311 Center Launched Amid Qualms

911 System Could Suffer, Official Says

District officials launched an expanded 311 call center yesterday aimed at making customer service more efficient. But the new system angered a key D.C. Council member who warned that it could slow the city's response to emergencies.

Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) said the 311 number will replace the old 202-727-1000 number that people had long used to reach the mayor's call center. Using an easy-to-remember number will make it simpler for residents and visitors to get service, whether it's trash pickup or reaching government agencies, Fenty said.

"The reason to do this is for efficiency," Fenty said at a news conference at the city's Unified Communications Center, where operators were taking calls. "It's a lot easier to explain and a lot easier to manage."

But council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), chairman of the Committee on Public Safety, warned that the new system will confuse residents and could create delays in 911 responses.

Under the old system, people called the 911 number for police, fire and medical emergencies and they called 311 for police and fire service that required a response but was not an emergency -- say, from a homeowner who wanted to quell a noisy party next door. The mayor's call center handled all other requests.

Under the new system, anyone needing any kind of police or fire response will call 911 -- emergency or not. The operators will then decide whether the call constitutes an emergency. Mendelson said that could slow response times.

"It's wrong, it's wrong, it's wrong," Mendelson said. "This confusion is not helping anybody. It's contrary to public safety."

In fiscal 2007, 986,000 calls were placed to 911; 606,000 to 311; and 930,000 to 202-727-1000, according to city data.

Fenty administration officials disputed Mendelson's analysis. Under the old system, they said, the same operators received 911 and 311 calls. The difference now is that calls not requiring a police or fire response -- such as residents inquiring about what police precinct they live in -- should go to the mayor's call center, relieving the burden on the police and fire call operators.

Janice Quintana, director of the Unified Communications Center, said she expects that 1,000 fewer calls a day will go to the 911 operators after people learn the new system.

Fenty said the District is following the lead of other large cities, including Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom (D), who launched a similar hotline last year, joined Fenty at the news conference.

Newsom said that San Francisco found that 60 percent of the 911 calls were non-emergency. "When we launched the 311 number, there was a substantial reduction of 911 calls," said Newsom, in town for the annual U.S. Conference of Mayors.

Mendelson will hold an oversight hearing tomorrow on the new system.