Why 911 calls in Harris County might be delayed

HOUSTON – Emergency officials are urging the public to only dial 911 for life-threatening emergencies that require immediate assistance and to be prepared for potential delays and extended wait times.

The Harris County Sheriff's Office Emergency Dispatch Center was relocated from downtown to the Greater Harris County 911 Emergency Center on the northwest side due to flooding from Hurricane Harvey.

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 Call takers are staffing the non-emergency line 713-221-6000 and 911 temporarily at the new location.

These factors have led to an increase in 911 hold times for callers:

Increased outages due to move

The relocation has coincided with an increase in outages of the computer dispatch system. During an outage, call takers must used handwritten call slips.

More non-emergency 911 calls

The sheriff's office reports an increase in non-emergency calls to 911. Officials urge the public to: only call 911 for emergencies; do not hang up when calling 911, and answer the operator's questions clearly.

Not meeting industry standards

Standards from the National Emergency Number Association require at least 90 percent of 911 calls to be answered within 10 seconds. The sheriff's office has fallen short of the standard on occasion with average wait times reaching several minutes on some days at the temp facility.

Delays expected for two more weeks

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Dispatch Center is expected to return to the downtown facility in about two weeks. Construction of the new dispatch center in the East Aldine area is expected to open in spring 2019. 

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