Mandatory Overtime Is Creating Stress

The Oklahoma City (Okla.) 911 center is understaffed, forcing officials to require dispatchers to work 32 hours of overtime a month. The center has 10 vacancies among its 82 authorized positions, or a relatively low 12% vacancy rate. A local TV station report on the staffing problems included an interview with a disguised dispatchers explaining the stress the overtime is creating, and how new dispatchers wouldn’t last long once they learned about the staffing situation. A deputy police chief said the center hasn’t been fully-staffed “in years.” Read more and watch video reports (is a dispatcher eating at the console?) here.