Source: Radio New Zealand
The 111 emergency call system still runs on an operating model set up in 1958. 123rf
Scrutiny has again come on the 111 emergency call system which still runs on an operating model set up in 1958.
An Australasian public safety working group linked to police says the old and fragmented system hinders emergency responders.
Agencies like NZ Police and Fire and Emergency (FENZ) have been calling for at least four years for an “urgent” overhaul of 111.
But a report from the National Emergency Communications Working Group of Australia and New Zealand lays out a raft of ongoing shortcomings, both day-to-day and when faced with a broad or intense disaster.
Experts are warning these, like Cyclone Gabrielle or the Mauao landslide, are coming more often.
“Emergency incidents often require coordination between multiple agencies, placing significant pressure on the existing 111 system,” the report, done in November, stated.
“ESOs’ [emergency service organisations’] ability to coordinate effectively is currently hindered by outdated systems, limiting real-time information sharing and collaborative response efforts.”
It described an old system that backed up with calls, or even dropped them, and could not properly prioritise especially during big disasters.
The report called for the police to take the box seat to drive research, criticised a lack of legislation and regulation for streamlining 111, and recommended setting up a new govenment agency to cut through the fog around who is in charge.
FENZ declined to comment on the 111 report, saying it may be relevant or within scope of the pending inquiry or coronial into the Mauao landslide.
A spokesperson for the National Emergency Management Agency echoed this and added NEMA was not part of the Australasian working group.
Police, ambulance and the government have been approached for comment.
Cabinet Minister Simeon Brown told Morning Report on Wednesday: “We as a country of course face many natural disasters and we need to make sure that we are always learning from these to improve our response but also our recovery.”
Agencies like police have been calling for an “urgent” overhaul for at least four years. RNZ / Alexander Robertson
‘A model established in 1958’
The working group itself did not respond to requests for comment. Executive chair Craig Anderson is the Director of the Public Safety Communications Programme at Queensland Police.
Another of its reports, carried out last year into Australia’s equivalent 000 system, said similarly that it was a fragmented system facing unprecedented demand on more and more channels.
In New Zealand, meanwhile, “in the absence of a clear governance body, there is uncertainty about the future direction and development of this critical service,” the report said. “Despite increasing demand and more complex emergencies, the 111 service still operates under a model established in 1958.”
Its figures showed the system was handling 2.8 million calls a year to police, fire and ambulance, 2.5 million of those from mobile phones. Among the weaknesses was that is voice-only with no texting or visuals to speak of.
The agencies had known for years the old system had sometimes put people in danger; for instance, a woman killed by her partner after she made a voice call to 111 since texting was not an option. A fatal boat capsize showed up “unnecessary delays” and risks with 111, transport investigators said last year.
The official inquiry into the North Island storms of 2023 called for a comprehensive review of 111, calling the system “complex and confusing” so that “situational awareness and the ability to respond was compromised leaving many people and communities fearing for their safety and that of their families”.
Some of the 111 technology was 25 years old, a 2023 Cabinet paper said.
An overhaul has not been funded; the government has called finding a fix for 111 a “major priority” but had not committed to do it this term.
The police have said previously told RNZ that 111 was being improved and that problems were expected to decrease.
RNZ has asked for an update on that work.
‘First in, first served’
But the Australasian working group’s report said weaknesses persisted.
“This linear, voice-only model routes calls based on the caller’s request or defaults to Police if the caller is uncertain. With minimal investment, this model has not evolved to meet modern expectations or emergencies,” it said.
Being linear it queued calls “strictly in the order they arrive. While simple, this ‘first in, first served’ approach is highly limiting during high-demand situations”.
The new report said 111’s tech problems included that a big emergency sparked a surge in calls – including from automated alerts from devices like Apple or Google – that caused a ‘denial of service’ to other callers.
“The system lacks the ability to differentiate between duplicate reports and genuinely new, critical incidents.”
It could not handle new ways of communicating, or the rising volumes from people in crises, who quite often were not sure what service to ask for.
The report’s figures show the system was handling 2.8 million calls a year to police, fire and ambulance. RNZ
Added to all this was the increasing threat of cyber attack.
The report described how Victoria’s fire service system was hacked in 2022, forcing firefighters to drop their usual dispatch systems for patch-ins.
Even attempts to upgrade 111 tech by some telcos had hit coordination hurdles, for instance when one company after Gabrielle announced people would be able to use satellites to text 111 – without asking the responders and Spark, that routes 111 calls, if the system “had the capability to receive satellite text message”.
The telco-and-data industry senses an opportunity. Motorola last month promoted a report pushing for more use of artificial intelligence (AI) in New Zealand and and Australia’s emergency call systems.
Police told to take the lead
The report said there was “no formal government-led strategic body with overall responsibility… Nor are there enabling regulations.”
A new Emergency Communications Service and inter-operability across agencies had been set up, but lacked decision-making powers.
In place of that, the working group recommended police take the lead to set up two groups, one to seek legislative and regulations change, and the other technological solutions.
Emergency communications systems had been faulted in review after review of storms going back at least two decades.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
