911 (emergency telephone number)
911, sometimes written 9-1-1, is an emergency telephone number for Argentina, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Fiji, Jordan, Mexico, Pakistan, Maldives, Palau, Panama, Iraq, the Philippines, Sint Maarten, the United States,[2] and Uruguay, as well as the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), one of eight N11 codes.
Penalties for abuse or misuse of 911 can range from probation or community service to fines and jail time.
Offenders can also be ordered to undergo counseling and have their use of telephones restricted or suspended for a period of time as a condition of probation.
In over 98 percent of locations in Argentina, Sint Maarten, Panama, Belize, Anguilla, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Jordan, Ethiopia, Liberia, Saudi Arabia, Philippines, Uruguay, the United States, Iraq, Palau, Mexico, Tonga and Canada, dialing 911 from any telephone will link the caller to an emergency dispatch office—called a public safety answering point (PSAP) by the telecommunications industry—which can send emergency responders to the caller's location in an emergency.
In approximately 96 percent of the United States, the enhanced 911 system automatically pairs caller numbers with a physical address.
In 1964, the rape and murder of Kitty Genovese in New York City greatly increased the urgency to create a central emergency number.
The New York Times falsely reported that nobody had called the police in response to Genovese's cries for help.
[12][13][14][15][16] In 1967, the President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice recommended the creation of a single number that could be used nationwide for reporting emergencies.
[24] On September 15, 2010, AT&T announced that the State of Tennessee had approved a service to support a Text-to-911 trial statewide, where AT&T would be able to allow its users to send text messages to 911 PSAPs.
In all North American jurisdictions, special legislation permits emergency operators to obtain a 911 caller's telephone number and location information.
To locate a mobile telephone geographically, there are two general approaches: some form of radiolocation from the cellular network, or to use a Global Positioning System receiver built into the phone itself.
In response to E-911 challenges inherent to IP phone systems, specialized technology has been developed to locate callers in the event of an emergency.
Telephone companies, including wireless carriers, may be entitled to apply for and receive reimbursements for costs of their compliance with laws requiring that their networks be compatible with 911.
These fees defray the cost of providing the technical means for connecting callers to a 911 dispatch center; emergency services themselves are funded separately.
Some U.S. states required that all landline telephones connected to the network be able to reach 911, even if normal service has been disconnected (as for nonpayment).
[37] In addition, if a cellphone is connected to a cell tower in a different jurisdiction, which can happen often in a border community, the 911 call will go to the wrong dispatch center.
[38] As of 2018,[update] 80 percent of 911 calls in the United States were made on cell phones, but the ability to do so by text messaging was not required.
[39] Certain cell phone operating systems allow users to access local emergency services by calling any country's version of 911.
[43] In April 2008, an 18-month-old boy in Calgary, Alberta, died after a Toronto VoIP provider's 911 operator had an ambulance dispatched to the address of the family's previous abode in Mississauga, Ontario.
NENA has developed the North American 911 Resource Database which includes the National PSAP Registry.
