Jessica Gillooly
@jessicagillooly.bsky.social
Assistant Professor at Suffolk University; Sociologist studying the 911 system
#goblue
#goblue
Great point. We compare Denver and SF in the paper. SF uses ProQA, and your concern came up often. The city could make some tweaks, but it wasn't easy. Lots of room for cities to push vendors on flexibility.
November 4, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Great point. We compare Denver and SF in the paper. SF uses ProQA, and your concern came up often. The city could make some tweaks, but it wasn't easy. Lots of room for cities to push vendors on flexibility.
Good protocol design isn’t one-and-done. It takes reflection, learning, and revision. We believe greater attention to these tools can help cities build dispatch systems that expand alternative response.
November 3, 2025 at 9:36 PM
Good protocol design isn’t one-and-done. It takes reflection, learning, and revision. We believe greater attention to these tools can help cities build dispatch systems that expand alternative response.
So what’s the fix?
Protocols should be redesigned and supplemented with additional guidance that helps dispatchers navigate uncertainty. That means smarter question design informed by frontline experience — and clear value statements to give dispatchers a north star when the protocol falls short.
Protocols should be redesigned and supplemented with additional guidance that helps dispatchers navigate uncertainty. That means smarter question design informed by frontline experience — and clear value statements to give dispatchers a north star when the protocol falls short.
November 3, 2025 at 9:36 PM
So what’s the fix?
Protocols should be redesigned and supplemented with additional guidance that helps dispatchers navigate uncertainty. That means smarter question design informed by frontline experience — and clear value statements to give dispatchers a north star when the protocol falls short.
Protocols should be redesigned and supplemented with additional guidance that helps dispatchers navigate uncertainty. That means smarter question design informed by frontline experience — and clear value statements to give dispatchers a north star when the protocol falls short.
When protocols don’t give enough guidance — or recommend first responses that seem wrong — dispatchers rely on their own judgment. Some bend the rules to send an unarmed team; others default to police.
Either way, the tools as designed aren’t reliably supporting alternative response.
Either way, the tools as designed aren’t reliably supporting alternative response.
November 3, 2025 at 9:36 PM
When protocols don’t give enough guidance — or recommend first responses that seem wrong — dispatchers rely on their own judgment. Some bend the rules to send an unarmed team; others default to police.
Either way, the tools as designed aren’t reliably supporting alternative response.
Either way, the tools as designed aren’t reliably supporting alternative response.
Dispatch protocols are meant to help workers make those tough calls. But today’s protocols often struggle with the messy realities of crisis work — when callers give incomplete info, or when words like “violence” or "threat" mean different things to different people.
November 3, 2025 at 9:36 PM
Dispatch protocols are meant to help workers make those tough calls. But today’s protocols often struggle with the messy realities of crisis work — when callers give incomplete info, or when words like “violence” or "threat" mean different things to different people.
Policymakers say that alternative responders will handle behavioral-health calls when it’s “safe and appropriate.”
But it’s typically call-takers and dispatchers who decide whether any particular call meets that standard.
But it’s typically call-takers and dispatchers who decide whether any particular call meets that standard.
November 3, 2025 at 9:36 PM
Policymakers say that alternative responders will handle behavioral-health calls when it’s “safe and appropriate.”
But it’s typically call-takers and dispatchers who decide whether any particular call meets that standard.
But it’s typically call-takers and dispatchers who decide whether any particular call meets that standard.
San Francisco
NYU – Reimagining Public Safety
www.safetyreimagined.org
February 7, 2025 at 9:50 PM
San Francisco
Check out my study in @CPPJournal
that shines light on a previously overlooked 911 call-taker function—risk appraisal—by showing how the call-taker in the Henry Louis Gates Jr. arrest played a pivotal role in escalating caller uncertainty.
that shines light on a previously overlooked 911 call-taker function—risk appraisal—by showing how the call-taker in the Henry Louis Gates Jr. arrest played a pivotal role in escalating caller uncertainty.
How 911 callers and call‐takers impact police encounters with the public: The case of the Henry Louis Gates Jr. arrest
Research Summary
The Henry Louis Gates Jr. arrest provides an illuminating case study to show how the omission of dispatch in police reform conversations limits our understanding of police officer a.....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
February 7, 2025 at 9:42 PM
Check out my study in @CPPJournal
that shines light on a previously overlooked 911 call-taker function—risk appraisal—by showing how the call-taker in the Henry Louis Gates Jr. arrest played a pivotal role in escalating caller uncertainty.
that shines light on a previously overlooked 911 call-taker function—risk appraisal—by showing how the call-taker in the Henry Louis Gates Jr. arrest played a pivotal role in escalating caller uncertainty.
Emergencies don’t follow a script. That’s why excellent 911 call-taking requires the ability to improvise. Read my article on collaborative gatekeeping to learn how agencies can better prepare call-takers to navigate ambiguity over the phone.
Collaborative gatekeeping: Consensus-seeking practices among emergency call-takers
Abstract. The police are involved in many aspects of social life in the US, and much of their involvement stems from the emergency call-for-service system.
academic.oup.com
February 7, 2025 at 9:42 PM
Emergencies don’t follow a script. That’s why excellent 911 call-taking requires the ability to improvise. Read my article on collaborative gatekeeping to learn how agencies can better prepare call-takers to navigate ambiguity over the phone.
📢 Sharing my pub in JPAM. I use an IV approach to show how 911 call-takers affect policing.
“Lights and Sirens”: Variation in 911 Call‐Taker Risk Appraisal and its Effects on Police Officer Perceptions at the Scene
Until now, 911 dispatch centers largely have been the “black box” of the criminal justice system. This article opens that black box. It documents systematically a new mechanism in the policing proces...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
February 7, 2025 at 9:42 PM
📢 Sharing my pub in JPAM. I use an IV approach to show how 911 call-takers affect policing.
November 22, 2024 at 6:17 PM