KANSAS CITY, Mo. —
Lucas said that in the “weeks ahead,” the city will make the announcement.
“A fast response when you call 911 is a core, vital public service,” Lucas tweeted. “In the weeks ahead, we expect to announce that you will never wait on hold to be directed to an emergency agency in our city again.”
The announcement comes as waiting times for 911 are longer than ever.
There were more than 61,000 911 calls to the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department in May. Fewer than 41% of those calls were answered within 15 seconds.
The industry standard is for 90% of calls to be picked up within 15 seconds.
“For too long, Kansas Citians calling 911 have experienced unacceptable wait times connecting to call takers, threatening health and safety,” Lucas said. “We expect to adopt soon a system immediately directing callers to their required emergency service: Police; Fire; EMS; Non-Emergency.”
