- Michigan 911 centers face staffing shortages, long shifts and high turnover
- Centers must stay fully staffed 24/7 to ensure emergency response time is not impacted
- Warren and Ingham County rely on overtime, temporary workers and even police officers to answer calls
When someone in Warren calls 911, the person on the other end might be a police officer filling in. Staffing shortages have grown so severe that dispatch supervisors are relying on every available option to keep phones covered.
“If there is a shortage, we fill it through overtime, but we even have a contingent of officers that are trained,” Lt. John Gajewski of the Warren Police Department told Bridge Michigan. “Our last resort, in only emergency situations, is to pull officers off the road.”
Warren is not alone. Dispatch centers across the country are grappling with staff shortages. So far this year, 74% of dispatch centers reported job openings, according to the National Emergency Number Foundation…