911 response times in Ottawa fell short of target in 2023, report says [Video]

A report for Ottawa’s emergency preparedness and protective services committee shows the city’s 911 service fell short of the target time for an operator to connect with a caller.

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According to the 911 annual report for 2023, calls to the emergency system were answered by an operator within six seconds 89 per cent of the time.

The Service Level Agreement between the City of Ottawa and the Ottawa Police Services Board requires that 97 per cent of 911 calls be answered within six seconds from the time a call is received.

It’s the third year in a row the call response standard was not reached, but an improvement from 2022 when calls were answered within six seconds 81 per cent of the time.

The report notes the industry national standard for 911 response time is …