SHEBOYGAN, Wis. — An increase in 911 hang-up calls is becoming a major problem in Sheboygan County and throughout Wisconsin. It is straining some areas' resources. It is all because of a feature on smartphones that let you dial 911 faster and in some cases it is causing people to call law enforcement without realizing it.
The Sheboygan County 911 Center's phone line has been busier than ever with dead air.
“Hello? This is Sheboygan County 911,” said Jordan Wittman, a communications officer for Sheboygan County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Communications Center.
A few minutes later a similar question.
"Hello can you hear me?” asked Amy Schwartz, a communications officer for Sheboygan County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Communications Center.
Communications officer Brett Pillling says they have seen a huge jump in 911 hang-ups.
“It is people maybe not just knowing how their phone functions. And when we tell them their phone dialed 911 they are surprised by that sometimes,” said Pilling.
Even in the middle of our interview, it happened.
"We just received a 911 call from your number,” said Wittman. “Do you have an emergency? Hello, hello?"
Pilling says they can't assume the call isn't an emergency so it is straining resources. Each hang-up has to be looked into and the number called back, sometimes repeatedly. Then they try to find the phone, which doesn’t always work.
“At this point, we try to see if we have an actual location of where the cell phone was pinging to,” said Wittman.
On the weekend of May 20, Sheboygan County had 173 hang-ups to 911. Pilling estimates that breaks down to about eight and a half hours of manpower just to follow up on those calls.
That doesn't count the deputies who are then sent to the locations so they can see if there are real emergencies.
This is not just a problem in Sheboygan County. The Badger State Sheriff’s Association says Wisconsin 911 hang-up calls have doubled since last year. For example, Waukesha County says its 911 hang-ups are up nearly 140 percent in the month of May. Janesville Police say they received approximately 29 hang-ups a day in May, and Dodge County is averaging 16 hang-ups to 911 a day for the year.
The issue is iPhones and Androids now have a feature that makes it easier to dial 911. Depending on the type of phone, it takes either three or five clicks of the power button to call 911.
"I think part of the problem is just it is a newer concept. And so you know people are used to doing certain things,” said Andrew Sternke, cyber security expert and CEO of Dark Box Security. Systems.
He says people can accidentally do that from their pocket or even just jostle their phone in something like a cup holder.
"Some of the suggestions that I would tell our clients is to turn it off. So on an iPhone, if you just go to your settings and then go to the ‘Emergency SOS’ settings you can configure things from there,” said Sternke.
The same option exists for Android users by going into setting then "Safety and Emergency" or Advanced Features depending on your type of phone.
But if you choose not to, Sheboygan County dispatchers say either stay on the line or pick up your phone when they call you back. Then they can quickly move on to emergency calls.
"Next time if that happens just stay on the line for us we need to verify that you are alright,” said Wittman speaking to someone who accidentally dialed 911.
Pilling says some people should keep the feature on for their own safety. Or you can temporarily turn it off if you are doing an activity where you might accidentally set it off like mowing your lawn or riding an ATV.
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