Prank calling 911 is bad. Making a 911 call means that someone is in an emergency situation. 911 dispatchers will answer the calls as calmly as they could. They will ask relevant information about the caller, his emergency and his location. If in case, it is an emergency wherein lives of people are at stake, then the 911 dispatchers will automatically require the assistance from the police, fire department or paramedics.
In case the call turned out to be just a prank call, here are the possible consequences:
1. Prank Calls Are Illegal
The 911 hotline is intended for emergency-related incidents. Falsely reporting of incident other than emergency-related is not what the hotline is intended for. Time and energy are exerted just to save lives. Prank calling is considered a felony. Every citizen must be educated of the consequences of making a prank call. That there is a law punishing those who violates it.
2. Prank Calls Endangers People’s Lives and Property
They are considered to be dangerous when the call is supposed to be a call from someone who really needs immediate attention, assistance which lead to someone’s difficulty, distress or death. Worst case scenario is when the authorities who responded on that prank call will also be sacrificing their lives and property.
3. Pranksters May Be Arrested
Pranksters are the worst enemy of the 911 respondents. However, the 911 hotline traces the call which might reveal the pranksters and its whereabouts where authorities will arrest them. Every state has its own rules and regulations. The execution depends on the law which has jurisdiction of the prank call.
4. Possible Case of Mistaken Identity
There are a lot of prank calls which authorities respond believing to be true and happening during the call. Given wrong information about the situation, the authorities who will be responding might harm the wrong person and vice versa. The irresponsible call of the prankster may result harm to the wrong person.
5. Innocent Victim
If the authorities, responded to the wrong person and wrong place, and the situation is not favorable on the person who was being confronted, it may lead on arresting or killing an innocent person. The authorities should be diligent and cautious with this kind of situation not to apprehend someone who does not have any involvement with the issue.
6. Wasting Precious Time
Call dispatchers tend to get busy in their everyday life. There is no room for jokes. The hotline receives many calls per shift and if those calls are just pranksters, people with real emergency might not be given immediate rescue. The time allotted by the rescuers to a prankster is wasted and the effort will definitely be detrimental on their part. They could have rescued someone who need immediate assistance.
7. Waste of 911 Resources
Eventually, 911 hotline was launched to help each and every citizen of a state or a country during an emergency. Its purpose is strictly intended for emergency circumstances. Do you have an idea how many resources are allotted for this hotline? How long does the 911 respondents determine if a call is a prank call? How much is the total cost of maintaining an emergency hotline like 911?
The government is paying for the utilities, salaries of personnel in-charge of the 911 hotline including 911 respondents and dispatchers, and the cost of maintaining an emergency hotline. If the 911 hotline is taken for granted and abuse by pranksters, despondently, the government resources will just be wasted.
8. Non-emergency Calls May Be A Serious Problem of the 911 Center
With the number of calls per day and per shift, the 911 dispatchers encountered bulky prank calls. That will definitely be a problem. The 911 Center should determine the sources of these prank calls and why pranksters exist. They should create a strategy to lessen or if not to limit non-emergency calls. They should think of technical ways which will provide a more systematic handling of calls to adequately addressed the issue.
For someone who makes a prank call, maybe, it’s cool, fun, adventurous on their part until somebody will be put into trouble. However, it is no joke when someone accidentally got killed. People should only dial 911 if they cannot deal the situation especially if it’s really an emergency. In case, one accidentally called 911 without the intention of reaching out for help or no emergency at all, he may just tell the dispatcher that he dialed unintentionally the hotline.
To be able to help 911 Center to act on its purpose, we must know when is the time to call 911. Each member of a family in the community must know the consequences of abusing or misusing the hotline. They must be aware that 911 exist for emergency-related purposes which no ordinary citizen could bear.