Have you ever called 911 for a "non-emergency" reason? And/or do you know what your local police want you to use 911 for?
I'm curious because I see people who say you should never call 911 unless it's an emergency, then others who say they've been told to call 911 for non-emergency stuff, like noise complaints.
Our neighborhood put up non-soliciting signs a few years ago. At a neighborhood meeting, where a police rep attended, we specifically asked who to call (311?) if solicitors show up. We were told to call 911.
So - we're somewhat expected to use 911 for non-emergency issues. I personally have never called 911 about solicitors. Even though we're told to, I feel REALLY weird doing that!! "For emergencies" is seared into my brain!
*** to be clear, calling because you don't have formula for your child is NOT anywhere even close to what I would ever consider an issue worthy of a call to 911!! ***
That is crazy! Police here are stretched so thin already that tying up 911 resources for things like noise complaints seems dangerous. I guess the dispatcher can prioritize and if there are more important things happening they just won't send anyone? I have only used 311 once (to report a streetlight out) and they never fixed it so... I guess I can see thinking that won't be effective either.
I actually don't know that I have ever called police when it wasn't an emergency so I have used 911. I've actually called them several times but they have all been situations that needed immediate attention (overhearing domestic violence, a friend who tried to kill herself, a fire in my neighbor's apartment, being carjacked, getting in a car accident). I have never reported noise or general nuisance stuff.
In my town all police calls are routed through the county 911. So we are told to call 911 for any police-related call or question and then they will either send out a car if emergency or send to correct number if not. I agree it feels weird though.
That is crazy! Police here are stretched so thin already that tying up 911 resources for things like noise complaints seems dangerous. I guess the dispatcher can prioritize and if there are more important things happening they just won't send anyone? I have only used 311 once (to report a streetlight out) and they never fixed it so... I guess I can see thinking that won't be effective either.
I actually don't know that I have ever called police when it wasn't an emergency so I have used 911. I've actually called them several times but they have all been situations that needed immediate attention (overhearing domestic violence, a friend who tried to kill herself, a fire in my neighbor's apartment, being carjacked, getting in a car accident). I have never reported noise or general nuisance stuff.
This is what I suspect may be at the crux of it - some police districts aren't stretched and perhaps it's easier to have all police related calls go through one service, then there are the districts where they don't have the resources and REALLY need only emergency calls to go through 911.
Post by fivechickens on Jan 30, 2020 8:13:34 GMT -5
I have called twice. Once because my DD2 fell off their playset landing on her neck and then passed out. The other because DD3 was really sick and woke up talking nonsense and reaching for things that weren’t there.
I have never had to call non emergency so I don’t know if they would tell me to call 911 or not.
Also, and maybe flameful, I have no idea what 311 is.
I have called twice. Once because my DD2 fell off their playset landing on her neck and then passed out. The other because DD3 was really sick and woke up talking nonsense and reaching for things that weren’t there.
I have never had to call non emergency so I don’t know if they would tell me to call 911 or not.
Also, and maybe flameful, I have no idea what 311 is.
It's supposed to be the non-emergency number. That they tell us not to use....
Post by maudefindlay on Jan 30, 2020 8:19:31 GMT -5
I called the non emergency line once when I saw a capsized kayak floating down the river that runs thru town.
I called 911 to report an impaired driver 2x and 1x when DH had pneumonia (we didn't know it) and started having difficulty breathing and then lost sensation in his limbs. He's fine, just needed hospital level care instead of the otc meds were had been doing.
Eta I also called 911 recently to report a man who was beating his female passenger while erratically driving down the road. I also followed at a safe distance until I saw police pull them over.
Post by mccallister84 on Jan 30, 2020 8:19:38 GMT -5
I called once when my niece was having breathing difficulties at my parents house. My sister, who is a pediatric NP and was also there, told me to call.
DD2 was sent by ambulance to the ED from the pediatrician. They weren’t comfortable with her traveling without oxygen because her sats were low. Now I am curious as to how they got the ambulance there. I just assumed they called directly but maybe they did call 911 (it wasn’t a private ambulance or anything - just the fire department one that would respond if you called 911).
I have called a few times actually but I dont think any of them were non-emergencies. 2 drunk drivers, one time we were leaving for the airport at like 3 am and there was a couple fighting on the front lawn and the guy was trying to pull her inside and she was screaming "no" at him. We called just to make sure she was ok, but I never found out what happened. And another time a man was trying to get into my house when i was home alone. It turned out to be an old guy that thought it was his house (he had a baseball cap on, I couldn't see his face).
I've never called anyone for a noise complaint. The couple times in my life it was really bad I just talked/yelled at the neighbors directly.
ETA oh 3 drunk drivers. I forgot the time I called on my dad. Thar was a horrible night, ugh.
Post by mccallister84 on Jan 30, 2020 8:21:15 GMT -5
Oh yea I’ve also called on an what appeared to be an impaired driver - going up on curbs, very, very erratic driving, when I was rear ended at 32 weeks pregnant and when I saw a pretty bad crash that must have just happened.
In the last town we lived in 911 was the after hours number - if you call the police dept directly after hours it directs you to call 911 for anything. I had to call for a noise complaint once (it had gone on for HOURS) and I felt so weird. I actually apologized to the dispatcher but they encouraged I was calling the right number LOL.
The only other time I called 911 was when my kid had a febrile seizure.
I have only called the police lines - medical emergency for a teen with her friends (back when cell 911 calls weren’t the fastest), a bumper on a busy freeway (they told me to call 911), and a mysterious driver in our neighborhood (white guy in an unmarked van with his seat back driving very slowly between cul de sacs but not stopping- I told them it wasn’t an emergency, and never would have called if I lived in an area with a busy police force. We get a good number of break ins and package thieves in the area).
I’ve only called once - I had just hydroplaned on the interstate, spun around a few times bouncing off the concrete median, and ended up sitting perpendicular to the flow of traffic. I was completely uninjured (just shaken up and scared af) and VERY lucky that the cars in the lane behind me stopped in enough time to not hit me. I called 911 bc there was no way for me to drive out of where I was, bc traffic in the other lanes just kept on flowing. It felt weird to call when I wasn’t hurt, but I guess that was still technically an emergency.
When we moved into our house, the neighborhood HOA gave us a handy fridge magnet with important local phone numbers - the first listed is for the local PD. I assume that means they would prefer us to call them before calling 911 in non-personally emergent situations.
I called 911 when I saw a bad accident. I called 311 on my neighbours we keep shoveling their driveways onto the street and taking up street parking spots (where most people on my street park) lol.
I think three times? One for a car fire, one for a car chase that hit my in laws neighbor’s house and for a car accident. I call the non emergency number for other issues (drunk guy singing outside our house, neighbor playing loud music at 2 in the morning).
I've called 911 for car accidents, even minor ones, because that's what is advised. I assume the dispatchers prioritize minor accidents below other needs. I've called the non-emergency line for noise complaints.
Post by lightbulbsun on Jan 30, 2020 8:49:07 GMT -5
I think it really depends on where you live. My town is super boring and police will come out for anything. When I got the dog bite on my leg they could have taken the information over the phone, but they came to the hospital because why not? In a major city, then it should be for major emergencies.
I've called 911 a few times, mostly for car accidents, but once in NYC I saw a fire on the roof of a building, so I called. The people in the building didn't even know that it was happening since it started on the roof. NYFD was there in less than 5 minutes.
Yes, several times we have called the non-emergency police line in our city regarding things like noise complaints or illegally parked cars, and every time, the police have told us to call 911 instead to report the issue.
So the only time I can remember calling for a non-emergency was when at our old house in the dead of winter our neighbor had their dog chained up outside from 4pm to 11pm and it was barking non-stop. He tried animal control, which said to call the police, who then said to call 911. We felt bad, but we're a small county with a small sheriff's dept.
I've only called 911 once and that was when we thought someone was breaking into our house, but it turned out to be a mylar balloon that got caught in the ceiling fan downstairs. Thankfully I was still on the line when DH realized what it was. (SO EMBARRASSING)
I grew up in a really rural area. We did not have proper street addresses--we were instead listed as "rural route 2, box #xxx" but when I was in middle school they started switching us over so we could use 911. Prior to that you could only call the local police station. I remember my dad not thinking it was set up yet and tried to prove it by dialing 911. Sure enough they answered and then sent someone over to make sure we were all ok.
I have called 911 when I witnessed an accident. When my car was broken into though I called the local station instead.
I have ACCIDENTALLY called 911 from dialing out of my office where you need to dial 9+1+(area code)...to get out of the building and they always have to show up and confirm we are ok. So embarrassing.
I've called to report traffic signals being out and they were always glad and told me it was right to call (even like, the red is burnt out but otherwise the signal is functioning.
Once I called b/c I was driving down the interstate in a rural area and there was a cow hanging out in the grassy median.
I'm a counselor at an online school with students all over the state. I've called 911 numerous times to do wellness checks on students for things like suicidal ideation, parents physically fighting, etc., since we can't see them. I've never called it for any other reason though, thankfully.
I recently called the non-emergency line for a dog that was running around in my backyard. He had tags and was friendly and I called the number on his tag multiple times, but they didn't answer. When I called the non-emergency line, the voice on the other end responded "9-1-1, what's your emergency?" So apparently our non-emergency line gets routed to 911.
I've called 911 for car accidents, but thankfully, nothing more than that.
I'm on the board of my neighborhood association, and our local police chief came to talk to us about neighborhood safety. She told us to call 911 for everything, and to begin the call by saying, "this is not an emergency." It was hard for me to accept, but she said it several times. Apparently we don't have a local non-emergency line, and if you call the precinct, it sends you to the same dispatcher as 911 anyway.
I called once for a car accident, no injuries but car stuck in the middle of the road. I wouldn't say it was a true emergency but we were on a major road in an area I didn't know and wasn't completely sure which town we were in and which dept to call.
I think it really depends on where you live. My town is super boring and police will come out for anything. When I got the dog bite on my leg they could have taken the information over the phone, but they came to the hospital because why not? In a major city, then it should be for major emergencies.
I've called 911 a few times, mostly for car accidents, but once in NYC I saw a fire on the roof of a building, so I called. The people in the building didn't even know that it was happening since it started on the roof. NYFD was there in less than 5 minutes.
Not on topic, but my brother used to own a jewelry store and they had pretty tight security, including motion sensors. And that's how they learned NOT to have helium balloons in the store.