If you call 911 in Oakland, your call is now more likely to be answered quickly than at any point in the past six years, according to the Oakland Police Department. On Monday, the Oakland Police Department invited NBC Bay Area and other media outlets to announce its best 911 call answering perfor mance in six years: 80% of 911 calls were answered within 15 seconds in August 2026, up from 71% in August 2025, 51% in August 2024 and a low point of 37% in August 2023. Reporter Candice Nguyen (left) and OPD Police Chief James Beere (right). In 2023, NBC Bay Area’s Investigative Unit spoke with people in Oakland who said they were on hold or hearing ringing for 10 to 15 minutes when they called to report an emergency. Some people told us they stopped calling 911 altogether. WATCH NBC BAY AREA’S REPORTING ON OAKLAND, 911: HANGING ON THE LINE After the Investigative Unit’s series of reports, the California Office of Emergency Services put Oakland on notice, and the city’s mayor at the time, Sheng Thao, announced $2.5 million to help address the 911 crisis. Now, three years later, Oakland is seeing a turnaround. “This isn’t a victory lap we understand we still have a lot more work to do. The state standard is to answer the calls within 15 seconds within 90% of the time,” said Chief James Beere with the Oakland Police Department. Among the lesson learned, according to Chief Beere: continuous recruitment so OPD can fill the remaining 13 dispatcher vacancies, streamlining their hiring process, and realizing the risks of mandatory overtime for dispatchers. “For wellness that’s not the best thing to do. These dispatchers are exposed to critical incidents, very high stress,” Chief Beere said. Oakland Police Department dispatcher. Chief Beere said being fully staffed will be key to reaching the state standard of 90%. He said he’s hopeful because of his team. “Pure dedication [that] staff puts in day in and day out. It’s a very difficult job,” he said.   In addition to the 13 vacancies, there are 11 current dispatcher trainees with OPD. It takes about a year for a new dispatcher to be fully trained, according to the department. Senior Investigative Reporter Candice Nguyen is the journalist on this story. If you have a question or another investigative tip, you can reach [email protected]. ...read more read less