Reinforcing Our Safety Net
Chief Danny Smyth
“This situation must be addressed. It is not healthy for our employees, and it is not meeting the needs of the community. For the first time during my tenure as Chief of Police, I have asked the Winnipeg Police Board for more resources to address these concerns.”
“911…what is the location of your emergency?” These four simple words are repeated thousands of times every year. The ability to call 911 for help in an emergency is a safety net that most take for granted. If you need a paramedic for a medical emergency, firefighters for a residential blaze, or a police response for a serious crime—you are contacting a PSAP—a Public Safety Access Point—and there are dozens of them across Canada.
In Manitoba, there are two primary PSAPs: one that serves the people of Winnipeg, and one, located in Brandon that essentially serves everyone outside of Winnipeg. The Winnipeg PSAP is located in the Winnipeg Police Headquarters and is operated by Winnipeg Police employees.
93 employees operate the PSAP in Winnipeg and form the Winnipeg Police Communications Division. The employees there are not police officers; they are Emergency Communications Call-Takers, and Emergency Communications Dispatchers who ensure calls for service are properly gathered, triaged, and dispatched to suitable resources. In our current environment, these dedicated employees struggle to keep up with call volumes. It is a problem on multiple levels.
There are two types of calls: emergency or 911 calls and non-urgent calls. During the triage, process calls are assessed and assigned a priority level ranging from 0-9, with 0 being the highest priority and 9 being the least urgent priority.
The National Emergency Number Association (our PSAP is a part of) sets the standard that 90% of all 911 calls will be answered within 15 seconds. In addition, 95% of all 911 calls must be answered within 20 seconds. This does not always happen, and it is alarming.
Part of the problem is the call volumes have steadily increased over the past decade with no increases in staff to offset the increase. Call volumes have increased by about 4% each year. Today we are averaging over 600,000 calls. By 2025, the number of calls is expected to be over 800,000. While not every call is a 911 emergency, these legitimate calls must be triaged and prioritized. And we know that as we transition to the Next Generation 911 system calls will become more complex and longer to process as video and texting are introduced. Calls will also be more stressful.
As you might expect, the PSAP can be a lively and stressful place for people to work. The increased volume of calls has created a cycle that relies on overtime to offset increased demand. Increased demand has produced more sick leave and absences. Sick leave usage is up 107% this year alone and 176% over the 5-year average. Overtime has increased by more than 100% compared to the 5-year average.
This has also resulted in alarming attrition rates. Many employees are leaving what they consider to be an unhealthy environment. Some are taking pay cuts to work in less stressful areas, and some are suffering stress injuries and are asking to be accommodated in other areas. Some are leaving the WPS altogether. On average, 30% of new hires are lost during the probationary period. In the last 10 years, 45% of the Communications Centre members have left for a variety of reasons, including poor fit, burnout or for other employment opportunities.
This situation must be addressed. It is not healthy for our employees, and it is not meeting the needs of the community. For the first time during my tenure as Chief of Police, I have asked the Winnipeg Police Board for more resources to address these concerns. Over the next two years, we hope to increase our complement by 12 Emergency Communications Call-Takers, and 6 Emergency Communications Dispatchers at a cost of nearly $1.8M.
In addition to resources, initiatives to address the stressors and challenges that are ever present in a PSAP environment are essential to the wellness and resiliency of members. Communications Centre members have access to a robust behavioural health program, which includes a staff psychologist, wellness officers, peer support, chaplains, therapy dogs and, most recently, a new mobile app. The app is a completely private and anonymous platform that offers personal resilience scores and mental fitness, mindfulness, hardiness, mental health and energy management options.
Reinforcing the safety-net must include sufficient staffing resources to meet the demand for service coupled with the necessary supports, which includes wellness programs and ongoing trauma-informed training. Working in a PSAP can be very rewarding. It is an essential service, and we must not forget that is very demanding of those who work there. The well-being of our community depends on the well-being of those who serve our community. That is not too much to ask.