Jessica W. Gillooly, PhD

Interviews & Media

Vital City | The Devil Is in the Details (of 911 Dispatch)Helping people with serious mental illness hinges on giving better tools and guidance to those who take emergency calls.

1 year after fatal Independence police shooting, mental health crisis response gains momentumA tragic police shooting in Independence involving a mother struggling with postpartum depression has renewed focus on alternative crisis response programs that could prevent similar tragedies.

Overdose settlement money plans - Illinois Times, the capital city's weekly source of news, politics, arts, entertainment, culture

Emergency Contact - Suffolk University Magazine: Fall 2025To make the 911 system more responsive to behavioral-health crises, the DOJ and ACLU call on Suffolk Professor Jessica Gillooly

21. 911 Call Centers | JPAM's Closer LookOur host, Seth Gershenson, talks to Professor Jessica Gilooly about her Vernon Memorial Award-winning article on the important role that 911 call centers play in shaping police behavior at the scene.

Sending Unarmed Responders Instead of Police: What We’ve LearnedThere are more than 100 response teams nationwide, but experts say more research on their impact is needed.

Jessica Gillooly helps cities reimagine 911 responsesSociologist Jessica Gillooly (PhD ’20) has used her deep knowledge of call taking and dispatching, along with some compelling new theoretical ideas, to become one of the leading experts on this issue. Her expertise is helping inform and shape the development of alternative response systems in American cities.

Many 911 call centers are understaffed, and the job has gotten harderMore cities are adopting alternative response models, where mental health clinicians respond instead of police. The question of who to send usually rests with 911 workers, who are often overworked and overstressed.

An Ottawa woman phoned 911 during a break-in scare – but was left “emotionally destroyed” by the 6 minute call | Ottawa Morning with Robyn Bresnahan | Live Radio | CBC ListenThe caller has filed a complaint with the Ottawa Police Service and Office of the Independent Police Review Director. But an expert says with de-escalation the outcome may have been different.

911: Reimagining a System that Defaults to Dispatching Police | ACLUEmergency response systems must be revamped to equip 911 call-takers to dispatch non-police first responders.

911 operators in Montreal are now being trained to detect racial bias in callers | CBC NewsThe training provided to 911 operators prompted the operators to question how they can prevent biases or racist stereotypes from filtering into police responses.

Why 911 dispatch is critical to the Uvalde shooting investigationThe actions of 911 call-takers and dispatchers often are ignored in the aftermath of critical incidents yet impact entire incident trajectories.

Op-Ed: The first lesson of fielding 911 calls: Don't be alarmistAs a 911 call-taker, I learned how easily my actions could affect police response to a situation.

Opinion | Want to stop more Starbucks scenarios? Train these people.911 dispatchers should have clearer protocols on handling ambiguous calls about someone who doesn’t “belong” in a public place.

911 Call-Takers Are Demoralized, Overwhelmed and Dealing With Their Own Mental Health Woes - MindSite NewsInadequate training on mental health crises, poor working conditions and a crazy quilt of dispatch codes from city to city puts both dispatchers and callers in crisis at risk.

A City Considers Criminalizing Racially-Motivated 911 CallsIn Grand Rapids, Michigan, the city commissioners are considering an ordinance that would make it a misdemeanor to call the police on people of color for “participating in their lives.”

States Working To Curb Racially Biased 911 CallsSome states are working to reduced racially biased 911 calls: Callers in Oregon can be sued and New York is pushing to make it a hate crime.

Can the militarization of the police be justified? | ACS

Want to fix policing? Start with a better 911 system."911 call takers are gatekeepers for the entire criminal justice system. We need to start treating them that way."

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