Thousands of hang-up calls to 911 prompt policy changes


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SALT LAKE CITY — Inside Salt Lake City's 911 dispatch center, the phone rings around the clock. From car accidents, to robberies to domestic violence situations, there's no shortage of calls for help.

But interspersed between real emergencies, KSL TV's investigative team discovered there were 6,545 hang-up calls to 911 in 2016. That's an average of about 18 hang-up calls a day.

"It's become a major problem," said the center's deputy director, Lisa Burnette.

Late last fall, KSL reporter Debbie Dujanovic attended a meeting at the Salt Lake City Police Department where Burnette raised serious concerns to several police commanders. She said the problem had gotten out of hand and was draining law enforcement resources.

Immediately after that meeting, KSL's investigative team requested to see data and Burnette began auditing hang-up calls to figure out why it was happening and what can be done to solve it.

"As a result of this story and digging into these numbers, I think we're going to be surprised at what we find. I already am," she said.

First, there were about 4,000 911 hang-ups from cellphones last year, compared to almost 2,100 from landlines in homes and businesses.

Thousands of hang-up calls to 911 prompt policy changes

Callers' back pockets and purses can accidentally dial 911, kids playing video games inadvertently call, witnesses to car accidents and crimes notice police already have arrived and disconnect, or, believe it or not, some people call 911 just to see what will happen.

This adds up to a huge waste of law enforcement's time.

According to current policy, a dispatcher receives a hang-up call and calls right back. If no one answers, and most people don't, police are sent to check the area.

Officer Bruce Evans explains that when it comes to cellphones, technology gives them a general area to check, but it's not precise. In fact, that area can be the equivalent of up to two football fields away from where a phone signal hits. That's 200 yards in all directions.

"It takes time driving and searching the area," Evans said.

Officers drive the area slowly, with windows rolled down, looking and listening for signs of trouble.

Twenty years on the job, Evans says these searches have never led him to the person who hung up their cellphone.

But 911 hang-ups from landlines eat up a lot of time too.

Because officers don't know what awaits them on the other side of the door, they are required to wait for a backup officer to arrive so they can approach a home together.

The day a KSL TV camera crew rode with Evans, it took 30 minutes to resolve a single 911 hang-up call that came from a home. The caller had inadvertently misdialed an area code, got 911, and disconnected.

Thousands of hang-up calls to 911 prompt policy changes

It's important to note that of the thousands of hang-up calls last year in Salt Lake City, Burnette's review showed only three callers really needed police help.

But these can be serious situations, like domestic arguments, where a victim dials but is forced to hang up.

Although low in numbers, dispatchers realize it's critical that they keep their policy to call back all 911 hang-ups.

However, in light of what KSL TV's investigative team found, protocols in other areas are expected to change.

Burnette will recommend shrinking the area officers must check on cellphone hang-ups. She anticipates this will save hundreds of police hours.

She'll also revamp how hang-up data is tracked, to better detect if other changes should be made.

And the city will launch a campaign to educate residents that if you hang-up on 911, please answer the call back from dispatchers.

"Just say this is not an emergency. Everything is fine."

By doing this, police don't need to respond.

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Debbie Dujanovic

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