Possible drunk driver, called it in, comments? *Update*

[SViper]

Depending on what city you are in, 311 is the non-emergency number for "municipal services." I've dialed 311 before to report debris on the interstate. It connected me to the dispatcher who took down the information. Don't know if she told an officer about it though as I passed it by.

 

[Pulsar]

If you're going to complain about the folks who keep us safe, it adds credibility if you made an appointment to ride with them or sit with them for a day and see their job. My police department encourages it - especially if you want to bring a younger person (preteen or teen) along.

They police would prefer informed folks who have seen what they do and understand it a bit to talking about them. It's certainly beats the alternative of having people whose only real contact is when they get a ticket talking about about how much the police suck.

As to the dispatch center - remember how many calls they get hourly. They're beyond the point where much excites them - they just write it down and pass it on to the correct channels to be handled. That's the extent of what they do (ditto the 911 call center).

 

[hanoverphist]

It probably depends on area, but I was told is that if you need an officer to respond you should call 911. Including something as silly as a police report.
When I was in school someone stole my bike and I needed a report for the insurance. I called the local police station and they told me to call 911. Maybe they were just brushing me off, but I felt so dumb calling 911...

"911 what is your emergency?"
..."someone stole my bike..."

911 is recorded, the non emergency lines arent. not a bad thing to have it recorded for future use, in any respect.

 

[StageLeft]

I've done it twice, once a guy driving very, very scarily on the highway in a big truck, a total maniac. And last year an old guy, either drunk or more likely extremely senile driving like somebody piss fvcking boozed out of their head. I turned around and followed him close, called the cops, he pulled over and I pulled over behind him. I think honestly he had no idea where the hell he was, but I gave position and they said they'd do something. even if they didn't hopefully they ran the plates and paid him a visit to see if he really was fit to drive (he wasn't at all).

 

[jlee]

911 is recorded, the non emergency lines arent. not a bad thing to have it recorded for future use, in any respect.

Every (public line) call that comes in to our dispatch center is recorded, emergency or not. Radio traffic is recorded as well.

 

[alkalinetaupehat]

Good thread! I'v always wondered if calling 911 is appropriate since I don't / can't have all the numbers for all the local police stations

Thanks!

On a related note, I spent a good two minutes hunting for the right number in the blue pages, which was rather irksome. You would think that there would be a box with the 911/dispatch/etc numbers for quick reference, but dispatch was buried in the listings somewhere.

 

[Zap]

A couple weeks ago (6/4 to be exact) I saw a truck going backwards in the median of I94. Did a double take on that one. Seemed like some other drivers were already on their phones, so I didn't bother.

 

[hanoverphist]

Every (public line) call that comes in to our dispatch center is recorded, emergency or not. Radio traffic is recorded as well.

good to know, i was assuming. i called one time and followed the guy, since he was swerving at other cars, almost like it was on purpose. the dispatch asked me to follow at a distance until the officers got there, it was funny seeing the guy floor it and try to get away. he ended up stopping 2 miles away without an accident, but he was definitely drunk when he got out. i also called 911 when there was a dog wandering the freeway late at night. i apologized first thing to the dispatch, but they said it was ok, i was supposed to use the 911 system for it. there had already been a few calls in for the dog, but they had the wrong location. i saw the lights coming up from behind me as i hung up, so im sure the dog survived.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Good thread! I'v always wondered if calling 911 is appropriate since I don't / can't have all the numbers for all the local police stations

Go to the websites of your local police and sheriff's departments. Depending how large your cities/municipalities are and how much you travel between them, you'll only need 4-6 numbers. Main dispatch for your local county sheriff & city police each, so if you go between two counties that would be 4 numbers. Also good to have the highway patrol, since city/sheriff will just transfer you to HP if the incident is not directly on a city street.

And yes, you can just get one number and they will transfer you once they realize where you are. But (A) that takes additional time and (B) the transfer doesn't always go through. Sadly I've had instances where I've been cut off from the local PD.

 

[Arkaign]

Very good call. Reminds me of a split-second decision I made about 15 years ago that likely saved a bunch of lives. I had just taken a right into a divided two lane road (where the speed limit is like 20mph), and had just come off of a major road (NW Highway in Dallas, where people drive 50-60mph). Lo and behold, I see a weaving, speeding small pickup headed right my way going the wrong direction. I could have jumped the curb and let him speed into the intersection and hit someone, but I decided my car would do a safe enough job of stopping him .. at least that's the best course of action I could think of in the hair of time that I had. I was in a Volvo 240 station wagon, and I turned slightly to the left and he just plowed into me, spinning me out onto the center divider, and he came to a rest on the side of the road on top of a hydrant. Turns out the guy was drunk out of his mind, he had broken his left arm, was bleeding profusely, and was walking around the accident scene asking bystanders for change. I didn't directly admit to taking the hit on purpose, but the cops that came on scene said it would have been a whole lot worse if he just plowed into 6 lanes of crossing traffic 15 feet away.

 

[Zargon]

Go to the websites of your local police and sheriff's departments. Depending how large your cities/municipalities are and how much you travel between them, you'll only need 4-6 numbers. Main dispatch for your local county sheriff & city police each, so if you go between two counties that would be 4 numbers. Also good to have the highway patrol, since city/sheriff will just transfer you to HP if the incident is not directly on a city street.

And yes, you can just get one number and they will transfer you once they realize where you are. But (A) that takes additional time and (B) the transfer doesn't always go through. Sadly I've had instances where I've been cut off from the local PD.

thank fully in my area all 3 local PD's and the Sherrif's office have one central dispatch that 911 and non-emergency get you to.

they will transfer your call to the approriate place if they are not the correct person to talk to