"Issues with Oakland's 911 system have been well documented in recent years. A previous city audit from 2017 found that Oakland wasn't meeting the state-mandated response times. The Alameda County Grand Jury published reports identifying the same problem in 2020 and 2023. In July 2023, the Governor's Office of Emergency Services warned that Oakland risked losing state funding if it didn't improve its response times. The city began showing improvement last year, prompting the state to withdraw its threat."
"Poor staffing and out-of-date staffing protocols are the main reasons Oakland has repeatedly missed state targets for answering emergency calls within 15 seconds. OPD is slower to answer 911 calls than seven other cities with similar populations and crime rates. The time it takes Oakland dispatchers to answer calls also fluctuates wildly over the course of the day compared to other cities. OPD struggles to accommodate callers who don't speak English and relies heavily on third-party interpreters. These calls are an average of five minutes longer than calls in English."
A city audit covering January 2019 through December 2024 found Oakland's 911 call center is understaffed and uses outdated staffing protocols, causing missed state targets for answering emergency calls within 15 seconds. Dispatch answer times are slower and more variable than in comparable cities. Calls requiring language interpretation take about five minutes longer because of reliance on third-party interpreters. Oakland lacks target response times for the most urgent violent calls. Police beat boundaries have contributed to slower responses to serious crimes in East Oakland. The auditor recommends staffing improvements and ensuring minimum staffing levels in the emergency call center.
Read at The Oaklandside
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