NJFFSA16
03-12-2007, 05:08 AM
Emergency dispatch centers hit with wave of phony calls
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Phony emergency calls from deactivated
cell phones are distracting 911 dispatch centers and sometimes
divert the attention of emergency crews, according to dispatchers.
In just two months, the Weber/Morgan dispatch center has
recorded more than 1,100 calls from deactivated cell phones, most
of them pranks, said operations manager Cindy Fox.
Because tracing calls from a deactivated cell phone is
difficult, if not impossible, the callers go unpunished for their
false alarms.
The phony calls are sometimes convincing enough to divert
police, fire and medical crews to fake addresses.
Weber/Morgan dispatchers reported sending a K-9 unit to handle a
caller's concern about a trespasser, then a fire engine and
ambulance to another call about a fallen man. Both were false
reports.
"We are trying to get emergency services to people who really
need the help," said dispatch supervisor Cathy Pommier. "If we
send fire units, police units and ambulances to calls that aren't
real, that takes manpower away from calls that actually need it."
Salt Lake City dispatchers report almost a thousand calls over
deactivated cell phones between January and February. Most of the
calls were pranks.
St. George senior dispatcher Rachel Sharich said she personally
received at least 20 prank calls - some with just children's voices
in the background - during a five-day period last week.
Federal law requires cell phones be able to broadcast a 911 call
whether the phone is activated or not.
Some deactivated phones prove valuable for victims of domestic
violence who receive them through charities and use them to make
emergency calls. But dispatchers say they get hundreds of calls
from children dialing 911 on deactivated cell phones that parents
have handed down as toys.
Patrick Halley, government affairs director for the National
Emergency Number Association (NENA), said the Federal
Communications Commission knew of possible abuses when they
required cell phone carriers to relay emergency calls.
Although prank calls have become problematic, Halley defends the
decision.
"Is it worth having 1,000 prank calls to save two lives?" he
asked. "In my opinion, yes."
---
Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune, http://www.sltrib.com
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Phony emergency calls from deactivated
cell phones are distracting 911 dispatch centers and sometimes
divert the attention of emergency crews, according to dispatchers.
In just two months, the Weber/Morgan dispatch center has
recorded more than 1,100 calls from deactivated cell phones, most
of them pranks, said operations manager Cindy Fox.
Because tracing calls from a deactivated cell phone is
difficult, if not impossible, the callers go unpunished for their
false alarms.
The phony calls are sometimes convincing enough to divert
police, fire and medical crews to fake addresses.
Weber/Morgan dispatchers reported sending a K-9 unit to handle a
caller's concern about a trespasser, then a fire engine and
ambulance to another call about a fallen man. Both were false
reports.
"We are trying to get emergency services to people who really
need the help," said dispatch supervisor Cathy Pommier. "If we
send fire units, police units and ambulances to calls that aren't
real, that takes manpower away from calls that actually need it."
Salt Lake City dispatchers report almost a thousand calls over
deactivated cell phones between January and February. Most of the
calls were pranks.
St. George senior dispatcher Rachel Sharich said she personally
received at least 20 prank calls - some with just children's voices
in the background - during a five-day period last week.
Federal law requires cell phones be able to broadcast a 911 call
whether the phone is activated or not.
Some deactivated phones prove valuable for victims of domestic
violence who receive them through charities and use them to make
emergency calls. But dispatchers say they get hundreds of calls
from children dialing 911 on deactivated cell phones that parents
have handed down as toys.
Patrick Halley, government affairs director for the National
Emergency Number Association (NENA), said the Federal
Communications Commission knew of possible abuses when they
required cell phone carriers to relay emergency calls.
Although prank calls have become problematic, Halley defends the
decision.
"Is it worth having 1,000 prank calls to save two lives?" he
asked. "In my opinion, yes."
---
Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune, http://www.sltrib.com