Summary of Responses to Misuse and Abuse of 911
The table below summarizes the responses to misuse and abuse of 911, the mechanism by which they are intended to work, the conditions under which they ought to work best, and some factors you should consider before implementing a particular response. It is critical that you tailor responses to local circumstances, and that you can justify each response based on reliable analysis. In most cases, an effective strategy will involve implementing several different responses. Law enforcement responses alone are seldom effective in reducing or solving the problem.
| Responses to Phantom Wireless 911 Calls | ||||
| Response No. | Response | How It Works | Works Best If... | Considerations |
| 1 | Requiring manufacturers to redesign wireless phones | Makes phones less susceptible to phantom calls | …police agencies, police chief and sheriff organizations, NENA, and other interested parties collaborate to petition the FCC using accurate, recent data | Financial costs to the wireless industry may be significant |
| 2 | Recalling preprogrammed wireless phones | Addresses phones already on the market | …narrowly tailored to those phone makes and models causing the problem | Financial costs to the wireless industry may be significant |
| 3 | Underwriting and distributing phone button guards | Prevents unintentional speed dialing and redialing of 911 | …wireless manufacturers pay for and distribute the guards, encourage wireless owners to use them, and provide a public assessment of their effectiveness in reducing the problem | Financial costs to the wireless industry may be significant |
| 4 | Prohibiting automatic 911 dialing | Federal law would prohibit the preprogramming of phones to autodial 911; state law would prohibit the use of 911 autodial | …federal law targets manufacturers, not phone owners; and state law targets owners, allowing for graduated sanctions against repeat violators | If there is resistance to a federal law, an FCC order may serve the purpose; police chiefs in each state may need to collaborate to ensure that state laws are enacted; police may find it difficult to persuade certain groups (such as the elderly) not to use 911 autodial |
| 5 | Funneling phantom wireless calls through an automated 911- answering system | Allows dispatchers to more quickly respond to calls | …the FCC supports this approach | May require refinement so as not to adversely affect the deaf; may also require some targeted public education; if wireless manufacturers support this approach over others more costly to them, they should bear the cost of informing customers about how it works, and release the police from liability for using it |
| Responses to Phantom 911Wireless Calls With Limited Effectiveness | ||||
| Response No. | Response | How It Works | Works Best If... | Considerations |
| 6 | Dispatching officers to all phantom wireless calls | Officers respond to all identifiable phantom call locations | …the police agency has a low call load | Reduces the time officers have to address verifiable crime and safety problems; once Enhanced 911, Phase II, is fully implemented, the number of identifiable phantom call locations will increase, as will the number of unwarranted dispatches |
| 7 | Requesting that wireless carriers address phantom calls | Police and other organizations ask wireless carriers to voluntarily address the problem | …the organizations requesting the voluntary compliance notify the FCC that they have done so | Collaborative efforts may be difficult and take time, and voluntary requests have, thus far, proven ineffective |
| Responses to 911 Misdials and Hang-up Calls | ||||
| Response No. | Response | How It Works | Works Best If... | Considerations |
| 8 | Educating the public | Encourages people to dial carefully and to stay on the line if they accidentally call 911 | …911 centers track causes of misdials and hang-ups | General campaigns—as opposed to narrowly tailored ones—are unlikely to correct the problem of misdials; education efforts should be customized, then assessed for effectiveness |
| 9 | Dispatching officers to landline hang-up calls only when there is evidence of an emergency | Reduces the number of unfounded calls that police must handle | …911 centers follow up on hang-ups by sending callers information packets, and graduated sanctions apply to repeat violators | Informing the public about the extent to which hang-up calls drain police resources may help police avoid political fallout for responding only when there is evidence of an emergency; it may help to let citizens know that many police departments now make callbacks, a more efficient and effective practice than automatically responding to hang ups |
| Responses to 911 Hang-Up Calls With Limited Effectiveness | ||||
| Response No. | Response | How It Works | Works Best If... | Considerations |
| 10 | Dispatching officers to all landline hang-up calls | Gives police the opportunity to catch criminals by surprise, since operators do not call numbers back before dispatching them | …a large number of hang-up calls are made by people phoning police to alert them to a crime in progress; however, this is not the case | Most landline hang up calls can be resolved without dispatching officers |
| 11 | Providing no response to pay phone hang-up calls | Dispatchers issue a general alert to officers in the field, but do not dispatch them to the scene unless there is evidence of an emergency | …property overseers monitor pay phones | Requires property overseers' cooperation |
| Responses to Nonemergency 911 Calls | ||||
| Response No. | Response | How It Works | Works Best If... | Considerations |
| 12 | Implementing 311 systems | Reduces demands on 911 systems; reduces caller frustration | …adequate funds are available for 311 technology and staffing | Start-up and maintenance costs may be significant |
| 13 | Educating the public via 911 educators or coordinators | Teaches citizens to use 911 appropriately | …educational initiatives address each aspect of 911 misuse and abuse | Less costly than implementing 311 systems |
| 14 | Targeting violators and applying graduated sanctions | Persuades callers to use 911 appropriately | …efforts are specifically tailored to problem people and phones, rather than overly broad | Civil sanctions require a system for collecting fines; fines could be used to support additional 911 educational efforts |
| 15 | Applying crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) to hot-spot pay phones | Decreases the potential for prank 911 calls from these phones | …officers are trained in CPTED principles and techniques | Some phones may need to be relocated (or removed), which can have financial implications for the owners |
| 16 | Having property overseers monitor hot-spot pay phones | Shifts responsibility for monitoring phones to those who are better able to do so | …police have carefully analyzed the problem at hot-spot locations and are willing to educate property overseers | Some places, such as schools, may not have enough staff to monitor phones, and may resist phone relocation unless convinced of the seriousness of the problem |
| Response to Exaggerated Emergency 911 Calls | ||||
| Response No. | Response | How It Works | Works Best If... | Considerations |
| 17 | Targeting education to the people responsible | Persuades citizens to use 911 appropriately; police acknowledge and address the underlying concerns that prompt the original 911 calls | …911 centers can identify specific blocks making the calls | Requires 911 centers to identify calls that initially receive a priority response, but are subsequently downgraded in priority once police arrive and assess the situation |
| Response to Lonely Complainant 911 Calls | ||||
| Response No. | Response | How It Works | Works Best If... | Considerations |
| 18 | Arranging for suitable company for the callers | Reduces callers' motivations to call 911 inappropriately | …family members or suitable local services are available | Callers may resist assistance; may be time-consuming to ensure appropriate measures are taken |
Free Bound Copies of the Problem Guides
You may order free bound copies in any of three ways:
Online: Department of Justice COPS Response Center
Email: askCopsRC@usdoj.gov
Phone: 800-421-6770 or 202-307-1480
Allow several days for delivery.
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Misuse and Abuse of 911
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