Durham victim: 'Four times I dialed 911, they never answered.'
When a stranger crawled through Tess Benjamin’s window Saturday night, she was all alone.
So she ran to her bedroom, shut the door and dialed 911, expecting someone to assure her that help was on the way. The line rang. And rang. And rang.
“I had no idea what to do,” Benjamin told WRAL News.
Benjamin thinks she dialed 911 four times and waited at least 90 seconds. As she waited for someone to pick up, she texted her brother for help. He called 911 and got through before she did, so they patched her into his call.
“I never in a million years thought (the delay) would happen,” she said. “You call 911 and you expect somebody to answer right away.”
By the time Durham police arrived and Benjamin emerged from her room, her purse was gone and the front door was wide open. The incident is being investigated as a burglary.
Benjamin’s delay comes as Durham’s 911 Center faces staffing shortages and burnout.
The call center has hired and begun training four new employees in the past month, a move leaders say will relieve some of the pressure. However, WRAL News reported last week that 25 of the call center’s 83 positions are vacant.
Despite the staff shortage, a center spokesperson told WRAL last week that about 87% of calls are answered in 20 seconds or less. By contrast, the Orange County officials say 95% of their 911 calls are answered in 10 seconds or less.
Benjamin, for her part, had no idea about the call center staffing shortages. She feels like the city has failed her.
“You expect that when you call 911, somebody will be there,” she said.
