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One thing I've spent a lot of time on since I became a Commissioner is responding to community concerns around @OUC_DC, but unfortunately I haven't been very successful. That's why at ANC 4B's next meeting we will be considering a letter to @odca asking for an audit of OUC.
This work is deeply personal for me on both ends of the phone line. I spent time working as an emergency telecommunicator answering calls and dispatching and ran on an ambulance service for 5 years (including being the Assistant Chief dealing with interagency work like dispatch).
It is clear to me that @OUC_DC is a dysfunctional agency. Inconsistent answers, incomplete information sharing and repeat concerns from my constituents about proper call-taking and dispatching. It's clear that these are systemic issues that are not the fault of line employees.
I'm not the first to note this either, this builds on important work from others. After the tragic Metro fire that killed a passenger at L'enfant Plaza, @NTSB requested an audit of @OUC_DC. They confirmed this year to @howisthatlegal it hadn't been done. https://thedcline.org/2020/01/31/after-kennedy-street-questions-and-delays-continue-at-dc-911/
More recently, in the wake of the tragic fire on Kennedy Street that killed two of our neighbors, @ANCJonah @johnson4b06 @ANC4D04 each led their respective commissions to ask DC to look into OUC's response. But the report commissioned @Young_CityDC didn't include @OUC_DC.
More recently, @STATter911 continues to chronicle the inability of the agency to handle emergency calls properly and just last week @ANCJonah led ANC 4C in sending a letter about OUC's response to calls of gunshots in Petworth. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1az6DMMbgNWhagmUrQhswwODdhxioMHvasM5fgHE_x0k/edit
During this current crisis, as the #1 access point to the DC government, it is more critical than ever that OUC be functioning at its peak and it is clear that they are not. This thread is so long and it doesn't even go into all the problems we've encountered with 311.
Read the whole letter here. I respect the work of @ODCA_DC very much and I hope that they will take on this important request. https://anc4b.files.wordpress.com/2020/05/4b-odca-letter-on-ouc-5.21.20.pdf
