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Wednesday, September 11, 2013 The Current â– Community Guide 2013
Calling the police: The 411 on 311 and 911 By BRADY HOLT Current Staff Writer
Who ya gonna call?
t’s a lesson drilled into our heads from an early age: When you have an emergency, you dial 911. But what is an emergency? A fire or pressing medical problem is an easy call. So is a crime in progress. Residents’ most common uncertainty is over whether their call is urgent, according to officials at the D.C. Office of Unified Communications, which oversees both the 911 and 311 call centers. The test recommended by the Unified Communications Office and the Metropolitan Police Department: “If there’s an inkling in your mind that you need police for something, we want [you] to call to 911,â€? Stephen Williams, chief of operations at the communications agency, said in an interview. With your 911 call, you’ll be placed through to a specially trained operator who will evaluate your issue and either contact a police dispatcher or, if no police response is necessary, transfer your call to 311. Reports of suspicious activity are particularly crucial, safety officials say, because officers need to be able to respond quickly to the scene. Callers to 311 spend much more time on hold, and 311 calltakers can’t connect to a police dispatcher. “I can play you dozens of 911 calls that start: ‘I don’t think this is an emergency, but ‌ ,’â€? said Williams. “And then officers get there and it’s serious.â€? But there are times when the Office of Unified Communications asks residents to call 311 instead. If you want to make a police report for a minor crime, like a car breakin or stolen license plates, a 311 call-taker can take your information. Things get hazy when you don’t have an emergency but you want police to respond — in the case of a
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â– Fires â– Medical emergencies â– Crimes in progress or that just occurred â– Serious crimes, regardless of when they occurred, including burglaries, stolen autos, robberies/muggings and assaults â– Cases with the potential for identity theft, including theft of a wallet that includes a credit or debit card, checkbook or personal information â– Suspicious people or activities â– Traffic accidents
311
â– Minor property crimes,
such as thefts and car break-ins, unless the incident is in progress or just occurred â– Lost or found property valued at $5,000 or less â– Noise complaints â– Questions about emergency services â– Non-emergency city service requests
mpdc.dc.gov
■Lost property ■Lost vehicle tags ■Thefts and car breakins ■Destruction of property ■Damage to property ■Use only when you’re certain no police followup is needed
noise complaint, for instance, or when you want an officer to take a look at your shattered car window in person. Until recently, the communications agency advised residents to call 911 for such incidents — any time a police response was needed. But the 911 Purity Amendment Act, passed last year by the D.C. Council, prohibits the city from using or marketing the 911 line for anything but emergencies. So Williams now advises residents to call 311 for non-emergency police matters. However, those who request an officer to respond will then be transferred to 911, because 311 operators don’t have a link to police dispatchers. (Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, who authored the 911 Purity law, recently told The Current that this system does not follow the law. Williams said his agency is in compliance.) An average of 13 calls are transferred daily from 311 to 911, and while an average of seven calls are
Police watch commanders
■24/7 hotline to reach a supervisor in a particular police district with an urgent complaint regarding police services received ■1st District, 202-4377632 ■2nd District, 202-4384421 ■3rd District, 202-2767462 ■4th District, 202-3917177 More Metropolitan Police Department nonemergency contact information is available on the department’s website, mpdc.dc.gov.
transferred daily from 911 to 311, according to Williams. The Office of Unified Communications handles 1.4 million 911 calls and 2 million 311 calls per year, he said. The communications agency further recommends that residents register for the free Smart911 service, which links telephone numbers to online user profiles. When a Smart911 user places a 911 call, the operator can see the profile associated with that phone, with as much detail as the user chose to share. This can include the caller’s name, home and work address, medical history, a description of the home and who lives there, and even special instructions for how to locate and access the property (such as a security code). Visit smart911.com to register. Besides 911 and 311, there are a few other ways to get in touch with police. Some incidents, such as a car break-in, can be reported on the department website, mpdc.dc.gov, instead of by phone. Residents are urged not to file the same report in both places, and only to file online when they’re sure the incident doesn’t require police follow-up. Contact information for police service area lieutenants and other police officials is also available online, and residents can message them directly with questions or to report ongoing safety concerns. And when residents have an urgent problem with the service they’re receiving from an officer who responded to their 911 call, they can call the 24/7 hotline for each police district’s watch commander. But 911 remains the place for emergencies — and many police officers have tales of residents who didn’t get that memo. One officer recounted at a recent community meeting that a crime victim had emailed him personally to report the incident. The officer, who was on vacation at the time, saw the message only days later.