what is defined as an emergency
Unless you have had cause to dial 911 in some kind of police emergency situation, you won’t know just how quickly the police respond to such calls. Let’s hope we never do need to call out the police for some kind of emergency but if we do it’s worth knowing what kind of response times there are and what actually constitutes an emergency police situation.
In general, when we dial 911 it is for something we feel is an emergency police situation. However, what one person deems an emergency another will not, so what do police class as an emergency? In general, an emergency police situation or incident will be one where there is a threat to life. Violent crime, felonies in progress, juveniles under 12 missing and accidents with injuries are all classed as emergency police situations. It’s true to say that there is no definitive answer to what an emergency is, but police need to have some rules to govern what they respond to when.
We have all seen the silliest 911 calls that range from cats stuck up trees to a woman who rang asking for her son to be checked out at hospital as his school had a spate of computer viruses! The emergency police situations however are no laughing matters, stabbings, shootings, fatal accidents, fatal car crashes and drugs being sold are all police emergency situations and I don’t think anyone could disagree with that. Of course, if we are caught up in any kind of incident, our first thought is to dial 911, but a few seconds thought and a deep breath and you may think again about dialing that emergency number.
Whenever you do need the assistance of a police officer, there are other ways to get in touch if it isn’t an emergency police situation. Many police departments have a number for non-emergency situations, such as reporting traffic crimes or minor incidents. Of course, you can report anything in person at the police station. Many police departments now have email addresses you can use to report things also. It’s worth checking out what your local police department has in the way of alternative reporting methods, and many will have a website you can visit.
As said earlier, what one person sees as an emergency another won’t and it is for this reason we have police dispatchers. Emergency police calls to 911 will be prioritized by a dispatcher and where there is urgent need the police will be sent immediately. Many police departments rate their calls in order of priority, with priority 1 being police emergency situations. All calls to 911 will be dealt with and police dispatched as soon as possible. Normally a police dispatcher will tell you when to expect the police to arrive.
The main thing to consider before ringing 911 to report an emergency police matter is, is it an actual emergency situation. Just stopping to ask yourself that question should give you the answer you need. If any of the following are in progress, robbery, mugging, burglary, in progress car break-in, automobile accident, fire, or any other dangerous or violent crime then it is a 911 situation. Please don’t use 911 unless there is a genuine emergency police presence needed. Our police departments are already overstretched and responding to unnecessary 911 calls causes more drain on those overstretched resources.
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