Some people who are hired as public service dispatchers might be better suited to other employment and may never reach the proficiency that is needed for the important job of dispatching emergency services. One of the most publicized incidents that highlighted a problem with a 911 system occurred in Philadelphia in 1994 with the beating death of Eddie Polec. There was a national outcry after 911 tapes chronicled the 20 calls that were made by the public and showed 911 call-takers as being openly hostile to callers. It took 41 minutes for help to arrive, by then Eddie Polec was dead. The problem was blamed on Philadelphia's antiquated dispatching system.
Officials there say that steps have been taken to resolve the problem.
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