A high-priority code often is ignored by Pasco sheriff's dispatchers, records show.
Consultants say that hurts response time.
Although the room is light and airy, the Dell computers efficient, the atmosphere not much different from that of a call-taking center, Eckert is under intense pressure. Any urgent Sheriff's Office incident that lingers on his glowing blue computer screen for more than five minutes requires a written explanation. Any delay of more than a minute can bring questions from one of two supervisors in the room. If the person sitting in Eckert's chair regularly delays 911 calls, supervisors say, he'll be given extensive retraining. We would consider placing that person in a position where they are not a dispatcher.