 "Photo: Evan Andrews")
A persistent problem for the University Police Department has been 9-1-1 misdials and hang-ups.
"This is a serious problem," said UPD Master Officer Kristi Hosea. "It ties up the 9-1-1 phone lines which need to remain open for emergency calls."
But phone lines are not the only resources occupied by erroneous calls. Whenever a misdial occurs and the caller does not respond to the dispatcher, an officer must be sent to the location where the call was made to search for distressed persons. This precludes officers from performing their standard duties around campus.
"9-1-1 misdials take officers away from their current duties to investigate each 9-1-1 call," Hosea said. "All too often officers are finding themselves responding to a general GPS location looking for a person in distress."
Freshman chemistry major Ulises Rangel said he was concerned about the effect these false alarms have on the urgency of the officers.
"Students need to take these calls more seriously because if the officers are wasting their time then they are going to be less likely to take [calls] seriously in the future when there is an actual incident," Rangel said.
In the fall, there were 540 calls received by the emergency dispatcher. Only 64 of these were determined to be actual emergencies, while 252 required investigation due to open lines or hang-ups. To avoid this needless waste of time and resource, Hosea advised students to stay connected if aware 9-1-1 has been dialed.
"If a caller calls 9-1-1 by mistake, do not hang up or disconnect the phone line." Hosea said. "Advise the dispatcher that the call was placed by mistake."
The emergency dispatcher will verify there is no need for an officer to be sent and will ask for basic personal information. Hosea said this information is collected to verify the safety of the caller.
"Personal information provided to the dispatcher by the caller is used to verify that there was not an actual emergency," Hosea said.
These misdials occur for a number of reasons, among which are open-faced cell phones being dialed unknowingly. The solution to such accidents is simple.
"To help alleviate this problem, we request cell phone users to utilize the locking systems on their cell phones and lock down their key pads or touch screens," Hosea said.
Students should also be aware that phones without a dial tone or active service are capable of connecting emergency calls. Removing the battery is suggested if an unserviced phone will be used by children or for other purposes.
Because occasional 9-1-1 calls do not appear to be accidental, Hosea stressed the seriousness of dialing 9-1-1 without due reason.
"It's against the law for a person to call 9-1-1 when there is not an emergency, [as is] intentionally remaining silent or making abusive or harassing statements," Hosea said. "It is also against the law for a person to knowingly permit a telephone under the person's control to be used by another person in that manner."
Junior psychology major Johanna Storm said she is irritated by the immaturity of these calls.
"9-1-1 is not something to just play around with," Storm said. "If someone had an emergency and can't get through because someone is playing a prank or being stupid, that is inconsiderate on a basic level."
Prevent misdials Wireless carriers requested that manufacturers deactivate the auto-dial 911 feature.
Consumers who possess handsets with the auto-dial 911 feature can disable the auto-dial 911 feature or lock the key pad.
Consumer Alert information is available on the FCC Web site www.fcc.gov/cgb/information_ directory.html on how to prevent unintentional 911 calls.
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