Annals of Emergency Dispatch & Response Logo

conversation analysis

The "Four-Second Rule" for Identifying the Active Silent 911 Caller

Heidi Kevoe-Feldman, PhD, C. Blair Sutherland

Apr 03, 2018|AEDR 2018 Vol. 6 Issue 1|Original Research

With advances in wireless technology, the volume of unintentional calls, or misdials, to 911 call centers has steadily increased over the past 10 years. While call centers have been working to manage call volume, there is very little systematic research on how to develop policy for handling Active Silent calls where callers may be unable to verbally communicate. The primary objective in this study was to first establish how dispatchers manage nuisance calls, and then provide a systematic way of determining how dispatchers can maximize their opportunities...

Read more