Eric Jay ([info]ericjay) wrote,
2005-03-23 00:24:00
(cross posted from [info]b0st0n)

Am I the only one here who thought dialing 9-1-1 was supposed to be for emergencies only?

I need to file a vandalism report, so this afternoon I looked up and called the main number for the Boston Police Department. The woman who answered my call gave me an attitude and asked me "Haven't you ever heard of calling 9-1-1?" I replied that I thought 9-1-1 was for emergencies only, and that this wasn't an emergency. She fired back (practically yelling now) "If 9-1-1 was just for emergencies, then I wouldn't have said to call it!"

At this point I didn't feel like getting into how I don't have a landline phone, and dialing 9-1-1 gets me the state police... so I just said thank you and hung up. I'll go over to my nearest district station tomorrow and take care of it, but this got me wondering about 9-1-1 and what most people think about when you're supposed to use it...

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  • 5 comments

[info]alliecat1881

March 23 2005, 10:17:01 UTC 7 years ago

please listen carefully as some of our options have changed

most people get put on hold for a while or have to go through the little automated menu when they call for a real emergency, making the life-saving calls all that more complicated. they show the little kids calling 9-1-1 all the time on the show and proclaim them as heroes... now what?! kids are just not that patient.

[info]letoile82

March 23 2005, 11:03:01 UTC 7 years ago

I thought it was only for emergencies as well... I know when my aunt had some property damage, she just called the local police station, not 911.

[info]birdiefan1

March 23 2005, 13:40:03 UTC 7 years ago

That's really crazy that she gave you an attitude about that, I never would have thought to call 911 for vandalism (hope that everything is okay). And the fact that you call 911 for vandalism or if little Tommy is bleeding to death really makes me nervous. I thought that it was supposed to be a quick and easy way to get help?

[info]countlibras

March 23 2005, 14:37:52 UTC 7 years ago

When my mom's wallet was swiped, we called the Boston Police to file a report. Certainly not 911.

It's almost amusing how you always hear that 911 gets misused and there you have someone at the Boston Police Dept who telling you to call it.

Maybe she was on something or just not paying attention?

[info]countlibras

March 23 2005, 14:38:37 UTC 7 years ago

who *is* telling...

oops.
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