cramer@uunet.uu.net (Clayton Cramer) (07/21/90)
I attended a meeting last night, set up by our local police department
to inform and educate the public about our local gang problem. One of
the people present was the E911 dispatch supervisor for our city. She
explained that the reason they usually request name and address
information, even though it is already on the screen is:
1. The information comes out of the phone company data base, and may
not be 100% accurate.
2. You may be calling from a different phone number than your own.
(Example: you return home to find evidence of a burglary, and go to
the neighbor's house to request police assistance).
3. You may have moved, and it takes a few days for the information to
make it into the 911 data base.
Clayton E. Cramer {pyramid,pixar,tekbspa}!optilink!cramer
Disclaimer? You must be kidding! No company would hold opinions like mine!tneff@bfmny0.bfm.com (Tom Neff) (07/24/90)
In article <9963@accuvax.nwu.edu> optilink!cramer@uunet.uu.net (Clayton Cramer) writes: >1. The information comes out of the phone company data base, and may >not be 100% accurate. >2. You may be calling from a different phone number than your own. >(Example: you return home to find evidence of a burglary, and go to >the neighbor's house to request police assistance). >3. You may have moved, and it takes a few days for the information to >make it into the 911 data base. Nevertheless, it's dehumanizing and a waste of time making the distraught caller recite everything from scratch when there's already information up on the screen. If the above three possibilities are a worry, why can't the operator simply say, "OK, I see you calling from 1471 Elmhurst Drive on the 2nd floor. Is that correct?" "Yes" "Is that where the (accident etc) is?" "No it's on the fourth floor, I just ran downstairs to the neighbor's" "OK we have a unit on the way, stay near the phone"
roy@phri.nyu.edu (Roy Smith) (07/25/90)
In <10075@accuvax.nwu.edu> Tom Neff <tneff@bfmny0.bfm.com> writes: > Nevertheless, it's dehumanizing and a waste of time making the > distraught caller recite everything from scratch when there's already > information up on the screen. I don't think worrying about dehumanizing somebody enters into the equation when a house is on fire or somebody is being held up at gunpoint. Besides, it's a lot easier to just say "Yes" to every question than to actually supply information yourself. I suspect that a frantic caller would just keep saying "Yes", regardless of whether the information the E911 operator was trying to confirm was indeed correct or not. We have a sizeable number of people around here who don't speak English very well, or at all. They tend to just say "Yes" to whatever you ask them. Ever see the movie Rain Man? There is a bit near the end where Dustin Hoffman (playing an autistic adult) is being interviewed to see whether he wants to stay "on the outside" with his brother or go back to the institution. He appears moderately lucid and rational, yet it turns out that all he's doing is just saying "Yes" to every question put to him. Roy Smith, Public Health Research Institute 455 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016 roy@alanine.phri.nyu.edu -OR- {att,cmcl2,rutgers,hombre}!phri!roy
droid@uunet.uu.net (Marty Brenneis) (07/26/90)
tneff@bfmny0.bfm.com (Tom Neff) writes: >Nevertheless, it's dehumanizing and a waste of time making the >distraught caller recite everything from scratch when there's already >information up on the screen. >If the above three possibilities are a worry, why can't the operator >simply say, > "OK, I see you calling from 1471 Elmhurst Drive on the 2nd floor. > Is that correct?" > "Yes" > "Is that where the (accident etc) is?" > "No it's on the fourth floor, I just ran downstairs to the neighbor's" This is a common problem that I've had experience with. I work in a hospital as an aide, part of my job is to move patients from place to place. i.e. ER to Xray. I've seen people say, "Are you Mr. Jones?" to a patient wh looks up and says, "Yes." They then wheel him off to Surgery and find that they have Mr. Thompson who can't hear very well. In all forms of contact most prople in our business will ask you for your name, or other information and not prompt you with any other information. You may be someone who says "Yes" to anything to speed it up. droid