Some Rocklin residents have reservations about the Rocklin Police Department’s decision to route non-emergency calls through an automated attendant.

“This is our business line and non-emergency line,” said Jennifer Collins, the manager of Rocklin Police and Fire’s Communications Center. “We have separate emergency and 911 lines which are not affected by this.”

Earlier this week, the department switched over to the new option based call-answering system that will route callers based on their selections from an options menu.

“Prior to installation of this auto attendant, callers were directed through our 911 call center,” Collins said. “Callers were often placed on hold while dispatchers answered 911 calls. With the installation of the auto attendant, our 911 dispatchers will be able to better focus their attention on emergency telephone calls while customers are directed immediately to the holder of their inquiry.”

Collins said the department turned to the new system to cut down on the ever-increasing volume of calls emergency trained dispatchers handle.

“There are several hundred calls per day,” Collins said. “Our call volume consistently increases from one year to the next, especially since we started answering cellular 911 calls in 2006.”

Rocklin resident Sonia Pal was disappointed the police department would join what she perceived as an accepted trend for the businesses world.

“It is not a bad thing, but at the same time, as a citizen, I would rather just get straight to the point and not waste my time,” Pal said. “I would prefer a dispatcher.”

Pal said investigators may miss tips from concerned citizens who don’t want to call 911 and would rather not endure the automated phone system.

“Some people would give up and not deal with it,” Pal said.

Collins said the system is user friendly and programmed with minimal selections for caller convenience.

“All you have to do is press one or zero and it will go through to dispatch and we’ll still answer your call,” Collins said. “It is not one of those ones that get you stuck in a loop that you can’t ever get out of.”

Rocklin resident Susan Nelson said callers could be confused with the phone options if they are not familiar with the police department’s operation.

“Automated systems (are) challenging at times and it might be difficult to determine which option you want to choose from,” Nelson said.

Nelson said she would like the department to rethink their decision based on the nature of their work.

“I think in a police environment people might want that personalized touch,” Nelson said. “I’d rather see the city cut services or costs in other areas rather than the police force.”

Collins said emergency 911 calls will still be handled directly by dispatchers and will not be affected by the new system.

TTY/TDD callers can call the police department directly by dialing 632-4187.