National Emergency Number Association

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The National Emergency Number Association (NENA) is an organization whose mission it is to foster the technological advancement, availability, and implementation of a universal emergency telephone number system in the United States. In carrying out its mission, NENA promotes research, planning, training and education. The protection of human life, the preservation of property and the maintenance of general community security are among NENA's objectives.

One of NENA's main functions is to grade the quality of the 9-1-1 (the Universal Emergency Number since 1968) services that exist throughout the United States of America. Through their Report Card to the Nation (RCN), the RCN Commission reviews and grades the performance of 9-1-1 centres based on their established standards of practice. NENA is tracking the deployment of Enhanced 9-1-1 and the Wireless Phase 1 and 2 initiatives. The latter are enabling 9-1-1 call takers to (in Phase 1) identify the cell tower related to the caller and (in Phase 2) to identify the actual geographic location of the caller.

In 2021, the Denver's 911 was reported as the "out of compliance". [1]

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9-1-1 Emergency telephone number for the North American Numbering Plan (NANP)

9-1-1, also written 911, is an emergency telephone number for the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), one of eight N11 codes. Like other emergency numbers around the world, this number is intended for use in emergency circumstances only, and using it for any other purpose is a crime in most jurisdictions.

Enhanced 911, E-911 or E911 is a system used in North America to automatically provide the caller's location to 911 dispatchers. 911 is the universal emergency telephone number in the region. In the European Union, a similar system exists known as E112 and known as eCall when called by a vehicle.

Emergency telephone number Telephone number that allows caller to contact local emergency services for assistance

Most public switched telephone networks have a single emergency telephone number that allows a caller to contact local emergency services for assistance. The emergency number differs from country to country; it is typically a three-digit number so that it can be easily remembered and dialed quickly. Some countries have a different emergency number for each of the different emergency services; these often differ only by the last digit.

999 (emergency telephone number) Emergency number in the UK and some other countries

999 is an official emergency telephone number in a number of countries which allows the caller to contact emergency services for urgent assistance. Countries and territories using the number include Bahrain, Bangladesh, Botswana, Eswatini, Ghana, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Ireland, Isle of Man, Jersey, Kenya, Macau, Malaysia, Mauritius, Poland, Qatar, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Trinidad and Tobago, Seychelles, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and Zimbabwe.

The North American Numbering Plan (NANP) is a telephone numbering plan for World Zone 1, which comprises twenty-five distinct regions in twenty countries primarily in North America, including the Caribbean. Some North American countries, most notably Mexico, do not participate in the NANP.

111 is the emergency telephone number in New Zealand. It was first implemented in Masterton and Carterton on 29 September 1958, and was progressively rolled out nationwide with the last exchanges converting in 1988.

Public safety answering point

A public-safety answering point (PSAP), sometimes called "public-safety access point" is a call center where emergency calls initiated by any mobile or landline subscriber are terminated. It can also happen that when 112 is dialed in then a logic is implemented by mobile or network operators to route the call to the nearest police station. It is a call center in almost all the countries including Canada and the United States responsible for answering calls to an emergency telephone number for police, firefighting, and ambulance services. Trained telephone operators are also usually responsible for dispatching these emergency services. Most PSAPs are now capable of caller location for landline calls, and many can handle mobile phone locations as well, where the mobile phone company has a handset to location system. Some can also use voice broadcasting where outgoing voice mail can be sent to many phone numbers at once, in order to alert people to a local emergency such as a chemical spill.

Dispatcher

A dispatcher is a communications worker who receives and transmits information to coordinate operations of other personnel and vehicles carrying out a service. A number of organizations, including police and fire departments, emergency medical services, motorcycle couriers, taxicab providers, trucking companies, railroads, and public utility companies, use dispatchers to relay information, direct personnel, and coordinate their operations.

Abbreviated dialing is the use of a very short digit sequence to reach specific telephone numbers, such as those of public services. The purpose of such numbers is to be universal, short, and easy to remember. Typically they are two or three digits.

000 (emergency telephone number)

000 Emergency, also known as Triple Zero or Triple 0, and sometimes stylised Triple Zero (000), is the primary national emergency telephone number in Australia. The Emergency Call Service is operated by Telstra, and overseen by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), and is intended only for use in life-threatening or time-critical emergencies.

112 (emergency telephone number)

112 is a common emergency telephone number that can be dialed free of charge from most mobile telephones, and in some countries, fixed telephones in order to reach emergency services.

119 (one-one-nine) is an emergency telephone number in parts of Asia and in Jamaica. From May 2020, 119 was introduced in the United Kingdom as the single non-emergency number for the COVID-19 testing helpline in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

Emergency telephone

An emergency telephone is a phone specifically provided for making calls to emergency services and is most often found in a place of special danger or where it is likely that there will be a need to make emergency calls. It is also sometime known as blue lights.

Swatting Act of hoaxing an armed emergency response to a victims home

Swatting is a criminal harassment tactic of deceiving an emergency service into sending a police and emergency service response team to another person's address. This is triggered by false reporting of a serious law enforcement emergency, such as a bomb threat, murder, hostage situation, or a false report of a "mental health" emergency, such as reporting that a person is allegedly suicidal or homicidal and may or may not be armed.

Next Generation 9-1-1 refers to an initiative aimed at updating the 9-1-1 service infrastructure in the United States and Canada to improve public emergency communications services in a growingly wireless mobile society. In addition to calling 9-1-1 from a phone, it intends to enable the public to transmit text, images, video and data to the 9-1-1 center. The initiative also envisions additional types of emergency communications and data transfer. This NG9-1-1 infrastructure is intended to replace the current services over time. The National Emergency Number Association (NENA) first identified the need for NG9-1-1 in 2000, and started development actions in 2003, and is nearing full definition and standards for NG9-1-1. Since 2006, the US Department of Transportation (DOT) in the United States and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in Canada have been leading their respective initiatives, which include research and development projects aimed at advancing NG9-1-1. On January 24, 2013, the CRTC announced the first step toward a Canadian implementation of NG9-1-1 and, in March 2016, began a consultation with the public to discuss what services should be offered, who will play a role in offering these services and how these services should be paid for. Several US states have implemented versions of NG9-1-1, as of October 2013.

The tapping protocol is an initiative developed by the City of New York to provide members of the deaf and hard of hearing community, as well as others who are unable to voice, with a means of directly reporting emergencies to 9-1-1 from the streets of New York City.

Navarette v. California, 572 U.S. 393 (2014), was a case in which the United States Supreme Court clarified when police officers may make arrests or conduct temporary detentions based on information provided by anonymous tips. In 2008, police in California received a 911 call that a pickup truck was driving recklessly along a rural highway. Officers spotted a truck matching the description provided in the 911 call and followed the truck for five minutes, but did not observe any suspicious behavior. Nevertheless, officers conducted a traffic stop and discovered 30 pounds (14 kg) of marijuana in the truck. At trial, the occupants of the car argued that the traffic stop violated the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution, because the tip was unreliable, and officers did not personally observe criminal activity. Writing for a majority of the Court, Justice Clarence Thomas held that the 911 call was reliable, and that officers need not personally observe criminal activity when acting upon information provided by an anonymous 911 call.

Next Generation 112 (NG112) is a blueprint for emergency communications which are entirely based on Internet Protocol (IP) technology, from the citizen requesting help to the Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) responding to that request. Over the last decade or so, publicly available electronic communications network providers have started their respective journeys toward migrating to Next-generation networks. Network rollouts are more advanced in some countries than others but by the end of the 2020s, networks will be predominantly IP-based providing a platform for innovative multimedia communications. In mobile networks this will be based on 4G and 5G technology and most voice communications will be based on Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). Public authorities need to respond to these developments so that PSAPs are equipped to receive emergency communications originating on many different types of devices and applications. NG112 provides the basis for this as a flexible, scalable and future-proofed platform for emergency communications.

On April 14, 2021, three officers from the Honolulu Police Department shot and killed 29-year-old Lindani Myeni fronting a home in Nuʻuanu, Honolulu County, Hawaii during an alleged burglary. Myeni was a Black South African who played professional rugby and had two young children. The shot took place in a residence's driveway after him fighting with Honolulu police officers. All three police officers were injured, and one was hospitalized.

References

  1. Newsource, C. N. N. (2021-10-19). "911 calls in Denver on hold: 'It was frightening' says caller". KESQ. Retrieved 2021-10-19.