A national association devoted to promoting the implementation of 9-1-1 emergency call systems has released the draft of the best practices private call centers should consider when assisting their public safety agency. The National Emergency Number Association (NENA) has published the draft version of “Minimum Standards for Private Call Centers” on its Web site and plans further revisions.
NENA says the document – available at www.nena.org – is not designed to be a guideline or “how-to” list, but a set of recommendations of how central station and other private call center operators can interact with their public safety counterparts.
NENA says its mission is to “foster the technological advancement, availability and implementation of a universal emergency telephone number system (9-1-1). It says it has 7,000 members, mostly from the law enforcement community.
Among the recommendations in the document:
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A call center operator should provide as detailed information as possible to pass along to the necessary authorities and also use phonetic alphabets (i.e. A=Alpha, B=Bravo) to communicate effectively.
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The “first-tier” response platform should be the client’s own local telephone network which can be useful in identifying the location of the caller in need.
- Work as a team with the 9-1-1 operator, including coordinating with the 9-1-1 call center the response to a crime in progress.
