Stupid Prank Phone Callers

I hate stupid people who think they can call 911 over and over again and think they can get away with it. For the last two days we had a young male calling into the center almost constantly. He called several times yesterday but today he really went to town. He started about 8:30 am and did not stop. He took a few breaks but mostly it went on all day. He called and told us he was making prank phone calls and he did not plan on stopping.

The prank caller kept dialing in on a cell phone that could only call 911. It was not registered to anyone so it could not be traced. We knew in what general area he was calling from using cell tower locations his cell phone hit every time he called. At one point we were pretty sure he was in an airplane because he went from Fort Pierce to Port St Lucie in a matter of minutes. Stranger things have happened so Karen our supervisor actually called the airport tower. They had no planes up in that area. We discussed the possibilities of UFO's and little green annoying men.

As far as technology goes, our 911 center is having problems with our mapping system we just purchased for the phase 2 wireless upgrade. When it works properly it will give us the location of a wireless phone within several hundred feet but currently it was not working at all. So all we could do was try to tolerate his calls. Anyway, we put up with this punk all day. Sometimes we talked to him trying to bait him, insulted his intelligence, hung up or just let that particular line ring unanswered. It was a long day.

Then Dave arrived!! He works part time and came in for several hours to cover a supervisor’s workshop that my supervisor and I had to attend. While we were absent from the center Dave befriended this young man managed to get his name and date of birth. Dave is a saint and a miracle worker. He was able to find this mans drivers license with his current address on it through DHSMV. By quitting time, police officers where on their way to this incredibly stupid mans house to arrest him. I am sorry I had to go home. I missed all the fun.

He will be the second person arrested in 2 weeks for violating Florida Statute against making harassing phone calls or making a false report to 911 in St Lucie County. This is becoming a large problem at our center. We get phone calls daily from kids playing on the phone and/or people just sitting on their cell phones. I can’t wait until our mapping program works properly. When all 911 centers are finally wireless phase two compliant, it will just be a matter of time before dispatchers all over the country will rise up and finally be able to put an end to the harassment we all receive on a daily basis from adults and children who have nothing better to do then tie up the lines of 911. December 31, 2005 is just around the corner and I can’t wait.