Flood of Hang-Up 911 Calls

Benton County’s (Minn.) 911 center is experiencing an ever-increasing flood of hang-up 911 calls–up to 20% of all the 911 calls they receive. The center is going pubilc with the problem to help educate people on how to protect their cellular phone keypads, and not hang up when they mis-dial. Sheriff Brad Bennett said about 15% of 911 calls were hang-ups in 2004, but that number keeps growing. The center fielded 1,240 hang-ups during 2006, or an average of just over 3 calls per day. Interestingly, Stearns County, directly to the west, has a 911 hang-up rate of 1.6% of calls, or 620 a year.