Nearly 30 percent of calls to local emergency centers are 'butt dials'


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WEST VALLEY CITY — Emergency 911 dispatchers are as busy as they've ever been.

Add to that a growing number of accidental dials and hang ups, and a big chunk of their time is wasted in times where seconds count.

For the dispatchers at the Valley Emergency Communication Center, or VECC, accidental dials and hang ups account for nearly 29 percent of all calls.

When you consider the center gets 2,000 calls in an average day and 1 million a year, that's a lot of calls wasting their time.

Photo: KSL-TV
Photo: KSL-TV

A recent study in San Francisco revealed similar numbers.

If you butt dial 911, or otherwise call and then hang up, the 911 dispatcher has to call you back. If you don't answer that time, they have to call you back a second time just to make sure there was not a legitimate emergency.

"That could be somebody who has just collapsed, just fainted or is having a heart attack, or is choking," said Gigi Smith, a VECC police operations manager.

All mobile phones must be able to make an emergency call without the screen being unlocked, and that leads to accidental dials. Other times, a number of people will witness the same emergency and call 911.

"On average, it takes about a minute and a half to two minutes to call back," Smith said.

Wasted time on those calls can be costly when others are on the line with life and death emergencies.

"If you do accidentally call 911, it's best just to stay on the line, let us know that it was an accident so we don't have to make that second call," she said.

Additional suggestions from VECC
  • Familiarize yourself with your phone so that your emergency icon won't activate accidentally.
  • Be aware of where you place your phone, whether it's in your pocket or somewhere else it's liable to be accidentally activated.
  • Utilize your phone's screen lock passcode as a way to avoid accidentally dialing.

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Jed Boal

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