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The_Jazz · 04-11-2006, 05:04 AM

I think that there's a basic disconnect about the real world ramifications of the various positions here. I completely agree with everyone that the police should have been sent out in this case. I completely agree that this is an absolute travesty and that the operator should lose her job. I completely agree that the operator did not treat this call will the seriousness it deserved.

That all said, let me restate my position - the operator did not commit a crime; she is paid to sift the wheat (real emergencies) from the chaff (prank calls). Some cities have the resources to send the police to every misdialed 911 call. Not all of them do, with Detroit included.

A 911 operator is more than just a warm body that picks up the phone and then dispatches the police to the location. If that were all they did, then I think that we should fire them all and put an automated system in place. It would be a lot cheaper and much more efficicient. If you call 911, then the cops automatically go to your location with this idea, no questions asked. Since we don't have that kind of system, the operators must serve some sort of function - could it be that they serve as a filter, and a necessary one at that.

As far as the idea that these are low paid city workers, that's just incorrect. In Cincinnati, the average salary is about $30k, and they're seriously talking about raising it because of the stress and hard hours. In Chicago, 911 operators can top out at about $55k a year. These are 2001 numbers.

Finally, as for my comment on the slit throat example, my point was that the particular wound described is fatal, regardless of 911 response. If your throat is slashed to the point that you cannot speak intelligbly, you're not going to recover if the cops get there in 5 minutes or 105 minutes. So yes, sit back in your easy chair and make your last minutes comfortable.

04-11-2006, 05:04 AM	#45 (permalink)
The_Jazz Asshole Administrator Location: Chicago	I think that there's a basic disconnect about the real world ramifications of the various positions here. I completely agree with everyone that the police should have been sent out in this case. I completely agree that this is an absolute travesty and that the operator should lose her job. I completely agree that the operator did not treat this call will the seriousness it deserved. That all said, let me restate my position - the operator did not commit a crime; she is paid to sift the wheat (real emergencies) from the chaff (prank calls). Some cities have the resources to send the police to every misdialed 911 call. Not all of them do, with Detroit included. A 911 operator is more than just a warm body that picks up the phone and then dispatches the police to the location. If that were all they did, then I think that we should fire them all and put an automated system in place. It would be a lot cheaper and much more efficicient. If you call 911, then the cops automatically go to your location with this idea, no questions asked. Since we don't have that kind of system, the operators must serve some sort of function - could it be that they serve as a filter, and a necessary one at that. As far as the idea that these are low paid city workers, that's just incorrect. In Cincinnati, the average salary is about $30k, and they're seriously talking about raising it because of the stress and hard hours. In Chicago, 911 operators can top out at about $55k a year. These are 2001 numbers. Finally, as for my comment on the slit throat example, my point was that the particular wound described is fatal, regardless of 911 response. If your throat is slashed to the point that you cannot speak intelligbly, you're not going to recover if the cops get there in 5 minutes or 105 minutes. So yes, sit back in your easy chair and make your last minutes comfortable. __________________ "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - B. Franklin "There ought to be limits to freedom." - George W. Bush "We have met the enemy and he is us." - Pogo Last edited by The_Jazz; 04-11-2006 at 05:07 AM..