How do police handle 911 nuisance calls?

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  • #16
    Re: How do police handle 911 nuisance calls?

    Originally posted by Mac H. View Post

    I've forgotten what the point of this anecdote was ... encroaching old age does that to you.

    Mac
    www.silvercop.com
    If we don't get the information, and if we don't get the leads, we can't track down the killers.

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    • #17
      Re: How do police handle 911 nuisance calls?

      I like the idea of being unable to get an emergency operator off the line. Not for the original scenario I was asking about, but I'm sure one could do something interesting with that! "No, really, you have to clear this line so I can call the super-secret men in black unit!"

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      • #18
        Re: How do police handle 911 nuisance calls?

        Another interesting tidbit, and again this is for the area I live in so I have no clue about anywhere else.

        Telco's have the ability to isolate residential phone lines in case of emergencies. ie: there's a hostage situation in a home, so they want to be able to lock the phone line down so that a) the person inside can't call anyone and b) the negotiator has sole access to calling in.

        I know this because I worked at a telco years ago. I have no idea how it works now with cellphones and VOIP and shit, but I'm sure they have similar setups.
        Screenwriting is like stripping. You don't just dump your clothes on the floor. You tease as you go. And then you get screwed in a back room for money. - Craig Mazin

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        • #19
          Re: How do police handle 911 nuisance calls?

          One time I accidentally pocket dialed 911 while at work and they called me back and left a voice mail informing me that I had called 911 and to call back if there was an emergency. I wish I was making that up.
          Ring-a-ding-ding, baby.

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          • #20
            Re: How do police handle 911 nuisance calls?

            Treat em to a Lola Special...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkoO0NgOUiA
            si

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            • #21
              Re: How do police handle 911 nuisance calls?

              I'd like to see a police visit whenever 9-1-1 is called and then the caller hangs up. In many jurisdictions the dispatcher calls back to see if everything's okay, which can create a greater problem if the caller were a frightened child witnessing or in the middle of some family violence, or an abducted child who is placing the call while the abductor is in the bathroom or asleep. That 9-1-1 call-back could get the child killed, while a visit from the police to the recorded address could save a life.
              Last edited by Scriptonian; 05-19-2011, 06:37 AM.

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              • #22
                Re: How do police handle 911 nuisance calls?

                Originally posted by Scriptonian View Post
                I'd like to see a police visit whenever 9-1-1 is called and then the caller hangs up. In many jurisdictions the dispatcher calls back to see if everything's okay, which can create a greater problem if the caller were a frightened child witnessing or in the middle of some family violence, or an abducted child who is placing the call while the abductor is in the bathroom or asleep. That 9-1-1 call-back could get the child killed, while a visit from the police to the recorded address could save a life.
                Not to be depressing or anything but we just had a situation kinda like what you described here in my town a week or two ago (I know there was a 911 call, I don't know if there was a hang-up) where police went out and it turned out to be a domestic. The suspect told the police that he would kill his family if they didn't leave and then within minutes of making the threat killed his 2 yr old son and shot his wife/girlfriend 5 times and then shot himself in the head. Last I heard the wife/girlfriend was still alive, in the hospital in critical. Despite all of the second-guessing going on by the public/mob, I doubt there is much the police could have done in the situation that would have prevented the deaths.

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                • #23
                  Re: How do police handle 911 nuisance calls?

                  How can I tell if I have been flagged as a police nuisance caller? Will a felony show up on the dispatchers screen when I call in?

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                  • #24
                    Re: How do police handle 911 nuisance calls?

                    Originally posted by darrylrobida View Post
                    How can I tell if I have been flagged as a police nuisance caller? Will a felony show up on the dispatchers screen when I call in?
                    I don't know if they do it but technically they could. 911 calls are tied into a database, so theoretically, at least they could have a field with that information.

                    I installed phone systems for 35 years and 911 was usually done outside the system, often by a private company. When I installed telephone system in 29 Palms, CA, 911 calls were routed to a private company in Palm Springs, CA. That company would connect the database for that number and send it back to a dispatcher at the Marine base.

                    These databases always include the phone's address, usually a floor number, if more than one floor, often, what part of the floor the call originated from and sometimes the cubicle or office number. So they can get pretty detailed. So, I'm sure it would be possible to have a field for nuisance caller, or whatever.

                    As a phone system installer, I had to do a lot of testing of 911 calls. Some dispatchers were very helpful and some were just plain p*ssed off. When you call 911 to test or accidentally, the first words out of your mouth needs to be: "This is not an emergency". Then explain yourself.

                    If you accidentally call 911 (most common at a business where you have to dial "9" for an outside line), DON'T hang up. Put yourself in their position -- someone tried to call 911 and the phone got hung up -- what are they supposed to think? Those are the calls that will probably get an emergency response. But sometimes they'll call back to verify -- answer the phone and explain you made an accidental call.

                    An employee at the last company I worked for accidentally called 911 and hung up. They tried to call her back and she wouldn't answer. Since they had an address, floor and quadrant police and paramedics were dispatched. At first the employee tried to deny she called 911, finally admitted it -- ended up getting fired and possibly charged with a crime. All she needed to do was explain it was an accident and everything would have been fine.

                    Sorry for the long-winded answer.

                    The short answer is; it's fiction -- do what you want.
                    "I just couldn't live in a world without me."

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