David Baxter PhD
Late Founder
Old cellphones given to children as toys still call 911
CBC News
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
An RCMP detachment in Alberta dealing with hundreds of accidental 911 calls is asking parents to disconnect the battery in old cellphones before giving them to children as toys.
Already this year, the Brooks RCMP has investigated 457 emergency calls that turned out to be false.
"Many people give their cellphones to children to play with and kids are accidentally calling 911, which then gets transferred to the RCMP to investigate," police said in a release.
"Cellphone carriers must allow deactivated cellphones to access to 911 for emergency purposes ?. If you give old cellphones to your children, disconnect the battery so the phone cannot be activated."
If someone calls 911 and hangs up, the operator will call the number back. If no one answers, the operator will contact the cellphone carrier to find names associated with the number, conduct computer police checks and maybe even use GPS to locate the phone, police said.
"The RCMP member is then required to speak to the person or attend the residence to ensure all is OK," police said.
Mobile devices with a single button that connects to 911 are also accidentally going off.
People who call 911 accidentally should stay on the line and explain to the operator that it was an error, police said. However a police officer may still call back or drop by the residence associated with the phone.
CBC News
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
An RCMP detachment in Alberta dealing with hundreds of accidental 911 calls is asking parents to disconnect the battery in old cellphones before giving them to children as toys.
Already this year, the Brooks RCMP has investigated 457 emergency calls that turned out to be false.
"Many people give their cellphones to children to play with and kids are accidentally calling 911, which then gets transferred to the RCMP to investigate," police said in a release.
"Cellphone carriers must allow deactivated cellphones to access to 911 for emergency purposes ?. If you give old cellphones to your children, disconnect the battery so the phone cannot be activated."
If someone calls 911 and hangs up, the operator will call the number back. If no one answers, the operator will contact the cellphone carrier to find names associated with the number, conduct computer police checks and maybe even use GPS to locate the phone, police said.
"The RCMP member is then required to speak to the person or attend the residence to ensure all is OK," police said.
Mobile devices with a single button that connects to 911 are also accidentally going off.
People who call 911 accidentally should stay on the line and explain to the operator that it was an error, police said. However a police officer may still call back or drop by the residence associated with the phone.
