With increased cell phone usage, there has come a significant jump in emergency 911 calls, many of them needing language translation. The trend is occurring across the country where a growing ethnically diverse population needs translation in as many as 60 different languages.

Since 2000, some areas have seen a 50 percent increase in annual 911 calls, requiring call center staff increases that have cost up to $10 million in some locations.

For years, government agencies have depended on private companies to find translators for the many languages spoken and needing interpretation. In many locations around the country, over 2,000 hours have been spent by dispatchers on such calls in the past year.

911 facilities have had to hire dozens of dispatchers who will now be ready to field calls in various languages after several months of training. Government agencies are doing the best they can to meet the need in this ever growing diverse nation.

27 October 2008