Mayor Lurie Celebrates Faster 911 Response Times, Progress On Public Safety

SAN FRANCISCO – Mayor Daniel Lurie today highlighted significant improvements to San Francisco’s 911 emergency response system, driven by increased staffing, reduced mandatory overtime, and continued investment in the technology behind emergency communications. Thanks to those improvements, the city is now consistently meeting state standards for answering 911 calls—exceeding 90% of calls answered within 15 seconds in recent months after recovering from a low of 72% in October 2023.

The faster 911 response times and improved staffing levels build on Mayor Lurie’s work to improve safety in San Francisco and support the city’s first responders, mirroring his Rebuilding the Ranks initiative. In Mayor Lurie’s first year in office, citywide crime dropped nearly 30% and remains at similar levels in 2026. In early 2026, San Francisco hosted a safe and successful Super Bowl and welcomed visitors from across the world. The city’s ability to keep residents safe reflects continued investment in San Francisco’s first responders—including 911 dispatchers, firefighters, and police officers—ensuring they have the staffing and resources they need to do their jobs safely and effectively.

“When there’s an emergency, San Franciscans expect a 911 system that responds without delay,” said Mayor Lurie. “By investing in the tools and people behind our emergency alert system, we’re responding more quickly and driving down crime—delivering safer streets across San Francisco.”

October 2025 marked the first time since January 2022 that San Francisco met the state benchmark of answering 90% of 911 calls within 15 seconds. The city exceeded that threshold again in January and March 2026, with monthly averages remaining at 86% or higher since June 2025. San Francisco is also outperforming its non-emergency call standard, answering 85% of calls within one minute, above the 80% benchmark.

“911 is one of the most important services a city provides, and it only works when we invest in the people behind it,” said Mary Ellen Carroll, Department of Emergency Management (DEM) Executive Director. “We have made real progress hiring and training dispatchers, strengthening retention, and modernizing the systems and workspace that support this operation. This is tough, 24/7 work, and I am proud of a team that continues to show up for people on some of the worst days of their lives.”

DEM has made substantial progress hiring and training new dispatchers, filling recent academy classes with additional classes fully funded for the year ahead. This progress was expedited by significantly streamlining multiple aspects of the administrative hiring process to ensure the city no longer loses dispatchers to other jobs because they spent months waiting to begin training.  

Thanks to improved staffing, DEM reduced use of advanced mandatory overtime by three-quarters in 2025 compared to 2024—with zero advanced mandatory overtime hours required so far this year. DEM also worked with the Department of Human Resources to implement an additional salary step and transition dispatchers to a public safety pension, strengthening long-term retention.

In addition to substantial workforce investments, DEM continues to upgrade the infrastructure supporting 911 operations, recently completing a full renovation of its dispatch operations floor to strengthen readiness for both large-scale events and day-to-day operations. DEM is also advancing critical technology upgrades, including replacement of the 911 phone system and a new Computer-Aided Dispatch system.  

This progress reflects ongoing efforts by DEM to rebuild staffing through improved recruitment and retention and comes as San Francisco recognizes National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week (April 12-18, 2026), honoring 911 dispatchers across the country.