ST. CROIX — Senator Novelle Francis, Jr. is seeking answers to issues the senator says are plaguing the territory’s 911 system, after a recent spate of reported systemic breakdowns.
As the Chair of the Senate’s Committee on Homeland Security, Public Safety and Justice, Mr. Francis has oversight of the Virgin Islands Territorial Emergency Management Agency (V.I.T.E.M.A.), which manages the 911 emergency response system.
Mr. Francis says the reported problems are unacceptable. In recent weeks, the St. Croix 911 system was down for approximately 12 hours, forcing distress calls to be routed to St. Thomas. Reports also indicate that audio recordings of 911 calls, which are crucial to law enforcement investigations, have not been available for several months. The senator plans to discuss V.I.T.E.M.A.’s challenges in greater detail with Director Mona Barnes.
“The 911 system is the lifeline of our community,” Mr. Francis, a freshman Democrat, said. “Our first responders rely on it to do their jobs and the community expects it to be responsive and available. Anything less than a fully functional 911 emergency response system is a concern of the highest priority.”
And Mr. Francis has considered the impact of budgetary cuts on the system’s operations. “These outages and other issues are a clear sign that the emergency response system needs additional financial support in order to meet technical and personnel shortages. I am certainly willing to explore all options that would bring our 911 emergency system to the highest level of functionality,” he said.
Tags: 911 emergency, senator novelle francis, us virgin islands
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