Safety Tips for Women:
911 CALLS
09 February 2010 - Newsletter #51Learning from Victims911 Calls can save you if you do it right. Improve your odds as well as learn child safety tips. Learn from crime victims about staying safe, and teach children how to do it right. The call to 911 came in like many do: nothing to hear but background noise. On New Year's Day, 911 operator Ve'Etta Bess led police to the home of a sexual predator who had disabled his ankle monitor, met a woman at a bar and brought her home – a man already convicted of rape, preparing to rape once more and threatening to kill. ... Bess answered the call: "911." Just screams. ... "Hello?" Bess asked. "Hello?" She heard a woman pleading with a man. "Oh, my God. Let me go home. Please, God, let me go home." Bess kept quiet. She didn't want the man to know she was listening. ... The woman begging for mercy had met the man at a bar; they left at last call and ended up in his bedroom. That's where his sexual advances got violent. The woman managed to secretly call 911 before dropping the phone, but the call remained open. ... The woman on the phone unleashed a scream as the origin of the call popped up on the 911-computer screen: the house of registered sexual predator Tommy Lee Sailor. ... The phone line stayed open for 15 more minutes as Bess listened in silence. "I'm a serial rapist," Sailor told his victim. "I'm a serial killer." ... Seconds later, she finally heard an answer to her plea for help: police breaking down the door.
Excerpted from The St. Petersburg Times (FL) – 04 January 2010 What are the safety tips for women here?
1. Obviously, NEVER go anywhere with strangers.
2. Do NOT disconnect a 911 call – leave the line open so the dispatcher can hear – and be able to find your location.
3. Realize that police sometimes rescue you almost immediately and other times they take far longer to arrive – 17 minutes in this case. Sometimes it might take hours. The average response time in the U.S. is NINE minutes. A 74-year-old woman saw a strange man in her yard and dialed 911. She then saw him at her back porch. She put down the phone, with the connection to 911 still open, and moved toward the back of her house. That’s when Gerardo Castelo, who had entered her home, beat her and attempted to rape her. ... In the meantime, the 911 operator, hearing her screams, had dispatched police to her home. When police heard her screaming inside, they stormed the house as she whacked Castelo over the head.
Excerpted from KOB-TV4 (NM) – 22 August 2006 To help emergency responders find you:
• Post your address, cross-streets and a brief house description near all your phones in case a guest of yours must call 911.
• Install six-inch high black-on-white (or reflective) house numbers on your house in a highly visible location – and paint four-inch black-on-white numbers on the curb or on a sign by your driveway.
Tips for making 911 calls
• Do NOT hang up if you reach a recording. Stay on the line and your call will be answered in order.
• If the police answer your call when you’re reporting a fire or medical emergency, they’ll transfer your call – stay on the line while the call is transferred.
• Answer ALL the dispatcher’s questions. Do not yell. If the emergency is such that you can only dial 911 but not talk, the police will respond to the address that pops up on the 911-computer screen.
• Don’t get upset if they’re "taking too long" or "asking too many questions." While one dispatcher is talking to you, another dispatcher is alerting emergency responders.
• After you’ve stated your needs, if you must rush off to deal with the emergency, do not hang up the phone so the dispatcher can still hear you in the background.
• Remember that the average response time nationwide is NINE minutes.
• The dispatcher might give you directions on what to do. Follow each step exactly.
• Do NOT hang up until the dispatcher says it's OK to do so.
• If you get disconnected while talking to 911, always call back.
• Secure any dogs that may interfere with the emergency responders.
Teaching children how to make 911 calls
• NEVER say "nine eleven" – there is no eleven on the phone keypad. Always say "Nine-One-One" to avoid confusion.
• If you call 911 by mistake, do NOT hang up. Stay on the line to explain it was a mistake.
• Use 911 ONLY in an emergency, such as: if anyone is sick or hurt; if the child is lost; or if a molester is bothering the child or friends.
• Always call 911 from a safe place. If there’s a fire in the house, run to a safe place before you call.
• If you’re not sure if you have an emergency, call 911 and explain your problem.
Pages Related to 911 calls
• Home Security - Cracks
• Outdoor Safety - Rescuing a Victim Safely
• Protection Order
• Teen Abuse
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