Local Sheriff’s offices are seeing an increase in accidental 911 calls. It’s creating a drain on resources.
So far this month, the Langlade County Emergency Dispatch has gotten more than 159 accidental 911 calls and more than 700 so far this year.
Langlade County Sheriff Mark Westen didn’t have the exact numbers of how big of an increase that was to past years.
“It was enough of an increase that the dispatch supervisor advised that there was concern,” said Westen.
Langlade County isn’t the only one seeing an increase in the accidental calls.
As WXPR reported earlier this month, the Vilas County Sheriff’s Office has seen an increase this year.
The Lincoln Sheriff’s Office gave WXPR numbers going back to 2018.
That year, the sheriff’s office got more than 1,454 accidental 911 calls.
That number has increased each year with more than 2,000 accidental calls last year.
It’s on track to have just as many this year with 960 accidental calls so far.
Lincoln County and Sheriff Westen point to smart phone technology attributing to at least some of the calls.
People will put the phone in cup holders, pockets, or purses. The side power button will hit things. If it’s hit enough times in a row, it will call 911.
“We just want to make sure that people are more mindful where their phones are and what the capabilities of the phones are to make those connections. It’s all wonderful technology, but at times it can be detrimental to the process also,” said Westen.
Every accidental 911 call can be a potential drain on resources.
Dispatch has to call back if the caller hangs up, potentially taking them away from an actual emergency call. Westen gave an example of one coming in during a major car accident.
“Those generate a lot of 911 calls, inherently, and now all of the sudden we get an accidental that comes in during that same process it can really take away from the time the dispatchers need mobilize resources and communicate with them as this bad crash is unfolding. Now they have to clear an accidental 911 call,” he said.
Westen says the best thing you can do if you accidently call 911 is stay on the line or answer when a dispatcher calls back and explain what happened.
“We take every single 911 call very seriously and we want to make that we have a solid understanding whether or not it was an accidental call or if there is truly something going on that requires additional resources whether that’s EMS, fire, or law enforcement services,” said Westen.
Sheriff’s offices may send deputies to a location if dispatchers can’t get ahold of someone.
