KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Thirteen recent graduates of the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department's call taker training are gradually filling open positions, and the department says it's a step in the right direction to address long 911 call wait times.
In 2023, the department had nearly 20 open call taker positions. In 2025, the gap is smaller at five open spots, according to a police department spokesperson.
The department attributes an increase in applicants to hourly wages rising from $22 to $25 an hour.
Kathy Tinoco is among the new graduates.
"Working for the police department as a call taker has been a lifelong dream for me," Tinoco said.
She said life got in the way, but now is the time. She graduated from the training program — alongside five others — on May 1 and will officially begin her role on July 21.
The job title means something to her.
"Justice and being helpful and having a sense of community," she said.
An additional seven others graduated from call taker training on July 9.
Andrea Khan, training supervisor for KCPD communications, said approval from the city for additional positions would help even more.
"For us, it really helps answer the calls faster, obviously," Khan said. "That's our goal. We don't want people to wait a long time."
The Mid-America Regional Council's most recent KCPD 911 call data is from May. The average wait time for KCPD emergency calls was 55 seconds. With a slight increase in calls, the wait time was up 11 seconds from May 2024.
"I know the public is frustrated," Khan said. "Understandably so. We're trying to take steps to alleviate that and hopefully help."
For Tinoco, she's living out her dream of helping her own community.
"Feeling like I'm contributing to that is amazing," she said.
KCPD said the community can help reduce wait times. If you're experiencing a non-life-threatening emergency and need to call the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department, you can use their non-emergency line at 816-234-5111.
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KSHB 41 reporter Lily O’Shea Becker covers Franklin and Douglas counties in Kansas. Share your story idea with Lily.
