This article sums up the dilema quite nicely.  I didnt think about it but if you remember a little while back there was one of the police officers doing a presentation on domestic abuse in the city.   The amount of domestic violence cases was staggering.  I have seen it happen more than once with neighbors where things are getting out of hand domestically, the police are called and then when they show up they down play the incident.  Sometimes it is because the woman is afraid of her great partner being halled off to jail or they are afraid of another beating later.  Making the call in the heat of the moment was the right thing but it could have gone either way.  

Perhaps some of the shootings and deaths could have been prevented if 911 was called a little earlier in  these situations.  The $10,000 to $30,000 that we would save just isnt worth it.  

Honestly, I think that this is the result of the "MAYOR" and his rides with these crews.  I am sure he was told how they were understaffed.  He probably looked at the arrest rates and said it doesnt make sense, then the back pedal and excuses, one being these bad 911 calls.  

The solution to this "problem" is the following:

1. Make people more aware of the non emergency phone numbers.  Maybe replace one of numerous commercials on channel 18 about garbage with some domestic violence tips, non emergency numbers and support groups.  
2. Train the dispatchers better to figure out the core issues are and determine if a true emergency exists before sending out the whole squad.  
3. Train responders to better assess situations that are non emergency to get in and get out.
4. Supervisors should look at the data and see how many non emergency 911 calls later turned out to be an emergency becuase the issue wasnt addressed properly from the gate.  I am sure some of these non issues were just lazy city workers who didnt want to fill out a report.  

We are not getting the whole story like usual.


  




A few misconceptions behind 911 calls.By Gerry Tuoti, Staff Writer
GateHouse News Service
Posted Jan 09, 2010 @ 09:49 PM
Last update Jan 11, 2010 @ 09:09 AM

    

Taunton —  

Ready to respond at a moment’s notice, 911 dispatchers handle countless emergency calls, but they must also wade through a fair amount of nonsense.

“There is an issue with the 911 calls that are false calls,” state police Lt. David Wilson said. “It’s a difficult thing to say how much money is being spent on frivolous 911 calls.”

People call 911 for “everything you can possibly imagine,” Taunton police Sgt. Eric Nichols said. “We once had a lady call 911 because her phone was broken.”

The police also occasionally get 911 calls from people who need directions.

A woman jogging in Taunton recently called 911 on the first day of hunting season to let police know there were several cars parked near a wooded area off Kingman Street.

Despite such frivolous calls, Nichols doesn’t think the public is generally uneducated about when it’s appropriate to call 911.

“I think they know,” he said. “It’s a lack of convenience more than anything.”

While it may seem like an inconvenience for police to be tied up with frivolous or accidental calls, Nichols said law enforcement officers don’t view it that way.

“It’s a general function of what we do as police,” he said. “We don’t look at it as a waste of our time. We just don’t look at it that way. We want the public to feel free to call us, especially people who are not our frequent customers.”

The increasing prevalence of cell phones has also led to a rise in the number of non-emergency 911 calls, Nichols said.

“It’s not overwhelming, but it’s more noticeable now with cell phones,” he said. “People don’t want to dial information for the police from their cell phones.”

Many people, he explained, don’t know the local non-emergency police phone number off-hand and don’t want to pay to call directory assistance.

“As a result, they dial 911,” Nichols said. “Another thing with the pre-paid cell phones is that if you’re out of minutes, you can still dial 911.”

Wilson offered some resources for people to get information on their cell phones. Cell phone users can dial 411 for directory assistance, although fees may vary by service provider. He said motorists can use that service to get the non-emergency phone number for the local state police barracks or municipal police department. They can also dial 511 to get up-to-the minute traffic and weather information. As is the case with 411, applicable charges apply for using the 511 service.

Nine-one-one calls from cell phones generally go to a state police call center and are typically routed to an appropriate local dispatcher.

Despite problems with accidental and frivolous 911 calls, Wilson thinks the 911 system works well for highway emergencies.

“I worked on the road for quite a few years,” Wilson said. “I found it to be very effective.”

Police are not mandated to send an officer out for frivolous 911 calls, but they are required to respond to all 911 hang-ups or “silent calls.”

“If you dial 911 and hang up right away, we’ll send someone out,” Nichols said. “We’ll make a forced entry if we have to.”

In Taunton, hang-ups make up the majority of calls to 911, Nichols said.

Victims of domestic violence will often discreetly dial 911 and hang up to alert police that there is a problem without arousing the suspicions of the aggressor, Nichols said. A number of silent 911 calls are also placed by people suffering from medical emergencies.

Just over half of all silent 911 calls are accidental, Nichols said. The accidental calls can stem from children playing with a phone, people hitting the wrong speed dial button on their phones or simply mis-dialing.

When responding to a 911 hang-up, it’s often a relief to discover the call was accidental instead of an actual emergency, Nichols explained.

“We’re not upset that it’s an accident,” he said. “We don’t look at it as an unneeded task.”

In Raynham, police Chief Louis J. Pacheco said more than 88 percent of calls to 911 are legitimate. Many of the erroneous calls are a result of businesses where employees must dial 9 to get an outside line, or 11 to get an extension, he said.

If you call 911 by mistake, do not hang up, the National Emergency Number Association recommends. Tell the dispatcher what happened so police know there really isn’t an emergency.

“Pay phones are usually a problem with prank calls, but there are less and less of them,” Pacheco added.

Wilson said it is important that people don’t feel apprehensive about dialing 911 for a potentially serious situation.

“When in doubt call 911,” he said. “We’d rather you be on the safe side. If you think it’s a true emergency, I would not hesitate to call 911. If it’s a true emergency, we have to make sure the person’s taken care of.”

When should you dial 911?

The 911 service is only to be used in emergency situations. An emergency is any situation that requires immediate assistance from the police, the fire department or an ambulance. If you are ever in doubt of whether a situation is an emergency, you should call 911. It’s better to be safe and let the 911 dispatcher determine if you need emergency assistance.

Do not call 911:
• for information
• for directory assistance
• when you’re bored and just want to talk
• for paying traffic tickets
• for your pet
• as a prank
Read more: http://www.tauntongazette.com/.....-calls#ixzz1h75JcAyS

Quoted from PlateUmp

Cicero,

*City taxpayers do not pay for an ambulance service, Mohawk Ambulance is a private company which bills the patients for services rendered.

*There are not 4 fire trucks in the City of Schenctady only 2, there are 4 fire engines which are all ALS.  I can't belive you would every see that much apparatus on the scene of a cat in a tree or a slip and fall type accident.

*According to the newspaper the fee would only be charged for frivolous EMS calls and not FIRE calls, so your theory regarding the smell of smoke with no visiable flames would not apply to this fee

Hope this clears some of the confusion

So the solution sounds pretty simple.  To solve the "frequent flyers" problem, negotiate with Mohawk Ambulance to add more ALS service in the city, then Mohawk can bill the frivolous customers.  Why does the city even want to get involved with ALS billing?  It sounds like the City wants the revenue and doesn't want to give it to Mohawk.

Quoted Text

*City taxpayers do not pay for an ambulance service, Mohawk Ambulance is a private company which bills the patients for services rendered.

they rob peter to pay paul....it's called medicare/medicaid......same sh!t.....it may not be the full amount but the compensation is there if the company wants to dig into the Atlas Shrugged system and collect....

Quoted from Box A Rox

As posted in the Daily gazette:
"A fee to be billed to people who summon fire department paramedics to a scene when there appears to be
no good reason to do so."

It's not that difficult to understand Cicero... just try... forget your agenda and just try...

No box, I completely understand.  Who decides what "appears" to be no good reason when deciding to levy the fine?  When government slugs rely on city coffers being full so they can justify their next raise.  I get a little leery when they try to push a fee onto people that most likely cannot afford to pay it.  It's a clever way for these leeches to levy a user fee on the elderly, mentally ill, and indigent.  How about let Mohawk Ambulance deal with billing "frequent flyers"?

The $10,000 for this tax has already been included in the phony baloney City budget. Now they have to find a way to fleece the sheeple for this amount. Call it a renaissance revenue enhancer. They tried this a few years ago but had to drop it because of public outrage. Why can't the dispatcher flag the few bad apples that abuse the system? Amend the City code and make it a violation with a fine. The residents are paying a huge taxes for EMS, as well as private fees to MAS, this is adding insult to injury.

there are 'medicaid houses' to cover the uninsured/underinsured/underserved etc.......dont worry,,,,,it's a "there's the bad guy, it's not us" routine.......

CUT FROM THE BUDGET

STOP PROPPING UP A DEAD MAN

We have many friends and relatives that work as emt's and firemen. They admit that there are calls that are ridiculous and not worthy of a 911 call. HOWEVER.........they all agree that charging these folks is a joke since most either (a) don't have a clue or (b) ain't got the money!

So this is just another 'piss in the wind' law to no where!!!

It is just another embarrassing statement coming from the politicos that have 'created' an illiterate, dumbed down society.

THIS PART OF SOCIETY DON'T KNOW NO BETTER.

While it must be frustrating for first responders to deal with "non-emergency" 911 calls,  I raise the issue that for the person making the call it may very well seem like an emergency to them.   It is hard to judge what is going on in their lives and in their minds -- unless one walks a mile in someone else's shoes.  Therefore, i oppose charging for 'non-emergency" calls.

My Mom's neighbor in Albany was found dead about a month ago. He didn't report to work and the landlord got in and found him. Young guy in his 40's. He died from an abscessed tooth. I don't know the circumstances, maybe fear of dentist...........

Sometimes an abscess comes on quickly. I had a tooth ache about a year ago, woke up with a swollen face and neck. I did go to the ER as it was a weekend and I was afraid I wouldn't beable to breathe. Lots of antiobiotics. I get anxious going to the dentist but after that experience won't let it happen again.

As for paying a fee for non emergency calls. Aren't our property taxes paying for fire/EMT/police?  I had the fire dept here not long ago. woke up one am. and smelled something burning. did not see smoke. Called 911 and the firemen were very nice. They checked the whole house, had a handheld machine that tests for heat sources and only thing that was found was our fan was hot. First of course relieved that no fire, and thanked them. The fireman said no problem and if I smelled smoke again to call them immediately.

As for frivoulous calls like Box mentioned, if a dispatcher gets a call that their child won't clean the room, or asking for directions etc then wouldn't it be common sense that those calls would not be responded to?

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

While it must be frustrating for first responders to deal with "non-emergency" 911 calls,  I raise the issue that for the person making the call it may very well seem like an emergency to them.   It is hard to judge what is going on in their lives and in their minds -- unless one walks a mile in someone else's shoes.  Therefore, i oppose charging for 'non-emergency" calls.

Wow, for sure you are REALLY JEALOUS of homeowners, you REALLY want them to be taxed to death, to lose their homes, and be forced down to your level.

Just try being in an ER sometime, watch the people who are there for a little boo boo on their finger, I'm NOT talking a deep cut and bleeding profusely, but just a little paper cut, or a scrape on the knee.  Or how about, well you wouldn't know diddly squat about children, but the mothers who bring their kids to an ER for a fever of 99.   Or their kid is having asthma issues and mom is standing outside on the sidewalk of the hospital having a smoke.

If you listened to the report on Ch 6, you'd hear the things that are CLEARLY NOT an emergency, not even remotely close to an emergency!!!!!!!!!

But of course, the BIG (in more ways than one) SOCIALIST has posted here, just wants the taxpyaers to keep paying more and more and more.

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

While it must be frustrating for first responders to deal with "non-emergency" 911 calls,  I raise the issue that for the person making the call it may very well seem like an emergency to them.   It is hard to judge what is going on in their lives and in their minds -- unless one walks a mile in someone else's shoes.  Therefore, i oppose charging for 'non-emergency" calls.

So, if someone calls because the want the paramedics to bring them some toilet paper, guess the homeonwers should pay for that.

So you are saying that if someone drank too much (by choice) and calls 911 to ask for paramedics to go to Stewarts and bring the caller some ginger ale, that's what YOU think is a medical emergency simply because the caller thinks so and YOU think that the homeonwers should pay for it through higher taxes, right?

And you think it's justified that staff respond to a 911 call for how to change a TV channel, right?

These are the examples presented on the news today on Ch 6

You have proven you have failed in school because the above are NOT a defnition in any way, manner, shape, or form a definition of medical emergency

Grow up.



.

Just wondering does Proctors report of a burglary count as the first frivolous call  

THE POINT IS...............The money/fine/fee will NEVER be recouped by folks who are on public assistance, can't speak English or are uneducated!!!

It is just more nonsense coming from the inadequate dem machine!

Quoted from mikechristine1

So you are saying that if someone drank too much (by choice) and calls 911 to ask for paramedics to go to Stewarts and bring the caller some ginger ale, that's what YOU think is a medical emergency simply because the caller thinks so and YOU think that the homeonwers should pay for it through higher taxes, right?

The City should negotiate for MORE Mohawk Ambulance paramedics, and let a private business handle these calls as they see fit.  The City should get out of the business of determining a person's intentions for calling 9-11 and punishing people when they see fit.  If a person knew they were going to be billed for the ambulance or paramedic service, they would think twice before making a frivolous call.  That is the same reason the emergency room is filled with Medicaid patients, there is no personal financial stake.  

At the end of the day, if they decide to levy fines for "frivolous" emergency calls, it will be means tested.  The Union College kids will be fined, and the welfare recipient will not.

Who is to determine what is legit...but only after the fact......just another ruse to pull in revenue...

Hear the County is planning other fees for revenue......it's like this is going to fill the gap...

Government is too corrupt and greedy to take anything on the cuff....

I am not for a fine for 911 calls that are not emergency.....take some money out of the pockets of the Administration....

and all the perks they get.....