Emergency call bias can transfer across agents in a multi-stage chain

Evidence

Many years ago, when emergency dispatch systems were first put into effect, it was the dispatchers’ responsibility to filter out which calls needed to be prioritized and which did not (International Academies of Emergency Dispatch, n.d.). This, unfortunately, did not provide for a fair and unbiased system, considering that the dispatch system typically sends off first responders to approximately 240 million calls each year. Starting with the 1980s, a protocol was put into effect to standardize dispatchers’ communication with callers. Today, most dispatch systems follow the protocol of the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch (IAED) and while this helps eliminate some forms of individual bias that could affect the caller (e.g., not sending help because the dispatcher does not believe the caller), it also makes it more difficult to filter out calls that are not urgent, or rather, calls that might not qualify as emergencies at all. The information that the dispatchers have to ask for before sending a first responder to the scene is very limited and includes the location of the emergency, the phone number the person is calling from, the nature of the emergency, and a physical description of the person suspected of committing a crime (National 911 Program, n.d.). — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 284 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Learning from five models beats learning from one in a controlled transmission chain — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success: How Culture…, 698; Standardized dispatch protocols traded discretionary filtering for reduced individual bias; Racial bias in 911 calls spreads through multi-agent information channels into the justice system — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law: A Definitive Look at…, 29 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Standardized emergency dispatch protocols remove one bias while blocking filter checks on caller validity #complicates (0.76) — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 284