Although cellphones have made it a lot easier for people to get help in emergencies, dispatchers on the North Olympic Peninsula say 9-1-1 pocket dials are on the rise.
Pocket dials — when a number is inadvertently dialed on a cellphone in a pocket or a purse — or other misdials demand as much attention from law enforcement as emergency calls that are actual calls for help.
Every time dispatchers receive a 9-1-1 call, legitimate or not, the information is relayed to law enforcement officers.
Police officers and deputies often must stop what they’re doing and drive to the location of the caller to make sure everything is OK.
Steve Romberg, manager of Peninsula Communications, or PenCom, in Clallam County said about 75 percent of 9-1-1 hang-ups originate from cellphones or smartphones.
Dispatchers in Clallam County received 444 9-1-1 hang-ups and 54 9-1-1 misdials in November alone, Romberg said.
That means that 18 percent of the 2,772 calls that PenCom received that month were either hang-ups or misdials.
Misdials occur when people stay on the line after they reach a 9-1-1 dispatcher by mistake, rather than hanging up when they realize they erroneously dialed emergency dispatchers.
Janet Silvus, director of Jefferson Communications, or JeffCom, said a law enforcement unit is dispatched on two to five 9-1-1 hang-ups a day in East Jefferson County.
“Misdials take up resources and time,” Silvus said.
“That’s just part of the job.”
PenCom last month received 1,662 9-1-1 calls from cell phones, 1,092 emergency calls from land lands and 18 from Voice over Internet Protocol, Romberg said.
Romberg said many misdials occur when people try to dial the 9-1-2 prefix for cellphones common in Clallam County.
PenCom is a division of the Port Angeles Police Department that provides emergency dispatch services to the Port Angeles, Sequim and Forks police departments, the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office, Olympic Ambulance, Forks Ambulance, Lower Elwha and LaPush tribal police, Olympic National Park rangers and Clallam County Fire District Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.
To prevent misdials, Romberg said it’s a good idea to lock the keypad on a hand-held phone.
Donated cell phones are able to reach 9-1-1 even after the phone has been dropped from a cell phone company.
These phones can’t receive incoming calls, however.
“If folks give an old, retired cellphone to a child, take the battery out of it,” Romberg said.
“Those phones will call 9-1-1, but nobody can call them back.”
After taking an 9-1-1 misdial or hang-up, dispatchers will advise law enforcement of prior history from the ohone number or location.
“We advise law enforcement every time,” Romberg said.
“Law enforcement takes that information and decides whether or not to respond.
“Very often they do go.”
Silvus had no data on the number of misdials or hang-ups the agency has received.
But she provided several tips for avoiding 9-1-1 misdials.
“On cellphones, locking the keypad is definitely one of them,” she said.
Other tips include keep cellphones out of back pockets, take your time when dialing and be careful when cleaning phones.
Older portable land line phones have been known to emit a distress signal when the battery gets too low and dial 9-1-1 automatically, Silvus said.
JeffCom 911 Communications provides dispatching services for first responders in Jefferson County, including the East Jefferson Fire-Rescue and the Port Ludlow, Brinnon, Quilcene and Discovery Bay fire departments; the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, the Port Townsend Police Department and the Jefferson County Emergency Management Department.
Silvus emphasized that no one should hesitate to call for help when it is needed.
She said that some people are hesitant to call 9-1-1 because they don’t want to bother anybody.
“It’s very difficult to get the elderly to call 9-1-1,” Silvus said.
“A person should call 9-1-1 anytime they feel a situation is an emergency to them.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
