The stories are known to all, people who call Israel Police’s emergency ‘100’ number and do not receive a response. The nation’s 911 system appears to be collapsing under the call volume and lack of staff.
Police officials report the system is being overhauled somewhat and for one thing, anyone whose call went unanswered will be detected by the system, and students who will be volunteering with police, will call the number back. Police report receiving over 11 million ‘100’ calls in 2008, explaining the system is simply not designed to address the current call volume.
Officials explain the problem stems from the fact that most people requiring non-urgent and non-life-threatening assistance telephone 100 because it is the number they remember. This is overloading the system they explain, a system designed to address life-threatening situations, the same as 911 in North America.
Others, who do not receive an operator immediately, hang up and redial, leading to additional strain on the system.
Israel Police has recently begun running a pilot program in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv areas, the system constantly monitors incoming, answered and waiting calls, updating the system with the information constantly.
Operators will now begin calling back unanswered numbers to determine if an urgent response is required. One not facing an urgent situation will be moved to another phone track by the computer system, thereby freeing the ‘100’ dispatch system lines. The new project entails using student volunteers to supplement the strained system.
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
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4 Responses
maybe it should be system like a 311 in new york for non emergency calls
another factor to keep in mind is that arabs are constantly calling trying to jam up the system!especially during times of high tensions such as terrorist attacks and the like. sometimes they make up stories wasting manpower and money over some made up event driving the police crazy, but they have to respond since one never knows.
to #1 they have such a system its number is 106 (at least in yerushalayim, i dont know if it works nationwide)
#1 – I myself proposed this to a manager at the ‘100’ line some time ago also, when I called them for a non-urgent question. I was told that they don’t need such a thing and it’s perfectly fine to call 100 for everything, including non-urgent questions.
In Holland, it used to be that one called 112 for urgent things (police, fire, ambulance – one number) and the regular local phone number for the police station for non-urgent matters.
Then, they changed to a nationwide number for non-urgent calls also: 0900-8844, which (like 112) automatically directs one to the closest police station. On the other hand, they now arranged it so that the police stations don’t have a number of their own any more, so if you want to call a police station in another city, you have to call the closest station first and they have to transfer your call to the right station and person (which is annoying).
A combination would obviously be best. However, there should also be one single number. In the European Union, one can use 112 for all emergency services. I think this is the same as 911 in the US (that’s also for all services, right?).
One should be able to dial 100 (or 112) in emergencies, and another number for non-urgent calls.