Automation To Help Arapahoe Sheriff's Dispatch Staffing Shortage

Littleton CO

11 November, 2021

3:01 PM

Description

ARAPAHOE COUNTY, CO — A new automated phone system in Arapahoe County is expected to ease wait times and help with staffing shortages in the sheriff's dispatch division. Residents who phone the sheriff's non-emergency number, 303-795-4711, will soon hear a new recorded 'auto attendant,' which will route calls to the correct department, the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office said. The new system is set to begin at 7 a.m. Wednesday. Cathy Raley, communications manager with the sheriff's office, said the automated system will improve wait times. "There are times our dispatch center is so busy that we have to put people on hold for 5 or 6 minutes," Raley said in a statement. "Those folks tell us, 'I just needed the records department or the jail or your civil unit.' This new phone system feature will transfer them straight there without waiting." Like what you're reading? Invite a friend to subscribe to free Littleton newsletters and real-time email alerts. The 911 dispatch center receives more than 400 emergency and non-emergency calls every weekday and more than 300 calls on weekends, the sheriff's office said. Like law enforcement agencies across the nation, the call center is facing staffing shortages. "We're down one-third of our staff, so this will help alleviate some of those calls that come in," Raley said. How the new system will work When someone calls the non-emergency number, 303-795-4711, they will hear a recording that says, "You have reached the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office. If this is a life-threatening emergency, please hang up and dial 911. Please listen to the following options. For the jail, press 1; for records, press 2; for a non-emergency law enforcement response, press 3; for civil matters, press 4; for warrants, press 5." Services provided: Use 1 for the jail - if you're looking for inmate information, booking or visitation Use 2 for records – if you're looking for a copy of a report, copy of 911 phone calls or radio transmissions and questions about criminal history inquiries Use 3 for a non-emergency law enforcement response Use 4 for civil – if you have a question about eviction or need civil deputies to standby to keep the peaceUse 5 for warrants – if you have a question about warrant information