Have you ever received a call from a 9-1-1 operator saying something like: “We received a 9-1-1 call from this number, do you have an emergency?”
More and more 9-1-1 centers, including ours are getting overwhelmed with “Pocket Dials” or “Accidental” 9-1-1 calls. Although it may seem like a simple mistake, it comes with a high cost. When one of these types of calls is received, the following occurs:
- The 9-1-1 Dispatcher processes the call as any other emergency call until it is verified accidental. This process involves gathering a location, phone number and any information heard on the call. On these types of calls, the 9-1-1 Dispatchers normally hear casual conversation, children playing or sometimes nothing at all. During the course of an accidental 9-1-1 call, other 9-1-1 services could become degraded.
- A Law enforcement unit is dispatched to the location which is either an address or coordinates from a cell phone. Locally, law enforcement handles all accidental or hang- up calls. Many times Deputies and Officers must travel great distances to get to these locations. This puts an unnecessary strain on struggling agencies due to a limited workforce and takes away from other services needed in the community.
RSMo 190.308. 1. In any county that has established an emergency telephone service pursuant to sections 190.300 to 190.320, it shall be unlawful for any person to misuse the emergency telephone service. For the purposes of this section, “emergency” means any incident involving danger to life or property that calls for an emergency response dispatch of police, fire, EMS or other public safety organization, “misuse the emergency telephone service” includes, but is not limited to, repeatedly calling the “911” for nonemergency situations causing operators or equipment to be in use when emergency situations may need such operators or equipment and “repeatedly” means three or more times within a one-month period.2. Any violation of this section is a Class B Misdemeanor.
This year, our 9-1-1 call volume has gone up 40% compared to last year and about 25% of them are these types of calls. In the month of June we received a total of 283 9-1-1 calls that were either hang up, open line or accidental. This is an average of about 9 calls per day.
Here are some tips which can help your 9-1-1 center and Law Enforcement from being overwhelmed with these types of calls:
- If you see that you accidentally called 9-1-1 please stay on the line to confirm it was unintentional and that there is no emergency. All 9-1-1 calls must be verified by either an Emergency Dispatcher and/or a First Responder.
- Look for cases that prevent pocket dialing.
- Avoid letting children play with cell phones even if they don’t have a sim card or not activated because they can still call 9-1-1.
- Consider disabling one-touch emergency features.
- Learn about your cell phone’s locking keypads and use the standby mode before placing your cell phone in your pocket, purse or briefcase.
This issue has become a very serious problem here and across the Country. We take our jobs very seriously and sincerely appreciate your help in cutting these calls down.