The Brian Lehrer Show Why New Yorkers Dial 911
Mar 11, 2026
Daniela Gilbert, director at the Vera Institute’s Redefining Public Safety initiative and former city official in community mental health and policing policy. She discusses a new analysis of NYC 911 calls. Short takes: many calls are conflicts or disturbances. She explores alternative, civilian responders, better triage, and coordinating services to reduce armed responses and strain on systems.
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911 Volume Reveals Many Nonviolent Calls
- Vera analyzed ~3.7 million NYC 911 calls and found only ~28% of crime-related calls were crimes in progress.
- Over 500,000 calls were harassment or verbal disputes, indicating many calls may not require armed police response.
Call Types Hide Critical Mental Health Nuance
- 911 call categories (457 types) mask important nuances like specific mental health presentations.
- Knowing whether a person is psychotic or experiencing substance-related symptoms would change which responder is appropriate.
Conflicts Often Signal Health Needs Not Crime
- Conflict and disturbance calls are a large share: ~500,000 conflict resolution and ~400,000 disturbance calls.
- Many involve underlying health needs and respond better to civilian de-escalation and service connections.