Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by catalogia 2404 days ago
In most of the country, if you call any number other than 911 to report any crime you'll be told to call 911 next time. When I called in my smashed car window, they told me to use 911 next time. I've heard similar from others.

Anyway, reporting a crime that is in progress certainly warrants 911. There is no ambiguity there.
1 comments
ryandrake 2404 days ago
Where on earth did they tell you to call 911 over a broken window?? Everywhere I’ve ever lived, 911 is for emergencies only. It is not a general “call the police” line. People treating it as such is why many PSAPs are overloaded and sometimes real emergencies get dropped. Please don’t call 911 unless it is a life threatening emergency!
link
catalogia 2403 days ago
> Where on earth did they tell you to call 911 over a broken window??

The obscure backwater of Seattle.

911 is not exclusively for life-threatening emergencies as you are suggesting. It's for emergencies more generally, and that generally includes crime reports. Particularly reports of crimes that are in progress. The crime I was reporting (the burglarizing of my car) was not in progress which is why I didn't call 911 (and consequently received a brief lecture about using 911 in the future.) But had I witnessed the crime in progress, I wouldn't have hesitated to call 911 and nor should anybody else.

Here is the advice of Mary Ellen Carroll, executive director of the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management: https://abc7news.com/when-to-call-911-vs-311/5300051/

    When to call 911:
    * Is there danger to life, property or the environment?
    * Is a crime in progress?
    * Is there a medical emergency / need for immediate help?
    * Is there a fire?
Note that the advice she gives is contrary to the advice I received from Seattle's 311, in that she says to use 311 to report crimes that aren't in progress. However she says that 911 should be used for crimes that are in progress without the requirement that those crimes be life threatening. (And also for injuries which require medical attention but aren't necessarily life threatening.)

So, to reiterate, when it comes to crimes that are in progress there is really no ambiguity.

link