Ottawa's new 911 system slated to be completed by end of year
Police have triaged calls with current system for past 30 years
Ottawa's 911 system dates back three decades to when few people had cell phones, but city staff say new technology that can accept texts, photos, and videos could be up and running by the end of this year.
However, the city says it's not clear when the public will be able to use the texting and video functions.
The transition to "next-generation 911" for emergency calls has been talked about for many years, and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has ordered that all old systems be decommissioned across the country by March 4, 2025.
The City of Ottawa has authority for 911 but since 1989 has contracted the Ottawa Police Service to take the initial calls.
Civilian police staff working out the Elgin Street headquarters then triage those calls to secondary dispatch centres depending on whether fire, police or paramedics are most needed.
Once police move to next-generation 911, the city will be able to get geolocation data that shows trends in certain areas, said Beth Gooding, director of Ottawa's public safety service.
Moreover, it should be a "game changer" for how people use 911, she said.
"There are so many situations where someone might be in danger and not want to talk on the phone. They might need to text or send a video image," said Gooding, who presented her annual report on the 911 triaging system Thursday to the city's emergency and protective services committee.
"Something like an active shooter situation where you don't want to make a lot of noise and you might be hiding."
Ottawa police should fully switch to next-generation 911 by the final three months of 2023, with the fire service's dispatch following in 2024, said Gooding.
The paramedic dispatch will transition to the new system under the authority and timelines of the provincial Ministry of Health.
Unable to help
Some residents say the shift can't come soon enough.
"It's been a tough time the last few years," said Michael Wood, who has been struggling with the limitations of Ottawa's current system in a very personal way.
Every few months, Wood said he receives a text message from a distressed, close relative in Toronto saying they're about to end their life. He had another such message last week.
By now he knows Ottawa's 911 dispatchers can't transfer his call to Toronto. Instead, he has to call Toronto's non-emergency police number.
In some cases, he's ended up on hold for more than an hour.
Wood has been teaching post-secondary classes for many years, and said he's also never seen so many students with mental health issues.
He urged councillors on the committee to consider what they'd do in his shoes.
Gooding explained that next-generation 911 would resolve that sort of situation, but only once the other jurisdiction has also adopted it and both locations have the new technology.
As it stands, Ottawa can only transfer calls to and from Gatineau.
People in Ottawa who are deaf, hard of hearing or unable to speak have had been able to text 911 for several years, but it's a "clunky" three-step process that requires registration, Gooding said.
In her annual report, Gooding also noted that dispatchers are only picking up calls within six seconds 81 per cent of the time, short of the city's standard of 97 per cent.
Gooding said it's a worrisome problem — but also a solvable one.
The statistic might not be as low as it seems, she said, but potentially a data discrepancy as police are using both the old and new 911 systems in tandem right now.
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