911 calls plague police

By Chan Tran
Daily Forty-Niner

Incomplete 911 calls on campus are still disrupting police services even though several remedial programs have been implemented, but University Police said the problem takes individual effort to resolve.

Campus police reported 16 incomplete 911 calls in the last two weeks, including seven reported from the University Telecommunications Center in one night. The 911 system provides notification of in-progress emergencies, allowing campus police to employ officers immediately, said Capt. Stan Skipworth of University Police.

"Sixteen is more than the average," he said.

Events on campus, especially with children, tend to get clusters of 911 calls, which could be the reason for the seven calls at the UTC building, Sgt. Greg Pascal said. A peak period of calls usually occurs at the beginning of a semester when students living on campus are figuring out how to dial long distance calls.

University Police dispatchers cannot differentiate between a bogus call and a real emergency and officers do not know the nature of a 911 call until they get to the scene, Skipworth said.

Errors for 911 calls are classified into three categories: misdial, dial-and-run and equipment failure.

"The most common culprit are misdials," Skipworth said. "People need to dial nine to get out for long-distance calls. They may hit nine, then double tap the one."

Another good indication for misdial is when dispatchers pick up the phone and someone is still dialing, Pascal said.

Deliberate dial-and-run calls are misdemeanors, which may result in a year of county jail and a fine of about $1,000. One citation of a misdemeanor was reported over the summer, Pascal said.

"People think it's a harmless prank," Skipworth said. "What they're doing is a detriment to everybody else."

Instances of lines flooding or problems with new telecommunications equipment may also affect the flow of 911 calls, he said.

CSU Fullerton has had over 543 incomplete 911 calls since January and 50 since Oct. 1, according to Judy Ryker, communications record supervisor for CSUF's campus police. The campus has over 28,000 students.

"We have at least two to three calls a day," Ryker said.

According to Pascal, University Police and telecommunications worked on several programs about three years ago to fix problems with long distance calls.

Most people hang up upon finding out their dialing error, but individuals who resist that urge will help fix the mistake.

"If you do misdial you should stay on the phone and tell the dispatcher it's a mistake and don't hang up," Pascal said.