Sheriff's office experiencing high volume of false 911 calls

The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office 911 Center has been experiencing a significant increase in abandoned or false 911 calls.

Most calls in question come from cellular devices, according to a KCSO news release.

Every 911 call is answered. If no one is on the line, the number is called back until someone answers the phone. This can take several minutes of an emergency communications officer’s time that could be used to deal with true emergencies.

The 911 center on Saturday received over 50 of these calls from a single cellphone. The phone was determined to be at a local theme park.

Most cellphones or wearables, such as watches, have technology designed to automatically dial 911 when the device believes there was an accident or fall. It is believed this was the reason for the multiple 911 calls.

KCSO's 911 Center is asking the public to stay on the line if 911 is accidentally called. It only takes a few seconds to verify the call was an accident. Devices can automatically dial 911 when they sense a fall or accident.

Most devices allow this function to be turned off.

It is important to limit the amount of unnecessary phone calls into the 911 center, as it continues to be busy, with limited staff. This frees time for emergency communications officers to deal with actual emergencies and provide services to citizens and first responders.