Sheriff Urges Citizens: ‘Call 911′ Any Time

In seeming opposition to the national trend of trying to reduce the number of 911 calls routed to comm centers, St. Louis County (Minn.) sheriff Ross Litman is urging residents to dial 911, even for “something that happened six months ago.” In an information piece published in the Duluth News Tribune newspaper, Ross and county attorney Melanie Ford wrote that the nature of the crime matter doesn’t matter. “If it’s a break-in, call 911. If you’ve lost hundreds or thousands of dollars in a Nigerian e-mail scam, call 911. If it’s a complaint about a fraudulent lawyer, call 911. It’s still a crime.” As for the hundreds–or thousands–of phone calls their advice might generate, the officials assured readers, “Don’t worry about clogging up the 911 lines. We have plenty of dispatchers.” Read more of their advice here.