9-11 sucks, and takes 10 mins. to answer, why call them for drunk drivers?

Question

any thoughts, is it like this in all states?

Answer 1

I'm a former 911 operator.

The problem occurs when there are no units available or nearby to catch up to you, especially if you are going fast. They are generally not allowed to use lights and siren for such a thing, which also makes it difficult to catch up. Some jurisdictions are better suited to answer such calls, especially those dedicated to traffic enforcement. Another factor is exactly what you are telling the dispatcher. If you are telling them that the drunk is in oncoming traffic, has hit a few cars, etc., that will increase the priority. Dispatching has a lot to do with priority.

Hopefully they did not take 10 minutes to answer initially. However they may have put you on hold for that long (although that is quite a while I must admit) since most citizen-observed drunk-driving calls are not priority calls. Other things may have been going on that takes attention away from your call.

Answer 2

let me add to the above answer that when you call 911 it takes 2-3 minutes before the job is sent to a dispatcher for the police in a large department. I'm not sure if 911 operator is also the dispatcher in a smaller department. If you were to call the police station directly most are not set up to send jobs to units directly they in turn have to call 911 also.

Answer 3

naw i called 911 several times....wen i was still on the phone wit the dispatcher the cops showed up by my front door....thats wa u call service!

Answer 4

sounds like several different topics in one this question is confusing ...sorry