All across the country more and more fake 911 calls are being made. Almost all of the people making these calls have been caught or arrested. The punishments for making fake calls are extremely severe. You could end up in jail for up to a year. This YouTube video shows a real life situation with someone being arrested for fake calls to 911.
Another issue with 911 is people calling for non emergencies. This is an example of a woman calling 911 from Burger King because she received the wrong order.
These types of calls are taking up emergency phone lines, and could be preventing a serious call from getting through. These calls cost tax payers millions of dollars. Here are a bunch of people calling 911 who obviously do not know the meaning of an emergency:
Over 45 percent of the more than 8 million cell phone calls to 911 each year are for non-emergencies. Sometimes it could go up to 80 percent! Don Aaron, a spokesman for the Nashville Metro police, said it’s called “joyriding.” “It’s a joy call to 911,” Aaron said. “What they don’t understand is that the call takers at 911 take these calls very seriously. The police department takes them very seriously.”
While looking into non emergency 911 calls I came across an article talking about how people call 911 for medical advice! They say they do not need an ambulance yet, but they ask what should they do? Police believe people are trying to avoid costly medical bills due to lack of health insurance. Unfortunately 911 does not give out medical advice, so all those cheap people will have to pay their medical bills.
There are also people who call because they are not sure whether their situation would be considered an emergency. This blog I found is talking about this issue. The blogger talks about how people call 911 to much for little things. They also talk about how when someone calls 911, they do not think of the consequences that come with it. Most people do not know that it is illegal to call 911 for a non- emergency. I found another blog by a woman named, Michele Ellson. She talked about how where she lives, they are going to start charging everyone for these calls and hopefully it will get the message across to people, and the number of these outrageous calls will decrease.
I think this whole issues is ridiculous. Why would anyone call 911 for a non-emergency? Whenever i need police assistance I always calls the non-emergency number. When I was little I learned how serious 911 was and how it should only be used for real emergencies. I used to randomly call 911 and hang up when I was really little because I thought it was funny. A policeman had to come to my house and explain to me the dangers of making those kind of calls. Anyone who makes unnecessary calls to 911 needs some serious intervention.
Another issue with 911 is people calling for non emergencies. This is an example of a woman calling 911 from Burger King because she received the wrong order.
These types of calls are taking up emergency phone lines, and could be preventing a serious call from getting through. These calls cost tax payers millions of dollars. Here are a bunch of people calling 911 who obviously do not know the meaning of an emergency:
Over 45 percent of the more than 8 million cell phone calls to 911 each year are for non-emergencies. Sometimes it could go up to 80 percent! Don Aaron, a spokesman for the Nashville Metro police, said it’s called “joyriding.” “It’s a joy call to 911,” Aaron said. “What they don’t understand is that the call takers at 911 take these calls very seriously. The police department takes them very seriously.”
While looking into non emergency 911 calls I came across an article talking about how people call 911 for medical advice! They say they do not need an ambulance yet, but they ask what should they do? Police believe people are trying to avoid costly medical bills due to lack of health insurance. Unfortunately 911 does not give out medical advice, so all those cheap people will have to pay their medical bills.
There are also people who call because they are not sure whether their situation would be considered an emergency. This blog I found is talking about this issue. The blogger talks about how people call 911 to much for little things. They also talk about how when someone calls 911, they do not think of the consequences that come with it. Most people do not know that it is illegal to call 911 for a non- emergency. I found another blog by a woman named, Michele Ellson. She talked about how where she lives, they are going to start charging everyone for these calls and hopefully it will get the message across to people, and the number of these outrageous calls will decrease.
I think this whole issues is ridiculous. Why would anyone call 911 for a non-emergency? Whenever i need police assistance I always calls the non-emergency number. When I was little I learned how serious 911 was and how it should only be used for real emergencies. I used to randomly call 911 and hang up when I was really little because I thought it was funny. A policeman had to come to my house and explain to me the dangers of making those kind of calls. Anyone who makes unnecessary calls to 911 needs some serious intervention.
5 comments:
I think this is an interesting case, as I was unaware of the number of situations in which adults call 911 for no reason. I was aware of the number of children that dial 911 for fun at a young age, because they don't understand teh severity of their actions. However, the examples provided are all from adults in our society. Although this doesn't seem to be a big deal, taking up lines at the local fire and police departments causes delays in getting to people that are truly in serious danger. I think it would've been interesting to see how law officers dealt with these cases specifically as there is obviously a fine or jail time needed.
Seriously, it's ridiculous that people would abuse the wonderful system we have today of emergency relief. I can say with certainty that in comparison to other countries, we have much better response time and care. This service should not be taken for granted and kids who think it is okay, should be locked up. Just kidding. But seriously, what idiots. It's very important to instill in kids today the importance of 911 and the terrible reprocussions of making fake calls.
I think some of the examples you showed are completely ridiculous. I understand kids that are 5-6 years of age calling 911 and hanging up because they dont know any better, but people calling in for a hamburger is outrages. What if there was a serious emergency and they were put on hold for something as dumb as that? They should start fining people for their calls that are completely idiotic.
I don't think that the police department should be able to fine people for these crank calls. One reason is that they would have to set out certain guidlines of what is and what isn't considered an emergency. A fine could dissuade people from actually using this valuable resources, because they aren't sure if they are at enough risk to merit a call.
I think 911 should only be used in serious situations. Just learning about how so many people call just for the hell of it makes me mad. When they call they are taking precious time away from 911 operators that could be used to take serious calls.
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