavioral health calls for service and in turn measuring the effectiveness of said response. Although understandable, with the current political climate, engaging all stakeholders is important to ensure successful implementation of a process change of this magnitude.
A clear benefit of hosting such a workshop is the opportunity to involve key stakeholders and supporters of the program in this dialogue. Doing so will help foster a bridge between evaluation and prac tice. The topics explored in this event will include opportunities to improve/strengthen the relationship between stakeholders, create the required processes and policies, create performance indicators for SCU, and identify new methods for valid and reliable outcome measurements of the program. The format of the workshop will be largely discussion focused. This workshop will provide an opportunity to align goals and strategically develop a plan to ensure that all stakeholders understand what is required to support the goals of the program.
Stakeholders will brainstorm and collaborate to:
1. Conduct a systems-mapping exercise to inventory existing crisis services a. Determine which calls for service are appropriate for SCU response b. Differentiate the calls that require MCT vs SCU deployment c. Outline MCT current process and diversion possibilities d. Identify other diversion options in the City of Berkeley
2. Identify the calls eligible for diversion, consider a ‘phased approach’ to ensure capacity with existing team, future expanded team, and 9-8-8 implementation. a. Develop a Dispatch Risk Matrix to accurately classify the SCU appropriate calls for service.
b. The process requires a sequential implementation of selected calls for service to slowly build the program with continuous QA review and QI process improvement to build success and credibility.
c. The process needs to consider alternative response when SCU is unavailable
d. The process needs to consider future 9-8-8 appropriate calls. e. The process needs to consider future integration with EMD/EFD/EPD.
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f. The process requires creation of a Dispatch Steering Committee to continually monitor and evaluate the program and implement required changes when necessary. This committee would be separate from the SCU Steering Committee with the primary focus being that of continued evaluation and improvement of the ECC dispatch of SCU.
3. Identify technological requirements.
a. Discuss the CAD codes and RMS classification to delineate SCU appropriate calls for future data mining.
b. Integrate the SCU and 9-1-1 phone numbers
c. Implement SCU two-way communication with ECC, including emergency notifications.
4. Develop a training and communication plan for all frontline and ECC staff a. Determine the length of training.
b. Identify who will deliver the training.
5. Process to ensure quantitative and qualitative data is aggregated from all touch points.
a. Consider a Case Management Software program that can provide a data infrastructure and tell SCU's success story.
b. Consider an assigned analyst with access to CAD and Behavioral Health data.
c. The process must include a QA/QI Process to review calls that were diverted and calls that were not, the final disposition, and any gaps identified.
d. The process must ensure methodology for constant revision.
6. Employ legal advisors to create a Memorandum of Understanding for all stakeholders effected by the new process.
a. Leadership must collectively accept the risk and ensure continued cooperation and support for the new process.
b. Identify positions responsible for sign-off
7. Develop a plan for change management
The City of Berkeley will require continued collaboration and development of partnerships to determine best practices for its diversion programs. Once the best initial pathway for
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alternative response has been determined, continued engagement and dialog will support ongoing quality improvement, and innovative and appropriate solutions which will continue to improve public safety and the diversion of mental health crises from criminal justice systems. An effective behavioral health initiative needs to co nsider diversion all along the continuum of care, starting with the ECC. It is important to state that this workshop is only the beginning, it is the initial systems-mapping exercise to inventory the present, proposed diversion services to ensure that community needs are being met. It will be the vital first step to foster the systemic change required for the success of the Specialized Care Unit in preparation for its proposed December 2022 roll-out.
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9. Training Practices and QA Review
9.1 Training
Although the Berkeley Police Department provides administrative oversight of the ECC, the Police Personnel and Training Unit does not provide training support to the ECC.
Historically, staff have been left to manage training on their own. There is no designated Training Coordinator position built into the Berkeley Communications Organizational Chart, but this role is filled by an ad hoc Training Coordinator whose full-time role is a Supervising Public Safety Dispatcher, in conjunction with additional Communications Training Officers (CTOs) who fill other full-time roles in the ECC as well. CTOs receive a 5% pay increase while training call-taker, records desk, and fire dispatch positions, and a10% pay increase when training in Police Dispatch. Increased rates for training are paid only when active training is taking place.
Training program oversight falls to the Training Coordinator in addition to their full-time duties. This position has direct oversight for development and delivery of the communications training program. This role also facilitates the onboarding of new hires with the City of Berkeley and coordinates the delivery of all classroom, theory, and practical training for the new employees.
This includes, but is not limited to:
භ CAD instruction
භ Geography and mapping
භ Policies and procedures
භ Technology and systems
භ Call-taking and dispatch theory
භ Simulation and hands-on training
9.1.1 New Employee Training
All ECC new employee training is conducted in house. It consists of a combination of classroom training followed by practical/hands on “at the workstation” training with a training officer. Classroom training takes place at the Berkeley PD multi-use classroom.
Practical training involves 1-2 CTOs per phase and the trainee mirrors the shift schedule of the assigned trainer.
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9.1.2 Call-Taker Training
All newly hired staff begin with an orientation conducted by the Sergeant from Personnel and Training. This orientation is administrative in nature, signing documents and receiving necessary equipment.
Classroom training is five weeks in length and is conducted by the Training Coordinator.
The academy consists of CAD training, city geography, mapping, policy and procedure, and scenario-based training. Information not covered in the classroom is in the Training Manual. Since there are no full-time staff assigned to training, it is difficult for the Training Coordinators to keep the Training Manual updated and for this reason it has not been completely overhauled in five years. There is written testing throughout the classroom training.
When classroom training is complete the trainee ‘shadows’ the call-taker position and starts to take calls with their CTO present to assist and take over if need be. The ECC receives more than 600 calls for service each day; there are many interruptions during the learning process for new recruits while they grapple with not only the technical precision and procedure required to perform the tasks, but also the enormity of responsibility that a 9-1-1 professional is tasked with. Very often new recruits come with little or no previous public safety communic ations training, education, or experience and their training is usually their first exposure to the profession, and it can be overwhelming.
This phase is usually eight weeks in length.
The Communication Training Officer complete s Daily Observation Reports (check-list template) and then provides a weekly Communications Training report to the trainee and the Training Coordinator. Once this phase is complete the new-hire will complete two weeks ‘solo’ in the Call-Taking position with continued monitoring and feedback by the on-shift Supervisor. Trainees who are quick to grasp and execute the Call-Taking position are accelerated and can move to the next phase earlier as deemed appropriate.
9.1.2.1 Dispatcher Training
Once call-taker training is completed, staff hired as Communications call-takers will move into Fire Dispatch Training or Records Desk. There is one two-week classroom portion followed by four weeks on the floor with the Communications Training Officer. This phase is completed after two weeks of solo operation. The final phase of Dispatch Training is for the Police Channel. The trainee returns to the classroom for two weeks and then completes eight weeks of shadow-based training on the floor with their CTO.
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9.1.3 Supervisor Training
The state Supervisor training through POST is available for Supervisors and is required.
Communications Training Officers are voluntary and are required to receive POST CTO training. They are required to follow the training manual with a weekly guideline of what they should be covering. They utilize a daily observation report pr ovided to the trainee and a weekly Communications Training Report provided to the Training Coordinator.
9.1.4 Continuing Education
At minimum, continuing education must include 24 hours of POST approved courses every two years for each employee, as mandated by the State POST program. Currently, staffing capacity does not permit scheduled training days for each employee. This makes it difficult to plan and attend training. However, as it is POST mandated, it must be attended to and almost always requires overtime to back fill staff who are sent for training.
9.1.5 Quality Assurance and Quality Improvement
A comprehensive NENA/APCO quality assurance program was developed for the ECC.
The program outlines that each employee will receive two call-taking evaluations, one police radio, and one fire radio evaluation every month. Evaluations are to be performed by the Supervisor or the Communications Manager and will be reviewed with the employee. There are evaluation forms to be utilized for each random review for each position.
Unfortunately, reviews are not being completed due to staffing shortages. Most staff indicated that they had never had a Quality Assurance review, nor had they ever had a Performance Review of any kind.
9.2 Recommendations - Training
FE recommends that Berkeley ECC create and implement a Training and Quality Assurance Coordinator position as soon as possible to plan, coordinate and support the recruitment and training of new personnel and develop and deliver a quality assurance and quality improvement (QA/QI) program for t he ECC. This position will also endeavor to:
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භ Work in collaboration with BPD and Berkeley HR to update job descriptions to reflect specific job requirements, to highlight that candidates are 'paid while they train' and is posted in 'easy to find' online locations. භ Revamp the current recruit training manual classroom component to ensure the program is aligned with ECC operations. There must also be separate training for call-taking and dispatch positions. New employees should train in the call-taker position first and become proficient in that role with a required number of shifts, prior to moving into dispatch training. This will increase the opportunity for success for newly hired staff. It should include the following:
o Focus on developing skill set and critical thinking.
o Utilize activities and applied learning for familiarization with call-taking and dispatch, ECC technology and process
o Scheduled sit-along, and a simulation lab that allows them to practice tasks in a non-live environment.
o Classroom theory and simulation training should occur prior to the practical "at the desk" training component.
o The implementation of simulation training has two goals:
ඵ Increase confidence and effectiveness through repeated practice, followed by immediate feedback, in a risk-free simulated environment ඵ Decrease the length of overall training
භ Create a designated training lab dedicated to the ECC and equipped with the furnishings and technology to support simulation-based training. භ Create rapid reference hyperlinks and guides to reduce memorization and excessive reading requirements.
භ Include a recruit training practical component with an assigned coach/mentor who has been certified as a Communications Training Officer as per the standards outlined below.
භ Update policy and procedures that include step by step process for job tasks in the ECC.
භ Implement an employee wellness component that details how to access mental health supports.
භ Develop and implement a formalized supervisor training program where potential supervisors are trained and mentored for the role well before they are promoted, and that continuous leadership development occurs throughout their tenure.
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භ Establish continuing education and professional development training that is treated as priority, and that efforts are made to regularly schedule training days (as soon as staffing levels permit).
භ Ensure continued education and professional development be included in the program, and that ECC staff participate in joint training initiatives between fire, police, and the Center, including scenarios and table-top exercises for high acuity, low frequency incidents such as Active Assailant situations.
Ensure that the training program adheres to industry standards and any person creating or delivering training be certified to do so as per:
භ NFPA 1225 (2022) Chapter 7: Public Safety Communications Training Officer (NFPA 1061) and Chapter 10: Public Safety Communications Training Coordinator (NFPA 1061)
භ APCO ANS 3.108.2-2018 Core Competencies and Minimum Standards for Public Safety Communications Instructor
භ APCO ANS 3.104.2-2017 Core Competencies and Minimum Standards for Public Safety Communications Training Coordinator; and
භ APCO ANS 3.101.3-2017 Core Competencies and Minimum Standards for Public Safety Communications Training Officer (CTO)
9.3 Recommendations – Quality Assurance
The APCO/NENA standard recommends that Berkeley ECC review at least two percent of all calls for service, unless that number would be overly burdensome to an organization.
It is recommended that the QA/QI activities receive a higher priority, and that QA/QI reviews are consistently delivered using dedicated staff to oversee the program. FE recommends the Training and Quality Assurance Coordinator will provide oversight of the program, conduct the reviews, e.g., discussion with staff, document the findings of the reviews, and maintain the program. Once EMD (and EFD) is implemented, this position should receive training to become an Emergency Dispatch Quality Assurance Specialist (ED-Q) to prepare to effectively review EMD and EFD calls in accordance with IAED Standards.
While it may be necessary for one position to provide both training and QA/QI roles until staffing levels increase, the volume of QA & QI necessary, along with the training to support improvements for a staff of 50+ is significant. In particular, half of the staff in the ECC will be new and require more training and support in their initial few years, which will
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stretch the capacity of having the roles combined. The long-term recommendation is to have one person fulfill the QA/QI role separate from the Training Coordinator position.
The QA/QI Coordinator position can lead QA/QI program and support the Training Coordinator with the ECC Training Program . QA/QI and training roles are tightly interconnected; quality assurance data informs both training and quality improvement needs, training requirements inform quality assurance measurements and support improvements.
Additionally, succession planning for this position can be created through staff members who identify training and quality assurance as areas of strength or interest in their career path. They can also receive quality assurance and communications training officer certification, ED-Q and assist with supporting call review workload and other training projects, be mentored by Training and Quality Assurance Coordinator, and have the opportunity to fill in for this role when absence dictates.
Alternatively, when EMD is implemented, this position could be filled by an experienced employee from another agency who is already certified and trained in EMD-Q. Hiring staff with prior experience in implementation and CAD integration would significantly expedite the development of the QA/QI program.
As an interim measure, EMD QA/QI support could be contracted to (Priority Dispatch) Quality Performance Review until staffing levels permit filling the role internally. With EMD outsourced, the Training and Quality Assurance Coordinator position would only be responsible for auditing Police and Fire calls.
Qualifications for this role and for creating a quality assurance, quality improvement, and training program can be informed by the following standards:
භ NFPA 1225 (2022) Chapter 9 Public Safety Quality Assurance/Improvement Personnel (NFPA 1061)
භ APCO/NENA ANS 1.107.1.2015 Standard for the Establishment of a Quality Assurance and Quality Improvement Program for Public Safety Answering Points භ APCO ANS 3.108.2-2018 Core Competencies and Minimum Standards for Public Safety Communications Instructor
භ APCO ANS 3.106.2-2017 Core Competencies and Minimum Standards for Public Safety Communications Quality Assurance Evaluators භ APCO ANS 3.104.2-2017 Core Competencies and Minimum Standards for Public Safety Communications Training Coordinator
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භ APCO ANS 3.101.3-2017 Core Competencies and Minimum Standards for Public Safety Communications Training Officer (CTO)
A pathway to achieving an EMD and EFD Accredited Center of Excellence (ACE) certification is possible through:
භ Standardized call-taking and dispatch protocol
භ A well-designed QA/QI program with consistent call review and constructive feedback to staff
භ Identifying and celebrating successes and high performance භ Identify trends and gaps in training
භ The delivery of quality and regular training and professional development Accreditation is highly attainable and sustainable once the ECC has the staffing, resources, and support to carry out the recommendations in this section and others.
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10. Technology
10.1 Computer Aided Dispatch
Computer-aided dispatch (CAD) is a critical system that assists call-takers and dispatch personnel in processing, prioritizing, dispatching, and controlling calls for service for their respective emergency service agencies. CAD systems typically consist of several modules that provide call input, unit recommendations, call dispatching, call status maintenance, mapping, event notes/narrative, field unit status and tracking, and call resolution and disposition. Computer-aided dispatch systems also include interfaces that permit the software application to provide other critical features and functionality, such as links to external databases.
The ECC originally installed and went “live” with their Tyler Technologies CAD system in January 2009. The current software version is 2020.2, installed in February 2021. The ECC is using a virtual server environment, with a Windows Server 2019 server operating system, and the workstation operating system is Windows 10. They have a redundant back-up server configured with a backup in the cloud.
The system is capable of a mult i-jurisdictional and multi-disci pline configuration, but is currently only configured for a single municipality, the City of Berkeley. It is provisioned for a multi-discipline operation since the ECC dispatches both City Police and the City Fire services. The CAD system is configured and used to provide recommendations for both police and fire. The system uses CAD event numbers and agency specific incident numbers.
Tyler Technology is one of the largest CAD vendors on the market today. The Tyler CAD system has the capability to interface with one or more of the EMD software programs available. If Berkeley decides to adopt EMD, and chooses an EMD vendor, discussions with Tyler will need to be scheduled to discuss pricing and an implementation plan.
10.1.1 CAD Discipline Modules
The ECC operates with two CAD system modules, law enforcement and Fire/EMS. When a multi-discipline event is received and input, the software system generates two pending calls for service – one for law enforcement and one for fire. Most current CAD systems are capable of being configured as either two or three modules, but operationally, most communications centers are only configured for two. EMS units and associated functionality are built within the fire module. The only time it would be beneficial for three is when there are separate fire and EMS dispatchers and agencies and/or EMS is
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dispatched by another communications center. In those cases when a multi-discipline event is generated, it could automatically spawn three CAD events, one for police, one for fire and the third for EMS.
10.1.2 CAD Interfaces
The following table lists typical interfaces found within public safety communications CAD systems and the status of those interfaces in the ECC’s Tyler CAD system. The response ‘Yes’ indicates that the module exists, and the city is utilizing that interface or module.
The interfaces or modules listed in the table with a ‘No’ response simply means the system is capable of the interface, but the city has elected not to buy or use that interface for operational or security reasons.
Table 24 - Berkeley Communications Center Interfaces
Berkeley Communications Center Interfaces
CAD Interfaces Yes/No CAD Interfaces Yes/No
9-1-1 ANI/ALI Yes Mobile Mapping Yes
Alarm Monitoring No Phase 2 Wireless Mapping Yes
Alarm Tracking and Billing No Police Field Reporting Yes ASAP Alarm Company No Police Mobile Data Yes
Automatic Vehicle Location Yes Police RMS Yes
Call-Taker/Dispatcher Mapping Yes ProQA (EMD software interface No Corrections Management Software Yes Radio Console: PT and Emergency Yes Logging Recorder Yes Rip & Run Printers Yes
Email/Text Paging Yes Routing/Directions Yes
Emergency Medical Dispatch
(EMD) Yes Staffing Module Yes
EMS Mobile Yes State/NCIC Yes
EMS ePCR Yes TDD/TTY No
Fire Mobile Yes Tone Alerting (radio voice paging) No
Fire RMS Yes Pictometry No
Fire Station Alerting Yes Web CAD Yes
Master Clock Yes
10.2 Mapping/GIS
The ECC uses GIS/mapping data provided by the City’s mapping, property information and GIS staff who are part of the Information Technology Department. The City GIS uses an Esri ArcGIS enterprise geodatabase solution, version 10.4. The Esri GIS data is imported for use with the Tyler CAD and mobile mapping systems.
The ECC’s GIS data includes the requir ed address points, street centerlines, administrative boundaries, and emergency response zones for the City. The GIS/mapping
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data is updated monthly. The data is not limited to the city, so it does include some surrounding municipalities, but it does not include the entire County.
The ECC does have the required GIS data needed for NG9-1-1. This includes street centerlines, address points, administrative boundaries, and emergency services boundaries. The data meets local requirements, but it does not currently adhere to the NENA NG9-1-1 GIS Data Model
8. The ECC does have some limited data for their neighboring areas, and this is used for responses to mutual or supplemental aid areas outside the City.
10.3 Mobile Data Devices
The dispatch agencies use Mobile Data Devices to provide connectivity and communications with the computer aided dispatch system. MDD functionality includes the ability to provide silent dispatch (dispatched event data and notification), status changes, automatic vehicle location (AVL), directions, routing, messaging, and mobile mapping.
For law enforcement it also pr ovides field-based reporting functionality and the ability to query databases, such as CLETS/NCIC/RMS.
The city uses BMS/Data911 mobile data solution, integrated with the CAD application.
The mobile solution was initially installed in February of 2012, and last updated in June of 2021 with version M8. The mobile server operating system is Windows and is located at the City Public Safety Building. The Fire Department is also using the same mobile data application; however, with a different user interface developed for fire operations.
There are approximately 80 law enforcement and 40 fire/medical mobile computers in the field.
The connectivity from the mobile devices to t he mobile server is achieved using Verizon and AT&T commercial wireless air cards. The city also uses NetMotion software which provides a secure mobile VPN connection and assists with traffic optimization by maintaining or resuming connectivity for the mobile devices in any areas with poor coverage.
The City is using a CAD/RMS integrated hand-held applications from Shield Force and Crew Force on an Apple iPad.
8 NENA-STA-006.1.1-2020
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10.4 9-1-1 Answering Equipment
The ECC is the primary PSAP, therefore all 9-1-1 calls are routed directly to them by their 9-1-1 Service Provider. The ECC uses an Intrado Viper Call Handling Equipment (CHE) initially installed in 2017 and upgraded in 2019. The system will be due for upgrading in 2024.
Calls for police and fire services are processed by a call-taker who answers and then processes that event for dispatch. Calls that require a medical services response are transferred to ACRECC. All 9-1-1, ten-digit emergency and non-emergency lines are installed, configured, and answered on the Viper answering equipment.
The current Viper equipment is Phase II compliant, capable of rebids and can display a Wireless Phase II caller’s location on t he answering equipment’s mapping system. The system is interfaced to the ECC’s Eventi de logging recorder. The 9-1-1 answering solution includes the ECaTS management information system (MIS) for telephone statistics.
The ECC has a web-based Text-to-9-1-1 solution provided by ComTech, that was implemented in February 2018. The City pl ans to replace this system with a new Rapid Deploy solution in the future.
A CAD interface to the 9-1-1 answering equipment allows the transfer of ANI/ALI data for CAD event entry. The interface provides the display of Wireless Phase II data and the callers location on the CAD map. The city has seven 9-1-1 lines.
10.5 Logging Recorder
The Berkeley ECC uses an Eventide logging recording system to re cord the police talk groups and the telephone system. The recorder was originally installed in 2018. It has a 50+ channel capacity and currently records 20 radio channels and all the 9-1-1 answering positions. The recorder is under a support and maintenance contract through Capture Technologies. The recorder is capable of recording analog and digital conversations.
A NICE Inform recorder records all radio talk groups. The recorder is located at the primary radio site and owned by East Bay Regional Communications System (EBRCS).
Access to the recorder is done remotely.
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10.6 Emergency Notification System
The ECC uses an Everbridge AC Alert cloud-based emergency notification system. This is a stand-alone system and not interfaced to the 9-1-1 telephony system or the CAD system.
10.7 Emergency Dispatch Protocols
The ECC is not currently using any third-party emergency dispatch protocol software applications or flip cards.
10.8 Radio Dispatch Consoles
The City of Berkeley is a part of the East Bay Regional Communications System (EBRCS), a multi-site 700-800 trunked radio system provided by Motorola. The EBRCS is operated and maintained by the County of Alameda. It is not anticipated that there would need to be any changes as a result of these recommendations.
Table 25 - Primary Dispatch Talk Groups - Police
Berkeley Police Department Talk Groups
Description Dedicated Dispatcher
BPD 1 Yes
BPD 2 No
BPD 3-RB1 Yes
Parking Enforcement No
BPD INV 1 No
BPD INV 2 No
BPD 1 is used as the primary operating radio channel among all police units. BPD 2 is used as the inquiry, information, and service radio channel for police units. If there is an incident that requires tactical dispatch (pursuit, cordon/perimeter work, etc.), that call will remain on Comm 1, and all other active calls will be instructed to move to BPD 2. Records queries are handled on BPD RB.
The following is a list of the primary talk groups or radio channels in use by the ECC for fire dispatch.
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Table 26 - Primary Dispatch Talk Groups - Fire
Berkeley Fire Department Talk Groups
Description Dedicated Dispatcher
BER DSP 1 Yes
BER DSP 2 No
BER CMD 11 As needed
BER TAC 31 No
BER TAC 51 No
BER CMD 12 As needed
BER TAC 32 No
BER TAC 52 No
BER Emergency 16 No
BART 5A No
BART 5B No
Albany Fire Command and TAC No
Other Allied Agencies, Channels, and Hospitals No
BER DSP 1 is the talk group where units are dispatched and conduct their primary operational radio traffic. BER CMD 11 and CMD 12 are used as a command channel when required for major incidents such as structure related events, hazmat incidents, etc.
TAC 31, TAC 51, TAC 32, and TAC 52 are for use on the fireground. All talk groups are managed by one communications operator who is dedicated to Fire Dispatch.
At times when there is a tactical incident that requires dedicated communications operator support, other communication operators on duty will assist with any other active fire calls.
10.8.1 Interoperability
The ECC has radio interoperability via the EBRCS system to:
භ All fire agencies in Alameda, Contra Costa, and some in Solano County භ 9-1-1 Ambulance Services in Alameda County
භ Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) for fire communications
10.9 Law Enforcement Records Management System
(LERMS)
The law enforcement records management application provides functionality to manage data for incidents, cases, personnel, equipment, and other department actions. The system is interfaced to the CAD and mob ile data system enabling data entered during event creation to be transferred to the appropriate LERMS incidents.
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The LERMS module allows users to generate reports for crime analysis, management reports/presentations and retention. The system provides several pre-formatted reports or allows the agency to configure their own ad-hoc reports. The system tracks the investigation and case status.
The Berkeley PD uses Tyler Technologies New World Law Enforcement Records Management System (LERMS), installed in February 2009. The current software version is 2020.2. The system was last updated in February 2021, the server operating system is Windows Server 2019.
The law enforcement application provides functionality to manage data for incidents and cases. The system is interfaced to the CAD system, enabling data entered during event creation to be transferred or imported into the appropriate LERMS incidents.
BPD uses Tyler’s field- based reporting modul e, and the system uses automated functionality to ensure accurate UCR report ing. The agency is currently working on migrating to NIBRS reporting. The law records module includes case management functionality for the tracking of cases from the time they are created until they are closed.
This module also provides the ability to input warnings or alerts on people entered as an officer safety feature.
10.10 Fire Records Management System (FRMS)
The Fire Records Management System is from Alpine Software, installed in April of 2009 and last updated in July of 2021. The system is running on a Windows Server 201 operating system.
10.11 Recommendations
FE recommends that:
භ BFD and ECC implement a fully automated station alerting system for Fire/EMS dispatch integrated with CAD. This will create consistency, accuracy, and significant efficiencies in dispatching resources for fire and EMS incidents. භ Implement a two-way interface between Berkeley ECC and ACRECC to call share and receive medical call information and updates electronically in CAD, and subsequently, real time updates in Fire/EMS/Police MDTs for EMS calls.
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11. Assuming Dispatching for Piedmont Fire
FE was asked to assess the City of Piedmont’s fire dispatch operations for a possible consolidation with the City of Berkeley Communications Center (ECC). FE’s project team benchmarked current conditions, documented operational requirements, identified, and evaluated operational enhancements, and recommended how the Cities of Piedmont and Berkeley should proceed regarding consolidation.
FE spent time in March 2022 in the City of Piedmont touring facilities and interviewing stakeholders of the City of Piedmont Emergency Communications Center (PECC). Prior to and after the site visit, FE was in contact with personnel from PECC, the Piedmont Police Department (PPD) and the Piedmont Fire Department (PFD), gathering information.
11.1 City of Piedmont
The City of Piedmont encompasses an area of 1.7
square miles in Alameda County. The U.S. Census
reports that the population in 2020 was a total of 11,270 residents
9. The City of Piedmont is bordered on all
sides by the City of Oakland and has no contiguous
boundaries with the City of Berkeley.
11.2 City of Piedmont Fire
Department
The PFD has responsibility for fire and emergency medical services for the City of Piedmont. The PFD has one fire station and currently staffs seven line fire fighters per day aboard one engine, one truck and an ambulance. The average call volume is just over 1,000 calls per year. Piedmont Fire is a participant in the California Master Mutual Aid program and regularly deploys resources across the state during wildland fire season and other large-scale emergencies.
9 United States Census Bureau, https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/piedmontcitycalifornia
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11.3 City of Piedmont Emergency Communications
Center
The PECC is located within the PPD Headquarters at 120 Vista Avenue. The ECC operates under the umbrella of the Support Services Division of the PPD.
The Center currently dispatches all law enforcement, fire, and emergency medical service requests, although Alameda County Regional Emergency Communications Center (ACRECC) currently supports the City of Piedmont by providing Emergency Medical Dispatching (EMD) for all requests for medical assistance.
PECC, at the time of the on-site observations, had five dispatchers and a Support Services Commander, in charge of PECC operations. This is the authorized staffing of full time equivalent (FTEs) and is the bare minimum number of personnel required to staff the Center 24x7x365. The number of FTEs has not changed in over 20 years. The Center last held a hiring process more than three years ago. The most experienced dispatcher has over 20 years tenure, the least experienced dispatcher has over 3 years tenure, with an average tenure of the dispatch staff of 13 years.
11.4 Current Workload – City of Piedmont
Determining workload is a combination of telephone call volume, operational and technological challenges, and non-emergency job tasks.
11.4.1 Telephone
In 2021, PECC received 1,723 9-1-1 calls and 15,476 administrative calls for a total of 17,199 incoming calls, with a total of 378 calls that were abandoned before they could be answered. The Center made 7,122 outgoing calls during the year. Unfortunately, telephone traffic cannot be broken out between law and fire/EMS calls, but statistical trends can be indicative of workload increases at the City of Berkeley.
11.4.2 Total Calls by Year
Call volume for the City of Piedmont dropped 6% from 2016 to 2020. While 2020’s drop can be attributed to COVID, there was a steady drop in the previous 4 years. The year 2021 shows a 13% increase over 2020, and it would be anticipated that call volumes will meet and exceed 2016 totals in the next year or two.
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Figure 6 - Piedmont Calls by Month
11.4.3 Calls by Day of Week
The 9-1-1 calls are fairly consistent over the week, with little variation. It is interesting to note that 9-1-1 calls in 2020 were consistent with previous years.
Figure 7 - Piedmont Calls by Day of Week 2016 – 2021
11.4.4 Calls by Hour of Day
Piedmont 9-1-1 calls are highest around 1600 hours, although that varies by year from 1400-1600 hours.
1818 1739 1689 1656
1497
1723
0 500
1000
1500
2000
Total 9-1-1 Calls 2016-2021
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
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Figure 8 - Piedmont Calls by Hour of Day 2016 – 2021
11.5 Staffing at the City of Piedmont Communications
Center
PECC has five full-time dispatchers, and minimum staffing is one dispatcher. Several PPD officers are trained to cover full shifts and restroom breaks as needed.
11.6 Current Dispatching Process
Upon answering a 9-1-1 call, the dispatcher gets the basic information – location, type of event, and caller’s contact information. The dispatcher inputs the information into the computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system (ven dor is Tyler Technol ogies – formerly New World and the same vendor as the City of Berkeley). There are 40 fire/EMS event types:
Table 27 - Piedmont Fire CAD Event Types
Piedmont Fire CAD Event Types
Code Description Code Text
245 Assault w/ Deadly Weapon AA Service Agency Assist
AUTOAID Automatic Aid BART Bart Fire
BOAT-FR Boat Fire DBF Dead Body Found
DEBFIRE Debris Fire ENCAMP-FIRE Encampment Fire
ENCAMP-MED Encampment Medical FA-CO Carbon Monoxide Alarm FA-COM Commercial Fire Alarm FA-RES Residential Fire Alarm FA-RST Fire Alarm Reset FREEWAY Vehicle Accident on
Freeway
FREEWAY-EX Vehicle Accident on Freeway
w/Extrication GASLEAK Gas Leak
HAZMAT Hazardous Material HC Hazardous Condition
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Piedmont Fire CAD Event Types
Code Description Code Text
INV Investigation MCI Multi-Casualty Incident
MED2 5150 Transport MEDICAL Medical Emergency
MEDICAL-GSW Medical Emergency with Gun Shot MRA Mutual Response Area MUTAID Mutual Aid Fire MUTMED Mutual Aid Medical
PA Public Assist RES-ELEV Elevator Rescue
RES-WR Water Rescue RESCUE Retrieval of a Patient
SB-LAW Stand By Police Agency STRFIRE Structure Fire
TRKFIRE Large Truck Fire VEGFIRE Vegetation Fire
VEHACC Vehicle Accident VEHACC-EX Vehicle Accident
w/Extrication
VEFIRE Vehicle Fire VEHPED Vehicle vs Ped or Bike
Once entered into CAD, units are recommended for dispatch based on pre-determined response plans. Fire units are notified by fire station alerting and all units are notified by radio. The fire station aler ting system uses the Motorola radio system and provides notification via public address speakers in the station.
All front-line vehicles are running Crew Force software on iPads that allow personnel to record status changes (enroute, arrival, etc.) and see incident information. Incident data is transferred to the Tyler RMS for use by PFD.
11.7 Current Interactions with Other Agencies
11.7.1 Alameda County Regional Emergency Communications Center (ACRECC)
ACRECC is the designated Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) provider for the County of Alameda, and they are also the ECC for the private ambulance company that provides ALS transport for much of the county. The Center transfers all medical aid calls to ACRECC for EMD, and on occasion will request a private ambulance in support of the fire department.
ACRECC is also the California Office of Emergency Services Fire and Rescue Division Mutual Aid Operational Area Coordinator. Requests for mutual aid are routed through ACRECC and allocated to the individual fire agencies.
11.7.2 City of Oakland
The City of Piedmont is surrounded by the City of Oakland, and PFD requires automatic aid from Oakland Fire Department (OFD) on all major events.
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11.8 Policy Manual Review
The PFD Policy Manual (Communications Operations) has a total of 17 policies related to Communications and covers basic operational issues.
11.9 Training Manual Review
There is no formal fire training program for new employees.
11.10 Operational Considerations for Integrating PFD
Dispatch
11.10.1 Telephone Systems
Non-emergency phone numbers for PFD will remain with the City of Piedmont. There is no 10-digit number assigned for fire department emergencies.
The City of Piedmont has three 9-1-1 trunks, and with the low volume of fire/EMS related 9-1-1 calls it does not appear that Berkeley will need to add any additional 9-1-1 trunk appearances, nor will PECC lose any 9-1-1 trunks. (Next Generation 9-1-1 will eliminate the need for specific CAMA trunks to each P SAP so this will be a moot point in the near future.) Wireless 9-1-1 calls within the footprint of the City of Piedmont will continue to route to PECC.
It is important to note that having the City of Berkeley dispatch for PFD will add a delay in the call processing time, since PPD will have to transfer all fire and EMS calls to the Berkeley ECC for dispatch. The transfer time will depend on many factors, primarily the ability of the caller to answer questions, but should not take more than 30 seconds
10. Speed dials built into the 9-1-1 system will need to be updated to reflect the Berkeley FD star code for PFD calls. This is a task completed by AT&T.
11.10.2 Radio
Both Piedmont and Berkeley are on the East Bay Regional Communications System (EBRCS) and no significant radio changes are anticipated. 10 National Fire Protection Association 1225 Standard for Emergency Services Communications, 2022 Edition, Section 15.4.2
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11.10.3 CAD
Both Piedmont and Berkeley use Tyler Technologies Enterprise Public Safety CAD system. Configuring the CAD system in Berkeley will be the most time-consuming effort of the move. There will need to be discussions with Tyler on the transfer of the following data elements:
භ GIS Map with associated street
o Response Zone polygons
o Any other map layers on the current system - i.e., pre-fire plans, hydrant layers, etc.
භ Historical Fire Events, from the installation of the Tyler CAD system භ Common Place Names
භ Special Notes
භ Unit IDs and attributes
භ Response Plans
භ Interfaces
o RMS - PFD is currently using the Tyler Records Management System.
Berkeley Fire uses RedNMX by Alpine Software with the Red Alert National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) Reporting Module. Piedmont would need to be added to the RedNMX configuration, and there will need to be a discussion on how to manage records from the old system prior to cutover. භ EMS e-PCR - PFD uses ESO as their e-PCR program. The program gets a data feed from CAD for times, and it does not feed back into their RMS. භ Fire Station Alerting - PFD has a patched-together system that routes through a Motorola radio and transmits all PFD radio traffic across speakers in the station.
Berkeley uses a ComTech solution.
භ Rip and Run Printers - PFD stopped using a station printer when they added MDCs to their vehicles.
භ Mobile Paging - CAD feeds data to the Active9-1-1 application and all personnel have access.
භ Mobile Data Computers (MDC) - Both Piedmont and Berkeley field units use the Tyler Technology MDC software platform called CrewForce. The system allows field units to receive information from CAD on events and allows them to enter
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events they have come upon. Piedmont is using Apple iPads, where Berkeley is using a Data9-1-1 laptop.
11.10.4 Emergency Notification System
Berkeley and Piedmont both use Everbridge AC Alert, so it should not be difficult to incorporate Piedmont configurations into Berkeley’s profile.
11.11 Training
A training plan will need to be created if PFD is going to be integrated into the Berkeley ECC, covering the following areas:
භ Area Familiarization - landmarks, common place names, etc. භ Station Familiarization - equipment at the PFD station and their field operations capabilities
භ Response plans - typical responses to event types, interaction with the City of Oakland
11.12 PFD/BFD Dispatch Policies
These policies will need to be reviewed, looking for differences with Berkeley policies and how both policies can be modified to provide the dispatcher one set of procedures for both agencies.
11.13 Consolidation Cost Considerations
Bringing in Piedmont’s fire dispatching operations will have an associated cost to the City of Berkeley. Below are the anticipated areas for consideration:
Adding the City to Berkeley’s dispatch IT infrastructure for MDTs, RMS, and Fire Station Alerting
This would be staff time (hourly cost) for IT professionals to acquire, install, maintain, and trouble shoot as needed the hardware (Ringdown System – Comtech, MDC’s, related accessories) and all associated software. Initial upfront costs then ongoing maintenance costs.
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Reprogramming of portable and mobile radios on the radio system (EBRCS) This would be staff time (hourly cost) for the Radio Shop techs to reprogram all their radios and ensure maintenance and updates are completed. Up front startup costs then ongoing maintenance.
Adding the Piedmont streets to Berkeley’s GIS mapping
This will be staff time (hourly cost) to update GIS software to include Piedmont. Up front and maintenance costs to be included.
Adding the PFD units, special notes, and other CAD information to Berkeley’s CAD system
This will be staff time for dispatcher and IT professionals (hourly cost). Up front and maintenance cost to be included.
Adding the City of Piedmont to the Everbridge Mass Notification System This will be staff time for dispatcher and IT professionals (hourly cost). Up front and maintenance cost to be included.
Adding the PFD’s policies and procedures to Berkeley’s standard operating guidelines and training manual
This will be staff time for dispatchers (hourly cost). Up front and maintenance cost to be included.
Training Berkeley dispatchers – area familiarity, PFD procedures, PFD units, etc.
Overtime staff cost for dispatchers, fire personnel, and IT professionals. Up front and maintenance cost to be included.
11.14 Recommendation
FE recommends that the addition of PFD to Berkeley ECC should be completed after the implementation and a break-in period of EMD in Berkeley if that is the decision made by Berkeley. Piedmont did indicate that Berkeley taking on EMD was not a pre-requisite for them making the transition.
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12. Berkeley Assuming Dispatching for Albany Fire
FE was asked to assess the City of Albany’s fire dispatch operations for a possible consolidation with the City of Berkeley Communications Center (ECC). FE project team benchmarked current conditions, documented operational requirements, identified, and evaluated operational enhancements, and recommended how the Cities of Albany and Berkeley should proceed regarding consolidation.
FE spent time in May 2022 in the City of Albany touring the facilities and interviewing the Albany Fire Chief. Prior to and after the site visit, FE was in contact with the City gathering information.
12.1 City of Albany
The City of Albany encompasses an area of 1.79
square miles of land in Alameda County. The U.S.
Census reports that the population in 2020 was a total
of 20,271 residents
11. The City of Albany is bordered
on the south and east by the City of Berkeley, on the
west by the San Francisco Bay, and on the north by
Contra Costa County.
12.2 City of Albany Fire
Department (AFD)
The AFD has responsibility for fire and emergency medical services for the City of Albany.
The AFD has one fire station and currently staffs 20 firefighters. First out apparatus includes one engine, one truck and an ambulance. The average call volume is 1,950 calls per year. AFD is a participant in the California Master Mutual Aid program and has deployed resources across the state during wildland fire season and other large-scale emergencies.
In considering a move to the City of Berkeley ECC, the AFD has the following needs:
භ Dispatchers who are trained in fire department terminology, Incident Command System (ICS), and can anticipate the Incident Commander's needs - additional resources, timers, etc.
11 United States Census Bureau, https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/albanycitycalifornia
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භ Radio dispatchers focused on the field operations and not distracted by other tasks
භ A stable, experienced workforce
භ Supervision on the dispatch floor and immediately accessible for direction/questions
භ A minimum of two dispatchers on duty at all times
භ Direct contact with Emergency Medical Dispatchers who can provide timely updates on patient condition and status
12.3 City of Albany Emergency Communications Center
(AECC)
AFD started out having their own fire dispatch. Staffing was one of the on-duty firefighters who was assigned to staff the dispatch desk. AFD dispatch moved to the AECC in 1994- 1995. The AECC is located within the Albany Police Department (APD) Headquarters at 1000 San Pablo Avenue. The AECC operates under the umbrella of the Support Services Division of the Albany Police Department (APD) and the dispatchers report to an APD sergeant. Funding for AECC is in the APD budget only – there is no budget line item in the AFD budget.
The Center currently dispatches all law enforcement, fire, and emergency medical service requests for the City of Albany. All requests for medical assistance are transferred (after basic call interrogation and the dispatch of AFD) to the Alameda County Regional Emergency Communications Center (ACRECC) to provide Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) pre-arrival assistance.
12.3.1 Staffing at the AECC
AECC has an authorized staffing of eight dispatchers. At the time of the on-site observations there were six dispatchers and one trainee, with one vacancy. Dispatchers are currently working 12-hour shifts, 0600-1800 and 1800-0600 hours. There are two people assigned to a swing shift, working 0900-2100 hours. Minimum staffing is one person. APD officers will cover for dispatcher breaks.
If no one is taking scheduled time off, there is one person on duty from 0600-0900 hours, two people from 0900-2100 hours, and one person again from 2100-0600 hours. Shifts are bid every 18 months by seniority.