Riverside County answers grand jury’s criticisms regarding 911 system disruption
The Board of Supervisors today signed off on an official response to a Riverside County Grand Jury report that identified defects in the 911 system that surfaced during a massive storm, with the county in disagreement with the jury in most instances.
The 19-member civil grand jury earlier this year published a report based on a probe stemming from the impacts of Tropical Storm Hilary last August.
Jurors specifically focused on a breakdown in 911 access for residents in multiple communities, mainly in the eastern Coachella Valley. The sheriff's department was the first to respond to the grand jury's investigation, and the county's official response, which the board unanimously approved without comment Tuesday, largely subscribed to the contents of the sheriff's statement, referring to that three-page document in answer to virtually all of the jury's criticisms.
The jury titled its report, "911 Call Failed, Now What?" Sheriff's officials agreed that the 911 system is ``the lifeline for our citizens in times of dire need, and any shortfalls in its operation is a matter of serious concern.''
However, the sheriff's department asserted that the hours-long disruption to 911 call reception during Hilary did not completely prevent Coachella Valley residents from reaching emergency services.
"Every resident ... who experienced any issues ... had 24/7 access to a variety of non-emergency numbers and seven-digit emergency numbers,'' the agency stated. "These numbers are readily available on numerous city and county websites. Various social media platforms also broadcasted these additional numbers to the public."
Jurors found a lack of "redundancy" in the regional 911 system made it impossible for calls to go through during the storm. But according to sheriff's officials, there is redundancy within the system, but the "disruption'' caused by the three-day storm "was so great, it crippled even the built-in redundancies for small geographic pockets."
The sheriff's department pointed out that the California Highway Patrol remains "the first line of backup when wireless 911 calls experience any issues."
CHP operators can identify where a 911 caller is located and route the reporting party to the appropriate local agency.
Jurors expressed concern that "the general public may lack the knowledge or means to reach emergency responders (during) a 911 outage."
The sheriff's department replied that a "wireless emergency alert message" was disseminated during the storm by the California Office of Emergency Services and Cal Fire, notifying county residents of the availability of "a phone number alternative if anyone had trouble calling 911."
According to the board response to the jury report, the sheriff's department "did coordinate with jurisdictions impacted by the storm,'' via the county Emergency Operations Center in Riverside. The state was also involved. Because of the joint effort, there was a "restoration of 911 access in the impacted areas."
The jury recommended that the board expand educational outreach regarding "text-to-911 when telephone calls to 911 fail.'' The county said public awareness campaigns have already occurred and will continue.
Jurors also urged "upgrades and backups to the 911 emergency system infrastructure'' to prevent system-wide breakdowns in the future.
The county acknowledged the need for improvements and said efforts are underway to procure funding for implementation of "NextGen 911,'' which is a digital, internet protocol-based system that's intended to supplant the current analog system that relies on cables.
More information about the grand jury, including all of its reports, is available at https://rivco.org/civil-grand-jury.
