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E911

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1. How do I know if a situation warrants calling 9-1-1?

Any situation that is life-threatening or involves significant property damage (e.g., a house on fire) should be addressed by calling 9-1-1. Click here for more detailed information on when to – and when not to – call 9-1-1.

2. If I’m in doubt about whether to call or not, should I still call?

Yes. It’s better to be safe and let the 9-1-1 call-taker determine if you need assistance rather than possibly put someone’s life at risk by not taking action.

3. What if I call 9-1-1 by mistake?

DO NOT HANG UP. Tell the call-taker what happened so that he/she knows that there really isn’t an emergency. If you hang up without speaking, you may cause the call-taker to believe that you are in serious danger (e.g., overcome by smoke in a house fire, threatened by an intruder, etc.) and send an officer to your location.

4. What happens when I accidentally call 9-1-1 and hang up?

If you call from a landline phone, your address and phone number automatically appears in the automatic number / location identification (ANI/ALI) system. You will receive a call back from our dispatch center to verify that everything is okay. If you fail to answer the phone, a police officer will be sent to your address to make sure everyone is alright.

If you call from a cell phone, your location and phone number may or may not appear in the ANI/ALI system, depending on your cell phone carrier and what type of cell phone you have. That is why it is extremely important to provide your location and phone number immediately when you call 9-1-1 from a cell phone. In most cases when you call 9-1-1 from a cell phone and hang up, the line will still ring in dispatch and show your phone number. In that case the dispatcher will call you back and to verify that everything is okay.

5. What are the costs of unnecessary 9-1-1 calls?

Prank calls or obvious non-emergency calls to 9-1-1 waste time and money, and pose a danger to public health. When 9-1-1 lines are bogged down by call-takers handling unnecessary calls, someone with a real emergency cannot get through. In many places, these calls are against the law and offenders will face legal action.

6. How can people who are deaf or speech/hearing-impaired call 9-1-1?

People who are deaf or speech/hearing-impaired should have access to a TTY/TDD (Teletype/Telecommunications Device for the Deaf) in their home. Communications centers that answer 9-1-1 calls have special text telephones for responding to calls from these systems and go through regular training and testing to ensure proficiency in handling these types of calls. If someone needs to use a TTY/TDD to call 9-1-1, he/she should:

- Place the phone receiver in the TTY/TDD and dial 9-1-1.

- After the call is answered, press the TTY keys several times to notify the call-taker that the call is being transmitted with this system – this may help shorten the response time to the call. (Please note that this is not required. Operators are trained to check for TTY/TDD if they answer a call with an open line.)

- When the call-taker is connected to his/her TTY, he/she will respond/type “GA” for “Go Ahead.”
Type what type of emergency service is needed – police, fire or ambulance – as well as your name, phone number and the address where the help is needed.

If a deaf or speech/hearing impaired person doesn’t have a TTY/TDD, he/she should call 9-1-1 and simply leave the line open. With most calls, the caller’s address is displayed on the call-taker’s screen and the help will be sent.

7. How can a non-English speaker use 9-1-1?

A call-taker can add an interpreter from an outside line. In this situation, a non-English speaking caller will hear the call-taker briefly speaking to an interpreter as well as some clicking sounds on the line before the interpreter addresses the caller. It is important for the caller to remain calm until the interpreter is on the line.

8. Can I call 9-1-1 from a pay phone?

Yes. Using a pay phone to call 9-1-1 is free. When an emergency situation occurs, simply pick up the phone and dial.

9. When I called 9-1-1, why did the dispatcher ask me all of those questions? All I needed was an ambulance?

In order for you to receive an ambulance, our dispatchers are required to ask a series of questions to determine the nature and seriousness of the problem.

10. I called 9-1-1 for an ambulance and I got a fire truck and an ambulance. Why did you send me a fire truck too?

Every time someone calls 9-1-1 for a medical situation, our dispatchers send resources according to protocol according to the seriousness of the medical emergency and the location you are in. For example, any medical emergency in any city outside of Jonesboro or any area outside of any city limits of any city in Craighead County gets first responders from the local fire department as well as an ambulance dispatch. The exception to this is customers within the Philadelphia and South Ridge fire Districts. Inside the Jonesboro city limits, any serious medical emergency (i.e., chest pains, difficulty breathing, etc.) receives first responders from the Jonesboro Fire Department as well as an ambulance dispatched. Oftentimes the fire trucks are closer to the scene of a medical emergency and can get there sooner to begin assessing and treating the patient.

11. Why do they send the police even when I called back and told them everything was okay?

There are several types of reports that the police respond to that will not be cancelled by telephone:

- Domestic violence
- Child or adult abuse
- Robbery/Burglary calls
- Certain types of alarms
- Molestation or rape
- Most types of Disturbance/Fight calls

12. When I call 9-1-1, why do I get someone different every time? Once, I had to tell my story three times in one night.

The Jonesboro E-911 Center is staffed with anywhere from three to five dispatchers, or three to four dispatchers and a call taker at a time, over three separate shifts. The phone system is designed so that each call is answered in the order it was received, with priority given to 9-1-1 calls. Therefore, when you call several times in a day, it is possible that you will get a different dispatcher each time you call because the original dispatcher may be busy with other calls or tasks, or she/he may have gone home for the day.

13. Why does it take so long for an officer to respond to my call?

Calls are assigned a response level based on the type of activity or urgency. Calls that require emergency or critical responses are incidents posing an immediate threat to life where the threat is present and ongoing, and/or an incident posing an immediate threat to life that involves the actual use or threatened use of a weapon. This also includes crimes against persons or significant property crimes where a rapid response is needed and the incident is in progress, just occurred with the possibility of apprehending a suspect, or the incident is about to escalate to a more serious situation.

What does that mean? Matters that do not involve immediate threat to life or do not have the potential to escalate to a serious incident may experience an extended wait depending on the time of day, call load, and number of emergencies the police must respond to first. Non-emergency events that are not necessarily time critical but do require some response from a police officer may have to wait for an extended period of time.

14. Why does the operator keep asking me questions? If they would just send the police, they would find out all they need to know.

As the reporting party, you are the first and only source of information until a police officer arrives on scene. Dispatchers are trained to ask specific questions relevant to the officer's response. In the few minutes that it takes for the officer to drive to a location, particularly one that is volatile, may things can change. A suspect may leave, a shot can be fired, a burglar can gain entry, or more people can arrive at a fight with weapons. The more information you can provide the better chance officers have of apprehending a suspect, bring a fight under control, or preventing injuries.

15. Why won't they let me talk to a police officer when I call?

The Jonesboro E-911 Center is staffed with highly-trained professionals whose responsibility is to provide community service, interview callers, and relay information to police officers. Officers do not staff any positions in the Center. Simply, police officers are not available to speak to when you call 9-1-1. When you call a non-emergency line, there are some instances when the dispatcher will offer to transfer you to the Desk Sergeant and let you speak directly to the officer there.

16. Why won't they tell me what's going on when I call?

Often, situations are still in progress when citizens call to find out what is happening in their neighborhoods. Dispatchers are not aware of what is working at all places all the time. Furthermore, the situation you may be inquiring about may be sensitive in nature and details cannot be made available to you. many times, the only information dispatchers have is whether or not you will be affected by the current situation. In some cases, the dispatchers will transfer callers to the Desk Sergeant for additional information.

17. How does the 9-1-1 Call taker know my address?

If you don't know the address you are calling from, many times your address and telephone will automatically appear on the 9-1-1 Call Taker's computer screen. This is not foolproof, however, and does not work with cell phones. The 9-1-1 Call Taker will always ask you to confirm the address and telephone number you are calling from.

18. What do you mean you don't have my address, don't you have Caller ID? Doesn't my information show up?

Because of the compatibility between phone systems used in the Jonesboro E-911 Center and the phone company, we do not have Caller ID information available on every non-emergency call that we receive. On some calls, we will have a phone number show up on our screens, and on some calls we will even receive a name and phone number. On the non-emergency lines, we will never receive address information.

19. What if I don't know where I am?

At times, during emergency situations such as traffic accidents, you may not know where you are. The 9-1-1 Call Taker will ask you a series of questions to help you remember where you were headed, what roads you took, etc. Remember, it is your responsibility to take note of what street you are on, what cross streets you are near, what mile markers you passed, etc. Keeping your location in mind will enable the 9-1-1 Call taker to dispatch help more quickly and efficiently.

20. Why does it take so long to get a dispatcher to answer when I'm calling 9-1-1 or the 935-5551 non-emergency number?

It seems like an eternity when there is an emergency and you are waiting for a response. In reality it is only seconds. PLEASE DO NOT HANG UP.

21. Why does the dispatcher hang up on me when I call to report a serious situation?

Dispatchers do not hang up on callers. The click one hears is not a hang up, but rather a transfer to the appropriate agency. DO NOT HANG UP! You are being transferred to the agency appropriate to your call.

22. Why are Dispatchers so abrupt with callers?

The dispatchers have a very serious job to perform and are responsible for quickly obtaining answers to specific questions. they concentrate on setting the facts and acting promptly. This sometimes is mistaken for rudeness. Protecting victims, law enforcement officers and fire department personnel is among the main objectives. Following orders established by law enforcement helps ensure this objective..

23. Why doesn't an officer show up when I call in a situation that is in progress?

The caller must tell the dispatcher they wish to see an officer once the situation has been resolved in order to know what has transpired. Many times callers do not want an officer coming to their door for fear or retaliation from other neighbors. Further, if a situation is initiated at one address and then changes a location, the caller may not witness an officer arriving at the place of apprehension or where the report is taken. Again, the caller must request an officer, after the situation has been taken care of in order to obtain the information.

24. Why does my cell phone call 9-1-1 by accident?

Many of us use our cell phones, hang up and set the cell phone in a holder or on the passenger seat. Many cell phones are pre-programmed to call 9-1-1 when the quic key is pressed. In some cases, even when the keys are locked on your cell phone and it is in your pocket, the cell phone can still get bumped and call 9-1-1.

25. Who pays for 9-1-1?

Every household business pays a small monthly fee for 9-1-1 service on each telephone line that appears on its phone bill. there is no per-call charge for calling 9-1-1. In Craighead County, the monthly service fee for landlines is 5-12% of Tariff Rates per month and Wireless Phones or VoIP both have a service fee of $0.65 per month.

26. What is the difference between Basic 9-1-1 and Enhanced 9-1-1 Service?

Basic 9-1-1 Service - a call-taker at the local Public Service Answering Point (PSAP) must obtain the nature of the emergency and it's location by speaking with the caller or receiving the information via TTY/TDD.

Enhanced 9-1-1 Service - the call-taker at the PSAP has access to a display that shows the caller's phone number and address. Currently, most if not all of the counties with 9-1-1 coverage have Enhanced 9-1-1.

27. How is the Wireless 9-1-1 Service being implemented?

Phase I - when the Wireless Phase I has been completed, the call-taker will automatically receive the phone number as well as the location of the cell tower handling the call. this information is criticalin the event that the phone call is dropped so that the call-taker can work with the wireless company to identify the caller/subscriber.

Phase II - In this phase, the call-taker will receive the caller's phone number as well as his/her location via latitude and longitude coordinates.

28. How many calls are made to 9-1-1 annually?

Each year approximately 200 million calls are made to 9-1-1 in the U.S. According to the FCC, one-third are wireless calls; in many communities, it comprises one half or more of all 9-1-1 calls. In 2012, in Craighead County, 59,193 calls were made to 9-1-1, 49,835 of these were wireless calls.