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Oklahoma 911 call centers are experiencing a large amount of accidental 911 calls due to safety features available on mobile devices including iPhones and Apple watches.
According to the Oklahoma 911 Management Authority and the State 911 Coordinator, 12 percent of 911 calls in Oklahoma are hang-ups that have to be followed up on. Almost all of these calls are considered accidents.
For each accidental 911 call, dispatchers must follow up to determine if there is a real emergency or not, adding excess time and attention away from intentional 911 calls.
The 911 call centers also receive thousands of calls each year that are open lines, which means dispatchers can hear background noise or people talking, but no one is telling them what the problem is. In those cases, dispatchers remain on the line or call back to find out if the caller needs help…
