1. Forensic Victimology 2nd Edition Chapter Three: 9-1-1 Emergency Response

2. 9-1-1 Emergency Response Nine-one-one (911) is the number that people in the United Stated call to obtain assistance from government funded agencies that provide police, fire, and emergency medical services. It is a number that is reserved for emergencies only; therefore, it is intended to triage citizen requests for immediate rescue from dire circumstances. 9-1-1 is largely funded by local, state, and federal tax revenue.

3. History The idea of a universal emergency number took shape in 1957, when the National Association of Fire Chiefs suggested an easy to remember phone number to report fires. The notion was formalized in 1967, when the President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration recommended the establishment of a nationwide number for emergencies of all types.

4. Enhanced 9-1-1 E9-1-1 is the improved emergency response system. It routes each call to the appropriate 9-1-1 jurisdiction or answering point while simultaneously providing the caller’s location and phone number. This includes cell phone information.

5. Duties 9-1-1 operators, sometimes referred to as dispatchers, have specific obligations and responsibilities to their callers. Obligations and responsibilities include: Taking the call, Obtaining caller information quickly, Triaging the call, Summarizing the call, Staying on the line, Updating information, Avoiding non-pertinent detail, and Maintaining professionalism.

6. The 9-1-1 Call as Authority and Evidence 9-1-1 dispatchers have the power to shape all other responding agencies impressions, conclusions, and attitudes. –Dispatchers have an obligation to be mindful that words like homicide, suicide, and accident have forensic implications and should be avoided when possible. 9-1-1 calls are recorded by the system and become important documentary evidence of statements, caller knowledge, the occurrence of background events recorded during the call, and timelines.

7. The 9-1-1 Call as Authority and Evidence Recordings are used by investigators, attorneys, and the courts as evidence to inform decision- making, implicate suspects and even to exonerate the innocent. 9-1-1 calls are generally entered into evidence under the excited utterance exception to the admissibility of hearsay evidence.

8. Emergency System Challenges There are universal challenges experienced by every 9-1-1 emergency response system. The top three tend to be: 1.Personnel 2.Budgets 3.False alarms

9. The Consequences –Emergency response to victims can be delayed or non- existent; –More victims can suffer from more crime, or extended episodes of victimization; –Victims can die waiting for a response, or due to the negligence of those involved in the response; –9-1-1 dispatchers can suffer mental health consequences that go unrecognized and unattended – leading to more of the above; –Criminals can become emboldened by reliable delays in emergency response; –The public can lose confidence in the emergency response system, and vote to defund it, making a bad situation worse.