So I’m reading the thread about the citizen who pulled a gun on a group of suspicious teenagers near a cemetery. Somebody said that instead of calling 911, as that is for emergencies, he should have called the regular police number. I’m just wondering how many people know their local police number and if it differs between the USA and other countries.
I personally don’t know my local police number but then I live in a rural area of Oxfordshire, UK where there isn’t much crime that I notice.
Spain: 112 is the general emergencies number. You’re not supposed to know any specific numbers other than the ones to set up appointments (be they with the police to renew ID or with the hospital to see a doctor). “Emergency” is not defined as “someone is bleeding”, but as “I need help here of the kind which emergency services provide”.
No. But you just reminded me to add it to my contacts on my new phone. Thanks!
Where I live, I’m not even sure who my local police are. I live in the sticks, with cut backs and all, departments have been merged or phased out. I would have to call 911 if I needed a policeman.
I’m in the US and I do know the local number…but then again, I live next to a cemetary.
Yes, because I’ve recently had several run-ins with a neighbor. I had to look it up the first time. There is also a “stranded motorist” hotline number, too.
I live in a big city in the US.
Yes. I’m good at remembering numbers, and it’s an easy number to remember (starts with the local area code and exchange and ends with 1212).
Yes. In Pittsburgh, the local police number IS 911.
I do not know the non-emergency number. I have been specifically instructed to use 911 to contact the police to report suspicious activity, stranded motorists, and so forth.
Regards,
Shodan
Yes. I lived in this town for years before we got 911. I worked at a job that managed a rooming house with some of the worse tenants imaginable, located at a busy intersection where car crashes were commonplace.
Just image how many times I had to call the cops.
We’re not supposed to call the front desk of the precinct directly. If you want the police on a non-emergency basis, you’re supposed to call the “City Services” hotline (311) and they dispatch your call to the appropriate authority (including 911 if needed). I imagine this is intended to – and does – filter out quite a lot of things which are not really police matters, like neighbors not shoveling snow or leaving out trash for days (which here in NYC are policed by lower-level civil enforcement agencies).
However, I have been told by local police that for certain things that ARE obviously police matters but do not involve any risk of life & limb (such as reporting your car stolen) you must still call 911 to get dispatch. They literally won’t take the call if you call the station directly, other than to say “call 911.”
I’ve got the city, county, and state cops non-emergency numbers in my phone. I also have the business cards of the sheriff, the local DA, and a couple of judges in my wallet. Never can tell when that info will come in handy.
Yeah, they were kind enough to make it [local exchange]-1234.
Only problem is that we have TWO local exchanges, one number apart. I finally committed to memory this year which one it is.
I have the non-emergency numbers memorized for the town where I live (easy, because the last 4 digits are 1911) and where I work. I usually call each a few times a year for various reasons.
If shit goes down and I need the police I’ll call 911. If I need to call for a non-emergency reason I’ll just look it up online, which isn’t a problem considering it isn’t an emergency.
Some other option. Thanks to the economy, my local police department closed up shop recently. I believe the state police are the ones who take up the slack now. Not sure, but I’d dial 911.
Like the rest of the EU Sweden use 112 as an emergency number, but we also have a special non-emergency number, 114 (or is it 114 114?), that will get you to the telephone exchange at the nearest police dispatching central, which might or might not be the closest physical police station. If that exchange can’t be reached for some reason you might get connected to any central in the country, but they can connect you from there. Apart from that I have no idea if the different stations have their own telephone numbers.
Well, 911 is easy. And the local PD non-emergency line is one digit different from my work phone number, so I forward a call every month or so. It keeps the number fresh in my mind.
My number is also one digit different from Animal Control. Sometimes I forward six calls a day to them. I swear someone, somewhere is giving out my number as theirs, but I’ve never been able to track it down.
Programmed into my phone, along with most of the other “City Department” numbers: Mayor’s Office, School District Main Office, etc.
Programmed into my phone and called every few months (I live in a neighborhood with a handful of nightclubs/jazz clubs).