It is unacceptable and disappointing that staffing throughout the entire Department has continued to fall to critical levels placing more burden on remaining staff and lack of prompt services for the citizens of Vallejo. Equally as bad, forcing operators to work 16 hour days is unsustainable. Outsourcing these services will cause a disruption in emergency response from police, fire, and medical. Although dispatchers are not represented by the VPOA, we believe the citizens deserve to know these plans prior to them being implemented, not after. The Department is set to lose another dispatcher to a nearby agency within the next few weeks, which will force the City to take this drastic action of potentially outsourcing dispatch services for the City of Vallejo or making dispatchers work mandatory 12-16 hour workdays. It is believed that the administration of the Vallejo Police Department is currently considering a plan to relinquish 911 calls as well as police and fire dispatch services to another entity during nighttime hours. This critical staffing crisis, that significantly affects both the Vallejo Police and Fire Departments, has brought the department to be within one staffed dispatcher of not being able to provide 24-hour 911 emergency services to the community. Unfortunately, in the last two years there has been a mass exodus from the center, with staff leaving to work at other agencies in the region. Whereas five dispatchers per shift provide the most effective amount of resources for safe and efficient operation.Īlthough staffing is often an issue in dispatch centers, in early 2020, the Vallejo 911 Dispatch Center was fully staffed with the hopes of adding additional positions. On average, Vallejo’s dispatchers handle 400-500 calls per day and now routinely work with only two people in the dispatch center, not allowing for breaks or even basic trips to the bathroom. Dispatchers field every 911 call and dispatch police, fire, and medical from this center. Vallejo, CA – The Vallejo 911 Dispatch Center is vital to the function and well-being of the community, and both the Police and Fire Departments.
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