9-1-1 should be used to report an emergency situation that requires an immediate police, fire or medical response in order to preserve life or property.  

In order to help keep 9-1-1 lines available for reporting emergencies, 9-1-1 should not be used to report non-emergency incidents, or to request general information.  Common instances of inappropriate use of 9-1-1 are; calling to ask for the non-emergency number to the police or fire department, requesting traffic or road conditions, reporting power outages, etc.

9-1-1 operators will ask callers a variety of questions.  It is important to provide the operators with as much information as possible, including the exact address or location of the emergency, and any information about, medical conditions, suspect(s) or other pertinent details.  9-1-1 operators are able to enter information into their computers while other operators are relaying the information about the emergency situation to the police or fire units responding to the emergency.

When calling 9-1-1 from a land-line phone in a home or business, the telephone number and address is automatically displayed for the 9-1-1 operator.  However, when calling from a mobile or cellular phone, the operator only receives the telephone number and in some cases, the address of the cellular phone tower or “cell site” that the phone was nearest to when 9-1-1 was first dialed.  The information is not updated as the mobile phone changes cell sites so it is important to be able to tell the operator the exact location or address of the emergency. Advances in technology will soon allow for GPS information to be used to help identify a caller’s exact location.

Typically, 9-1-1 calls placed from mobile phones route to the local California Highway Patrol (CHP) call center.  Due to the high volume of calls received at the CHP call centers, it is possible that callers may be placed on hold or remain in queue until a 9-1-1 operator is available.  Callers that are placed on hold or are in queue for an operator should not hang up as that will further delay police or fire units from being dispatched.

In some cities, 9-1-1 calls placed from mobile phones route directly to the local police or fire department.  At present, the City of Santa Monica does not directly receive 9-1-1 calls placed from mobile phones.  The City of Santa Monica is in the process of evaluating the feasibility of directly accepting 9-1-1 calls from mobile phones and expects to be able to directly receive the calls by late 2008.

Recently, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phones have become increasingly popular.  These phones typically offer low cost calling plans and are highly portable as they work with any computer that has an internet connection.  Initially, VoIP phones were problematic for 9-1-1 service because the calls were routed to the local police or fire department over ten-digit non-emergency lines, and because the caller’s telephone number and location could not be determined.  The Federal Communications Commission now requires VoIP providers to route VoIP calls over 9-1-1 lines so that the calls receive the same priority attention as any other 9-1-1 call.  Additionally, the FCC requires that the caller’s telephone number and address as registered with the VoIP provider be sent to the 9-1-1 call center, just as any other 9-1-1 call.

While it is best to use 9-1-1 to report emergencies, it is also a good idea to have the non-emergency numbers for your local police and fire departments readily available at all times.  The non-emergency number for the Santa Monica Police Department is (310) 458-8491.  The non-emergency number for the Santa Monica Fire Department is (310) 458-8651.