By Elizabeth Stieber
Times Staff Writer
911 isn’t just for emergencies.
That’s right. Those three digits that place a caller in direct contact with immediate assistance don’t just have to be dialed if a crime is in progress or someone has been seriously hurt. Acts of vandalism and other quality-of-life issues also can be reported by calling 911.
There might be a fair share of Philly residents who know that, but as Oxford Circle Civic Association president Nancy Hampson sees it, there are a fair share who don’t.
“So many people don’t realize that it’s there for everything,” Hampson said.
She has found that residents in her neighborhood, particularly older folks, don’t think they should dial 911 because it’s “only for emergencies.”
“We’re having a hard time educating people that it’s there for all types of calls,” Hampson said.
At least once during each monthly meeting of her civic organization, she’ll tell a resident with a neighborhood problem to use 911, she said. Hampson also distributes fliers around Oxford Circle to spread the message.
Kevin Corr, the 2nd Police District’s community relations officer, understands Hampson’s struggle to inform Oxford Circle residents about the uses of 911. Corr attends most of the civic association’s meetings and often reiterates Hampson’s recommendation.
Corr said the police department is having success in enlightening people to dial those three little numbers.
Police vehicles once had Call 911 to stop a crime or save a life printed on the sides of the cars, Corr said. That message hasn’t gone away from people’s minds even though today’s cop cars just have the simple instruction, Dial 911.
“(The police) have done such a successful job putting into people’s heads that certain people still have it in their head,” Corr said.
Hesitant callers aren’t saving the police department time, they actually are doing a “disservice,” Corr added.
“It’s a detriment to their safety that they’re reluctant to use it,” he said.
Though dialing 911 for lower-priority situations has been promoted for more than 15 years, Hampson has found from her civic association experiences that people still need to be educated to dial for any situation.
“It’s not a perfect system, but it’s all we have,” she said.
According to the police department’s public affairs division, it used to be that the public called 911 for emergencies and 215-231-3131 for all non-emergency situations. However, that phone number was disbanded in 1987.
“911 is much easier to remember,” explained public affairs Cpl. Jim Pauley. “This way, the department provides direct service, police service, and whether the fire department is needed.”
Each call is routed to the police radio room in the Police Administration Building. As soon as a dispatcher picks up the phone, the caller’s address and phone number appear on a screen.
Non-emergency cases — mostly quality-of-life issues, for example — are placed lowest on the system’s priority list.
That system categorizes phone calls based on how quickly police response is needed. The priority assignment ranges from 0 to 6. High-priority calls — a 0 ranking gets immediate response — include crimes in progress, burglaries and persons seeking medical attention.
Situations such as illegal parking are categorized a priority 4, while a disorderly crowd is ranked as a category 5.
Quality-of-life issues like open hydrants, loitering, vandalism, defective street lights, sanitation complaints, harassment, lost property and animal complaints are considered a priority 6, the lowest level. Those assignments are handled by the Differential Police Response Unit.
The downside of making a low-priority call is that police could take hours to respond; during that time, the resident might do better to resort to a directory of city phone numbers for agencies that address specific quality-of-life issues.
Every 911 call, however, is recorded in a police database, which can be extremely helpful to police officers, Corr explained.
“It’s a very useful tool, especially when determining a problem location,” he said.
That could be a house known for occupants who play loud music or host underage drinking. Police can search the database and almost instantly have records dating back to two years of all the complaint calls about a particular location.
No matter the situation, police ask that the 911 caller provide as much information as possible. Start by stating if police, fire or medical services is needed, and answer as many of the dispatcher’s questions as possible.
Stay on the line with the dispatcher until he instructs otherwise, and always provide your name, address and phone number.
Pauley stressed that people shouldn’t hesitate to call 911.
“If someone needs police service, all they need to do is call 911 and a person directs you to the right services,” Pauley said. “It’s very simple.” ••
Reporter Elizabeth Stieber can be reached at 215-354-3036 or estieber@phillynews.com