Who do you call? 911 or the Local PD?

IT DEPENDS!

It depends on:

1) The population in your area.
2) Where the 911 center/s is/are in your area.
3) If you are calling from a cell phone
- From a cell phone you may be routed to the REGIONAL call center
4) How busy they are as your call is received (are you number 1 or number 19, etc.

It depends. There is NO hard-fast rule, anywhere.

Funny thing about calling the seven-digit local police number: I only ever called one once, I was thinking my apartment had been burglarized but not sure; I figured out I was right while the officer was on his way. The strange thing was, when the dispatcher answered, she said:
"Communicate if you can."

I said, "Oh sorry! I thought this was the non-emergency number!"

She assured me it was.

It depends where you are and how you call...

Where I am if you call 911 from a cell phone you will get the Oklahoma City 911 center. They don't have direct contact with the local law enforcement, emergency medical, or fire departments. I am in Shawnee, Ok, and that is 30 miles east of Oklahoma City but all the cell sites are tied to the Oklahoma City switch.
I have programmed the local 7 digit numbers into our cell phones.
Check your local coverage and find out who answers the 911 calls.
Brian

I deal with dispatch quite a bit for various reason, so I know their number by heart. If you are calling in an emergency in my area, you are just waisting valuable time. Typical response time around here is over 2 hrs. You are best off dealing with the situation yourself and then calling the cops to file a report after everything is over. - Oh yea, the sheriffs dept. around here doesn't like to do paper work either....

When you have 911 service, there is NO emergency Local PD number to call and they would route the call to 911 for dispatching.

My county I grew up in had the last 911 service installed in my state.

People were dying waiting for the ambulance to get dispatched when local numbers were called.

My grandfather did.

The local yokels are no where near as good as a 911 center with process driven practices.

911 is going to get you the quickest response. Calling the PD will get you either an answering machine or a desk officer who probably won't know how to route the call and might even tell you to hang up and dial 911 (like you hear so much on you're doctor's office interactive voicemail).

911 calls from cell phones will route the call depending on what tower the signal hits. When I worked at a center in Eastern Ohio we would get calls from West Virginia and they would get some of ours. We would simply on-button transfer to the appropriate agence.

The FCC once mandated that all dispatch centers to be Phase I compliant by 1998. Most are still not Phase I compliant. Phase 1 would give the center a call-back number. Phase II compliancy would give a location from triangulating the signal from multiple towers. There aren't many centers yet that are Phase II compliant.

It's a start but response to your home also depends on whether you live in a rural area covered by an understaffed Sheriff's Department and volunteer firefighters and EMTs or by paid responders in a city.

In my county, a local fire department handles all 911 dispatch for the entire county.

There is a regular number you can call, but AFAIK, it goes to the same dispatchers.

911 vs police dept

I recently started working as a police dispatcher locally, and you would be amazed at the stupid things that get called into 911, and the horrid emergencies that are called in on the business line.

I get 911 calls regularly from people who found that the car had been scratched at Wally World.

I have had hostage situations and shootings called into the regular line.

Here's the thing to remember: 911 will ALWAYS get priority. If both are ringing, and they often are, guess which one gets answered first? and if 911 is a real emergency, we will ignore the business line, knowing if you really have an emergency you will hang up and dial 911.

Also, 911 calls show up on the map, so I know where you are, and your callback number shows up in case we are disconnected. This does NOT happen on the regular line.

Hope this helps. Obviously, this may not apply where YOU live, but the system is becoming standardized nationally so it should be close enough to use as a yardstick.

911.

If you're calling from within the boundaries of a municipality, your call will instantly be forwarded to the local PD. If you're in an unincorporated territory (or the precise origin of the call is uncertain), your call will be forwarded to the county, who dispatches deputy sheriffs and deputy constables.

In my rural community, 911 and dispatch is the same small office. Either number gets you the same operator.

Town I'm in the PD number and 911 both get picked up by the same person, he is also the one who handles the radios to dispatch police, fire or ambulance.

The key phrase appears to be "Phase II Enhanced Wireless 911" for cell phone access; the service is provided at "Public Safety Answering Points."

For example

Verizon Wireless Activates Enhanced 911 Service In Metro Atlanta

ATLANTA, GA, October 16, 2000 — Verizon Wireless has become the first wireless provider to offer Enhanced 9-1-1 (E9-1-1) service to its customers in the complete Metropolitan Atlanta area. The service, available in Catoosa, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fulton, Gwinnett, Jasper, Paulding, Polk, Rockdale and Walton counties, gives local emergency operators the number and general location of callers dialing 9-1-1 from a wireless phone.

"We have significantly improved the ability of wireless callers dialing 9-1-1 in the Atlanta area to provide dispatchers with accurate information," said Gordon Cook, executive director of network engineering, Georgia Region. "The E9-1-1 system provides dispatchers with a call-back number and approximate location of the caller, assisting them in sending the appropriate help more quickly and efficiently."

Previously, 9-1-1 operators had to obtain location information verbally from callers who dialed in on wireless phones – which could mean serious delays in response time if the caller was unfamiliar with the area or was injured or hurt. Now, the 9-1-1 operator will have near-instant access to this information so local police, medical personnel and fire departments can respond more quickly to the thousands of callers annually who dial 9-1-1 from wireless phones.

The E9-1-1 system works on a network upgraded with special routing and locating capabilities. When a caller dials 9-1-1 from a wireless phone, Verizon Wireless’ network uses location identifying-technology to determine the specific cellular tower and antenna that is serving that caller. This information is sent to a database, which then routes the call to the closest emergency operator within seconds. The receiving operator’s computer screen displays the caller’s phone number and general location based on the coverage area of that cellular tower and antenna combination.

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Serendipitously, here's a map of the Atlanta area PSAP coverage.

From the sounds of the posts above mine, it seems that experiences vary with location and department. However, I'll offer mine.

I'm quite familiar with calling the police for professional reasons. Calling 911 just takes extra time, whereas when I call the local PD I always get an answer immediately from somebody who is usually quite competent. They'll generally transfer me to the radio room to give details of why I'm calling, but by that time I'll already hear them in the background, radioing out details to get police to the scene. They show up typically within 2 or 3 minutes, even if its not an emergency.
That all being said, my local PD is -not- typical. They're quite well renowned and well funded.

I call the Brady Center in Washington, D.C. at (202) 289-7319. They tell me there's no problem and I go back to sleep along with many other people in the United States.

lmao robert

In my area 911 and local dispatch is the same so it doesn't matter. Only difference between the lines is the 911 incoming probably has a different ring tone and maybe puts different information on the computer screen automatically.

I think I've called 911 (couldn't find the local number for whatever reason) twice and both times immediately said "non-emergency put me on hold if you have another call". Once they did without saying anything or hesitation and came back to me in a few minutes, the thanked me for stating it was a non-emergency call. The other time the lady said thanks but we're fine right now.

If the situation really is serious enough to require immediate action to save my life (or that of someone I love) I will dial either 9mm or 357. 911 is for reporting the incident after the threat is dealt with.

One thing to note about 911: if you call from a cell phone where I live, it can take nearly 10 minutes to get through to an operator.

I've called it a few times while on the road, to report dangerous debris on the freeway (my wife's friend was killed when her motorcycle hit a ladder in traffic). I think the quickest we got through was a few minutes.

So, use a land line if you can, at least around here. And get the gun out first. When seconds count, the police are only minutes away.

in my area its 911 for emergency calls, the PD has a number for non-emergency calls.
So obviously 911 sends help faster than calling the PD.
Generally in my city police response time is between 2-5 minutes. they're pretty fast around here. Its partially because we have well maintained wide streets and roads, and partially because there is always a car stationed in every 1 or 2 communities. Irvine has one of the lowest crime rates in the nation, probably because a criminal doesn't have enough time to rob the place at gun point and get away before the cops get there.

I live and work in Pierce County, Washington, made famous by many high energy episodes of 'COPS'. I have been a dispatcher for the Pierce County Sheriff's Department for 13+ years. My professional advice follows, but bear in mind this is how our county works, and may not necessarily be the way your municipality, county, or state functions. It is best you check with the appropriate agencies within your area to see how they operate.

Always dial 911 for many of the reasons addressed here; many department offices are not staffed 24 hours like a 911 center is, so you may not reach someone if you dial after normal business hours. In an emergency, if your cel phone is not handy (many people have stopped memorizing phone numbers, relying on their cel phone directory to help them) or becomes inoperable, you may not know the number for the local precinct or station. However, in an emergency, you will remember to dial 911.

If you are in a situation where you do not know your location and you are on a landline, your location will show up if your jurisdiction is ANI/ALI compliant (and most of the country finally is). ANI is the automatic number indicator which immediately shows me what number you have dialed from; ALI is the automatic location indicator that shows me where you are when you placed the 911 call from that line. However, this is no guarantee and you should always know where you are. Simply saying, "I'm at the Starbucks downtown and I need help now!" is not good enough. If you're like our county, there are seven Starbucks within a ten mile stretch on a road named 'Meridian' so your guess is as good as mine when I get someone who screams that into the phone, then hangs up.

My point, and sorry for it being so longwinded, is that if you are truly in an emergency situation and panic sets in, you may quickly forget where you are, but enhanced 911 can assist in locating you. With cel phones, you may not immediately connect to the right dispatch center, so the possibility of telling the dispatcher where you are so you can be directed to the right emergency center exists. Be patient and stay on the phone. Don't hang up because I can't always guarantee I can reach you when I call back.

Lastly, it has been my experience that non trained personnel often answer phones at the stations and precincts. They are not law enforcement, and they are less than trained to take pertinent information when you call. They may not know what to ask and why, and also may not have access to a radio or the ability to relay information promptly to field units. Leave it to the professionals, both in the field and on the phone, and if you can, dial 911.

Again, check with your local jurisdictions to find out how they operate. I cannot guarantee that what we do is the same for any one agency across our county, much less the country. I hope that if you ever have to dial 911, you get prompt, accurate service and that your emergency is properly handled.

If the situation really is serious enough to require immediate action to save my life (or that of someone I love) I will dial either 9mm or 357. 911 is for reporting the incident after the threat is dealt with.

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There are multiple reasons to call 911. Shooting your loved one probably isn't the best way to deal with a heart attack. Police response time of 5 vs 10 minutes probably won't make much difference. EMS will.

Depending what phone:
Cell - call local PD unless you're on a freeway. Cell phones are routed to CHP, so if you're on a freeway that's good. if you're at home 10 miles from the nearest freeway, that's bad.

VOIP - again call local PD. VOIP can route your call to 911 three states away. (this has personally happened to my brother when his child had a seizure)

Landline - 911.

Satellite Phone - obviously local PD.

I call Kimber, CZ, Remington or one of my other good friends....I have quite a few of them hanging around......then I worry about the law.
But if you don't have the same type of friends, call 911.