ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – The Orange County Sheriff’s Office did not answer 911 calls as quickly as state law requires over the past three years, according to an audit published Monday by an independent watchdog.
Orange County Comptroller Phil Diamond attributed the problem to an error in the way emergency officials calculated 911 call answering times.
Since the comptroller only audited the sheriff’s office, it was not immediately known whether other agencies that receive 911 calls through Orange County government call centers, such as Orange County Fire Rescue, may also have miscalculated call answer times.
“It’s important that (911) calls get answered as quick as possible, and that help gets sent as quick as possible,” Diamond told News 6.
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Under Florida code, a minimum of 90% of voice calls must be answered within 10 seconds of the call’s arrival at 911 call centers, also known as Public Safety Answering Points, or PSAPs.
In 2024, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office reported answering more than 97% of calls within ten seconds, according to the audit — well within state requirements.
But that statistic was incorrect, the comptroller found.
Instead, auditors calculated that the sheriff’s office answered only 75.5% of calls within 10 seconds last year.
“I don’t think (the sheriff) knew there was a problem with the methodology,” Diamond said.
When citizens call 911 to report emergencies, they may not be immediately connected to an operator, Diamond explained.
Instead, the call may be put on hold for a few seconds or longer while other 911 calls are being handled.
Auditors discovered that the caller’s hold time was not being considered when answer times were being calculated.
“The clock didn’t start running until the call center sent the call to the operator,” said Diamond. “The call, and the time while your call was on hold at the call center, that wasn’t counted. And obviously it should be.”
The audit cited one example from last October during which 56 seconds elapsed between a caller dialing 911 and the call being answered by a call taker.
Although the caller was on hold for more than 50 seconds, the sheriff’s office reported the call as being answered in just one second since that’s the amount of time it took for the call to be routed to a call taker after the hold was over, the audit indicates.
In 2022, only about 66% of 911 calls to the sheriff’s office were answered within 10 seconds, the comptroller’s audit found, while a little less than 61% of calls were answered within the required time in 2023.
“During this audit, we came to find out we were not calculating time right,” Orange County Undersheriff Mark Canty said in response to questions about the comptroller’s findings. “That calculation is not done by our staff. It’s done by the county’s 911 office.”
Orange County Sheriff John Mina shared a similar sentiment in a letter he wrote to Diamond earlier this month.
“The metrics system used to calculate 911 call times reported by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office is managed by the Orange County Government through the Orange County 911 Coordinator,” Mina wrote. “We work with the 911 Coordinator to determine the best way to accurately measure 911 call times to ensure the Sheriff’s Office is in compliance with State E911 reporting standards.”
A spokesperson for Orange County government did not immediately respond to questions from News 6 inquiring whether the same incorrect methodology was used to calculate 911 call answer times for other agencies, such as Orange County Fire Rescue.
“We appreciate insights provided by the Comptroller’s Audit Department and will continue to innovate and collaborate with the OCSO and our 9 PSAPS to improve lifesaving and safety measures for our residents and visitors,” the county spokesperson said.
The comptroller’s audit included suggestions on how the sheriff’s office could improve answer time response, such as modifying 911 operators’ work schedules to better cover periods with higher call volumes and using artificial intelligence to manage non-emergency calls.
“We’ve done a lot to recruit additional staffing,” Canty said.
The agency currently has 10 vacant positions that handle 911 calls, the undersheriff said, a significant improvement from the 75-80 vacancies the agency experienced between 2022 and 2024.
“I think with increasing our staffing, that is going to significantly improve the customer service that our residents are receiving,” Canty said.
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