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A groundbreaking history and critique of a little-explored aspect of American law enforcement: the often deadly 911 emergency response system
911 is largely promoted as a tool to save lives—yet too often, it puts people’s safety in jeopardy, especially for those in communities of color. We all know the tragic case of George Floyd, but what many overlook is that this calamity was put in motion not just by a police officer, but by a single 911 call. In this important book full of original research, Rebecca Neusteter, one of the country’s leading experts on emergency response, uncovers a shockingly unregulated system with deeply racist roots.
Although fire chiefs had called for a universal emergency hotline for years, it wasn’t until Newark, Watts, and Detroit exploded in race riots in 1967 that federal authorities finally moved to create a system—one designed to summon the police quickly to quell civil unrest. Neusteter reveals that this legacy of racial social control continues today, with 911 calls defaulting to a response by armed police, whether or not they are well-matched to the need at hand. The book covers the all-too-frequent killings of unarmed mentally ill people as well as the “Karen” syndrome, in which primarily white women call 911 to report people of color engaged in harmless activities—endangering their lives in the process. In her final chapters, Neusteter highlights the difficult nature of the 911 profession and the dedicated public servants who show up every day to make the system run, details promising new models of emergency response, and outlines other changes needed to improve 911. Neusteter’s research is an urgent call to action that challenges us to transform America’s overburdened 911 system and make it safe, just, and equitable for all.
Praise for 911, WHAT’S YOUR EMERGENCY?:
“In 911, What’s Your Emergency?, Rebecca Neusteter delivers a revelatory investigation into America’s emergency response system. With precision and clarity, she traces its complicated roots, exposes its blind spots and proposes a bold reimagining grounded in public health, safety and justice. Neusteter pulls back the curtain and challenges everything we think we know about America’s most trusted lifeline. An eye-opening read.”—Ava DuVernay
“The way racism erodes emergency response underscores that the systems put in place to keep us safe do not work the same way for everyone. This book shows us how urgently we need reform.”—Soledad O’Brien, journalist and producer
“This book illustrates how an emergency response system designed to handle everything from routine requests to life-threatening situations became overburdened, under-resourced, and shaped by deep structural inequality. Blending rigorous research with a clear-eyed account of history, it offers a transformative, evidence-based agenda for building a system that protects life, promotes dignity, and ensures that every call for help is met with the right response.”—Nancy La Vigne, former director, National Institute of Justice
“Our 911 system gets little attention, yet it is essential to understanding—and transforming—our criminal and mental health systems. Rebecca Neusteter’s brilliant account of 911—its history, failures, and possibilities—is essential required reading for everyone who cares about safety and justice.”—James Forman, Yale Law professor and Pulitzer–prize winning author of Locking up Our Own
“Only a true friend will challenge you to do better even as they celebrate your successes. Dr. Neusteter is just such a friend to the 911 community. Her research and advocacy have served to uplift our ‘heroes under the headset,’ by detailing the very real stress and trauma experienced by those who serve in our 911 centers. At the same time, she holds a mirror to the often disturbing history of public safety in the United States and challenges first responders to find new ways to equitably serve those who put their trust in us.”—W. Andrew Dameron, director, Denver 911
“Rebecca Neusteter has given us a rigorous and timely look at how crisis response works, who it fails, and why that matters so much. This book is unsettling in the best way: it makes you rethink what safety really means.”—Jay Ellis, actor, author, producer
“Understanding our 911 system is critical to ensuring the safety and care of callers and first responders alike. This book is an important contribution to that discussion.”—Laura Kavanagh, former commissioner, New York City Fire Department, distinguished fellow, New York University Wagner School
“911, What’s Your Emergency? is a vital read for public health officials committed to advancing community wellbeing. Rebecca Neusteter illustrates how the current 911 system often turns public health crises into law enforcement matters, missing opportunities for care and prevention. This book empowers officials to reimagine crisis response as a cornerstone of public health, ensuring help is compassionate, appropriate, and effective.”—Erin Dalton, former director, Department of Human Services, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
“Rebecca Neusteter does a masterful job demystifying the complex 911 system and offering sensible, much-needed reforms.”—David Muhammad, founder and executive director of the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform
“‘Because we always have’ must cease to be a sufficient justification to how we respond to 911 calls. This book demands that we all think differently about the way that our system works, and challenges public safety leaders to innovate and be more responsive to the needs of our callers.”—Joshua Parish, assistant chief, Milwaukee Fire Department
“Rebecca Neusteter is a national thought leader on 911, and this book shows why. By telling the story of how 911 was created through how it works today, 911, What’s Your Emergency? articulates both the challenges of our emergency response system and solutions needed to transform 911 to better serve us all.”—Matthew Goldman, Crisis Systems Medical Director, King County, Washington
“Too often the people we count on in a crisis—911 call takers—are overworked and underpaid. As Rebecca Neusteter explains in her incisive and deeply researched book, we’d all sleep better if we invested more in ‘the nation’s first, first responders,’ a critical, but too often taken-for-granted workforce.”—Dan Gorenstein, founder and executive editor, Tradeoffs, the health policy news organization
Rebecca Neusteter the executive director of the University of Chicago Health Lab. She was the founding director of the Vera Institute’s policing program and Director of Research, Policy, and Planning for New York Police Department. She serves on the Council on Criminal Justice, a bi-partisan group of field leaders. The author lives in Los Angeles, California.