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Careers: Police/More information about 911 procedures

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Expert: - 5/6/2009


Question
Jack,
I need to know how does the 911 works? What are their procedures? How do 911 distributes along US, where do the operators work? and, is there a diference in the procedures or distribution depending on the location? Do you know about a book or web page where I can get especialized information. Thanks.

Answer
Don't they have a 911 system or something similar in Peru?  I can't believe that in the big cities that they don't have a special emergency line for the police and/or fire department.

Anyway to make it simple almost every county in the United States has a "911" system.  If someone wants to be connected immediately to a police or fire department dispatcher they simply call 911 on their telephone.  Ideally the phone should be answered immediately but when it is very busy sometimes the phone might ring for awhile.  And this is something that many people are not aware of.  With everyone carrying cell phones a hundred people might pass by a car wreck or a burning building and half of them would call 911 resulting in an overload of the 911 system.

I am not sure what you mean by "procedures" since there is no national 911 system.  Each county or big city has its own 911 system and their own procedures so its impossible to say exactly.  Generally someone calls 911, an operator asks what the emergency is, and the call is routed to the correct call taker.

I don't understand the rest of your question and I do not know of any web sites.  That would be fairly easy to find I would think.

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Jack Toomey

Expertise

U.S.: I am an expert in this category for the purpose of giving young people an idea what the hiring process involves for the position of police officer. I am getting a flood of questions from young people who are being influenced by unrealistic television shows. I'd ask you to consider that when you watch police shows on television that they are NOT realistic and most of what you see does not happen in real life. Please do not ask me about potential jail sentences that you, your friends, or family might receive in court. There is no way for me to know that. I am NOT a probation officer so I cannot answer questions about probation and parole matters. I am a retired police officer with 26 years experience.I worked in a variety of assignments including investigations, homicide, sex crimes, runaway investigations, missing persons, and fraud.I also dealt with the general public during that time giving a wide range of advice on matters such as domestic disputes, problem solving, teenage problems, civil/criminal matters, and dealing with the mentally ill. I am available to give sound and reasonable advice which can solve most problems. Please do not ask me to do homework questions or online interviews. Young people should not rely on the Internet for interviews. Local police officers are normally very agreeable to assist students with interviews and surveys.

Experience

Worked as a police officer/detective for 26 years.

Graduate of the University of Maryland.B.S. in Law Enforcement.Attended numerous schools and training courses involving investigations, interviewing, interrogations, crime detection, domestic violence, and others. Recognized in court as an expert witness.

Received numerous awards during my police career for expert investigations. Handled the most sensitive and confidential investigations. In 1999 I won an award for my work with high school students while working in my new career in a large suburban high school.

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