311

311 is a non-emergency telephone service instituted in the the city of Birmingham in the summer of 2004. The service is available from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM on weekdays and is staffed by seven operators who take calls for the Birmingham Department of Public Works and the Mayor's Office of Community Services. They also take non-emergency reports for the Birmingham Police Department and the Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service and transfer calls to other departments and utilities.

The service, which helps reduce overuse of 911 emergency service, was reserved on a national basis in 1997. The United States Department of Justice supports the creation of 311 systems with seed funding.

Birmingham's 311 center received 21,400 calls during its first six months of operation. In 2005 a record 32,884 calls were made. Call volume dropped to 27,212 in 2006 and to 20,898 and 2007. It is managed by Sandra Ray and costs about $550,000 per year.

References

• McMahon, Patrick (March 5, 2002) "311 lightens load for swamped 911 centers." USA Today
• Robinson, Carol (September 28, 2008) "Birmingham wants callers to use 311 for non-emergencies." Birmingham News