The Barton County Communications and 911 Department handled 97,891 phone calls from both incoming and outgoing lines in 2018. Of those, 12,953 were 911 calls and 84,938 were administrative calls answered from the public and officers.
Barton County 911 Director Dena Popp says the amount of 911 calls in 2018 was down roughly 90 from the year before, but administrative calls went up 23,000. Popp feels some of that increase in administrative calls is the uptick in information to educate the public of what is an emergency and what is not.
Dena Popp Audio
When citizens call the Barton County Communications administrative line, 620-793-1920, Popp says the ring is different for their dispatchers compared to a 911 call.
Dena Popp Audio
Of the incoming 911 calls, 98.74 percent of them were answered within 15 seconds. The busiest month was October and the slowest month was February. About 78 percent of the 911 calls were from wireless devices.