That’s a recommendation in a new report from the University of Chicago Health Lab on transforming 911 services:
“Across America, at least 240 million calls are made to 911 each year … Police are the default for most 911 systems nationally, even though more than 75% of 911 calls for service dispatched to the police are not related to public safety threats that obviously merit a law enforcement response … [That’s because] nationwide 911 professionals do not have a diverse ecosystem of responses to deploy … [Thus, governments must] [e]nable 911 professionals to transfer calls to hotlines or virtual and on-scene responders skilled in managing a host of community needs, including homelessness, mental health crises, substance use crisis, and domestic violence … Instituting additional response options simultaneously free up law enforcement officers’ time so that they can redirect their efforts where they can be most impactful, and it provides appropriate responses for all community members, including those who face crises but who won’t call 911 for fear that doing so could precipitate an uncomfortable, distressing, or even lethal encounter with law enforcement.”
