Employees of the Hudson County 911 call center have come forward to complain of understaffing and training deficiencies that they say pose a threat to public safety.
The call center, located in Secaucus, is responsible for answering 911 calls for Hoboken, Kearny, East Newark, West New York, Harrison, Union City, North Bergen, Guttenberg and Weehawken. It also takes call for the West Side Highway in Manhattan and from boats in the Hudson River.
“Hudson County is a shambles right now” said one call-taker. “We’re understaffed and overworked.”
The Hudson County center is also the back-up or “PSAP” for Jersey City. If a call to Jersey City’s 911 call center is not picked up after 10 rings, the call is routed to the county facility.
The center has had to close four times in the last year due to staffing issues, said one of the employees. When that happens, the calls are re-routed to the Jersey City call center which, according to reporting last week in the Jersey City Times, suffers from severe understaffing and mismanagement.
“New Year’s Eve we were shut down because we were short-staffed. So Jersey City had to take our calls and we service all of Hudson County” noted an employee.
Even when staffed, 911 call-takers at the Hudson County facility face excruciating wait times fielding calls re-routed to them from Jersey City residents.
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