Orleans Parish Communication District (OPCD) Managed More Than 1 Million Total Calls for Service in 2021

Contact: Sierra Wallace
OPCD Public Information Officer
504-432-0378
[email protected]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Orleans Parish Communication District (OPCD)
Managed More Than 1 Million Total Calls for Service in 2021

NEW ORLEANS, LA (February 8, 2022) – The Orleans Parish Communication District (New Orleans 9-1-1/3-1-1) has released its 2021 call statistics, including more than 1 million total calls for the public safety agency over the past year.

Throughout 2021, OPCD – the New Orleans communications center for emergency, non-emergency and NOLA-311 services – managed service requests for New Orleans residents and visitors relating to a wide variety of events and circumstances, including the COVID-19 pandemic, and the leadup to and aftermath of Hurricane Ida.

“Last year was a rollercoaster for everyone in the City of New Orleans,” said OPCD Executive Director, Tyrell Morris. “OPCD is proud of the work we have been able to do for our residents and visitors. Due to the advancements in technology at OPCD we have been able to consistently address our constituents needs as well as our public’s and connect them to the proper emergency services.  I would like to take a moment to thank our hardworking emergency communications specialists and NOLA-311 call takers for their dedication to serving the people of New Orleans. Many thanks also go to Mayor Cantrell and our partner public safety agencies for their constant support of OPCD and our mission.”

The following statistics represent calls and requests for service from each department within the Orleans Parish Communication District, including areas of importance to the public, through the following means of communication: calls OPCD emergency and non-emergency numbers, calls NOLA-311, text and chat communications to NOLA-311 made through the recently launched JAZZ A.I. Chatbot and radio transmissions to dispatch from first responders in the field.

OPCD Call Totals:
Throughout 2021, OPCD answered more than 1 million calls for service across all agency phone numbers, including 9-1-1, the 10-digit emergency number, the non-emergency number, NOLA-311, and direct calls to OPCD operations and administration.

• • 1,008,936 Total Calls for Service
    • • 526,813 Calls to 9-1-1/10 -Digit Emergency Number
      • 148,558 Calls to NOLA-311
      • 143,435 Calls to the OPCD Non-Emergency Number
      • 190,130 Calls to OPCD Operations/Administration

NOLA-311 Calls and Requests for Service:
NOLA-311 answered nearly 150,000 calls for service in 2021 to 3-1-1 and the NOLA-311 10-digit number, including those related to COVID-19 and Hurricane Ida. Throughout the year, NOLA-311 also received nearly 110,000 service requests through all communication channels.

• • 148,558 Total NOLA-311 Calls for Service
    • • 4,817 Calls to NOLA-311 Related to COVID-19
      • 7,042 Calls to NOLA-311 Relating to Hurricane Ida (Before, During and After Landfall)

• • 108,597 Total NOLA-311 Service Requests Submitted (Phone, Website and JAZZ)

NOLA-311 JAZZ AI Chatbot:*
JAZZ, the NOLA-311 A.I. Chatbot, was launched in mid-June 2021. From the point of launch through December 2021, JAZZ received approximately 13,500 total communications regarding city information and service request submissions through both text and chat functions.

• • 13,524 Total JAZZ Communications from Residents*
    • • 7,758 Total Residents Engaged
      • 28.9% Messages
      • 49.4% Questions
      • 21.7% Service Requests

*Stats for JAZZ are from mid-June 2021 through December 2021

Hurricane Ida:
During the dates surrounding Hurricane Ida, OPCD managed approximately 37,000 calls for service while NOLA-311 received approximately 7,000 calls and nearly 3,300 service requests from residents and visitors.

• • OPCD answered 37,332 calls pertaining to Hurricane Ida
    • • 22,781 Calls to 9-1-1/10-Digit Emergency
      • 7,042 Calls to NOLA-311
      • 7,509 Non-Emergency Calls

• • 3,276 NOLA-311 Service Requests Submitted

OPCD Radio Transmissions:
In 2021, OPCD received more than 11 million radio transmissions from first responders in the field on approximately 94 talk channels for a total of 777,000 minutes of airtime. To put those numbers into perspective, the 777,000+ minutes of airtime would equal 12,951 hours and 45 minutes, or 539 day, 15 hours and 45 minutes of total airtime.

• • 11,356,687 Total Radio Transmissions from First Responders in the Field
    • • 94+ Talk Channels
      • 777,105.70 Minutes of Airtime

About the Orleans Parish Communication District (www.OPCDLA.gov)
Formed in 1982, the Orleans Parish Communication District is the PSAP for all emergency communications via 9-1-1, and non-emergency communications via 3-1-1, within Orleans Parish.  The agency employs over 150 individuals and provides emergency medical dispatch, emergency fire dispatch, and emergency police dispatch for the millions of annual visitors and residents of the City of New Orleans.  OPCD is a member of the Association of Public Safety Communication Officials (APCO) and the National Emergency Number Association (NENA).

The Mission of OPCD is to get the Right People to the Right Place at the Right Time… Better than Anybody Else in the World.

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