|
|
Rank: Advanced Member
Groups: Member
Joined: 3/17/2008
Posts: 724
Location: tosa
|
What do you guys think of restricting public access to 911 calls? I'm in favor. I hate hearing them on the news. I also can't believe it's attainable through public records. http://www.wrn.com/2010/02/bill-would-restrict-media-access-to-911-audio
|
|
Rank: Advanced Member
Groups: Member
Joined: 12/31/2007
Posts: 1,256
Location: Tosa
|
I am against the bill. Our national response system is flawed and we should have access to the live tapes and not potentially edited transcripts. The tapes also clarify what written text doesn't. There are many wonderful dispatchers and some, not. The greater problem is it is an over-burdened system and years later the bugs haven't been worked out. And it also is a recorded record of the 1st responders response time. The case in Madison was riddled with failures: The operator claims she could hear no noise–so she did not dispatch the police or try to call back. As a result there has been lawsuits filed. The public outcry in the case of Brittany was probably the driving cause behind catching the killer. Interesting that this is supported by the fiance who was an initial suspect. Poor response is a national problem. Here is a Nashville call: http://www.newschannel5.com/Global/story.asp?S=8312600Sheila: "Nobody's coming out here?" 911: "Yes, ma'am. As soon as the sergeant gets an officer available, he's gonna send somebody out there." Sheila: "What, do y'all want him to kill me - so you can put yellow tape around me and say we got there just for the death? Is that it? I don't understand."
Sheila: "I'm scared to even leave out my f***ing house." 911: "OK, ma'am, I updated the call. We'll get somebody there as soon as possible." Sheila: [Hangs up.] 911: "I really just don't give a s**t what happens to you."
"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." -- Mahatma Gandhi
|
|
Rank: Advanced Member
Groups: Member
Joined: 3/17/2008
Posts: 724
Location: tosa
|
You don't believe that your conversation with a 911 operator is private? Do you really want to hear your panicked voice on the news when they play the tape of a home invasion?
I don't think public outrage over anything fixes anything. Typically it makes the situation worse because rash decisions are made to appease the mob.
To be honest... I don't think your example helps your case. The problem in that call was the police not responding. The 911 spoke after the caller hung up. Tell me you've never had a bad day and told someone off after they hung up. So now that operator is going to get extreme treatment because "I really just don't give a s**t what happens to you." sounds great on the 10 o'clock news.
|
|
Rank: Advanced Member
Groups: Member
Joined: 12/31/2007
Posts: 1,256
Location: Tosa
|
rubber wrote:You don't believe that your conversation with a 911 operator is private? Do you really want to hear your panicked voice on the news when they play the tape of a home invasion?
I don't think public outrage over anything fixes anything. Typically it makes the situation worse because rash decisions are made to appease the mob.
To be honest... I don't think your example helps your case. The problem in that call was the police not responding. The 911 spoke after the caller hung up. Tell me you've never had a bad day and told someone off after they hung up. So now that operator is going to get extreme treatment because "I really just don't give a s**t what happens to you." sounds great on the 10 o'clock news.
Now a days, I do not expect privacy on any of my communications, and nor should you.  I most definitely want me and the rest of the world to hear my panicked voice go unanswered, should that happen. In the instance of a home invasion, most definitely, especially if I kill or maim the dasterd. I do not think you are helping your own case, and are unwittingly helping mine. If I place a call to 911... someone damn sure better show up, period. If the police do not show up at least with a 911 recorded call we know why there was no response, be it a dispatcher or a 1st responder problem. No one wants to hear the recording of someone fight for their life... especially when no shows up to help. However, this is exactly why we need to keep the line of communications open. On another note, I pay a tax for my digital 911 service, which I am explicitly informed would not exist in a power outage. I also pay the tax for my cellphone, which I am also informed may only pin point an area and not the specific call... Only land lines, of which I have and also pay a tax, provide exact locations... Until the national security response system catches up to the rest of technology we should not eliminate or restrict freedom of information.
"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." -- Mahatma Gandhi
|
|
Rank: Advanced Member
Groups: Member
Joined: 4/17/2009
Posts: 93
Location: Wauwatosa
|
Excellent question to ponder. I feel sorry for victims' families having to re-live horror, but I am also for accountability. I think that since we are all now amateur investigators, thanks to TV programs like the CIS's, we like to hear the evidence so we can make up our own minds. The law should not be made for the victim's comfort or for the public's insatiable appetite for sensation, but what makes it easier to deter crime and catch criminals. I am interested in what the rest of you think.
|
|
Rank: Advanced Member
Groups: Member
Joined: 10/31/2009
Posts: 78
|
People that want to listen to these 911 calls are sick twisted individuals, they probably troll for snuff films as well. Yes the authorities should be able the slice and dice the calls, but busy bodies in the public have no reason to hear them. It is creepy and I think an invasion of privacy.
|
|
Rank: Advanced Member
Groups: Member
Joined: 3/17/2008
Posts: 724
Location: tosa
|
Do they still need to fuzzy the faces on police car video? I've seen a lot of that lately too.
Happy, the police should have been there. I agree. That 911 operators actions had nothing to do with them not being there.
I also pay taxes... but I can't get a copy of your 1040EZ. Would you be ok if I get a hold of that?
|
|
Rank: Advanced Member
Groups: Member
Joined: 12/31/2007
Posts: 1,256
Location: Tosa
|
rubber wrote:Do they still need to fuzzy the faces on police car video? I've seen a lot of that lately too.
Happy, the police should have been there. I agree. That 911 operators actions had nothing to do with them not being there.
I also pay taxes... but I can't get a copy of your 1040EZ. Would you be OK if I get a hold of that? If you agree that the police should have been there, how do you suppose they would have known to go there? They didn't show up because the dispatcher never called Brittany back and did not think the call warranted police/ambulance involvement. “The disconnect call started with the sound of a woman screaming and the line remains active and open picking up the background sounds of a struggle for a short period of time,” according to a search warrant affidavit signed by Madison Police Det. Marion Morgan.
You can read it all here: http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=24489The Zimmerman case demonstrates exactly why this information should be public. If it were not for the media lawsuits the tape would never have been made public and the "failure to perform" cover-up would never be known. And the parents who fought to gain access would not have key evidence for their wrongful death lawsuit. We already have access to births, marriages, adoptions, divorces, bankrupcty filings, foreclosures, judgments, tax liens, and arrests, to name a few. For the record, I wouldn't really care if my tax records were public, the only thing of interest is the amount of taxes paid... Regardless, the analogy misses the mark: I am not a public official and 911 is a public service. Do we really want public service to have less sunshine than it currently does?
"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." -- Mahatma Gandhi
|
|
Rank: Advanced Member
Groups: Member
Joined: 4/13/2007
Posts: 7,461
Location: East Side Wauwatosa
|
I haven't posted in this thread because I really don't know how I feel about this issue.
On one hand, I deplore the continuing erosion of personal privacy in the age of information and I can certainly see how broadcasting 911 calls could be feel ike an invasion of privacy to those involved.
On the other hand, I think that taxpayers have a right to know when public servants screw up as badly as the dispatchers did in these cases. We pay for these services with the expectation that we'll get help if and when we need it and these examples suggest that there are holes in the safety net. Were it not for the fact that these cases and others like them were broadcast, we might never know how police services really operate and what needs to be done to improve them.
The difference between humans and other mammals is that we know how to accessorize.
Madeleine Albright speaking on the uses of jewelry in diplomacy.
|
|
Rank: Advanced Member
Groups: Member
Joined: 3/17/2008
Posts: 724
Location: tosa
|
Nancy wrote:I haven't posted in this thread because I really don't know how I feel about this issue.
On one hand, I deplore the continuing erosion of personal privacy in the age of information and I can certainly see how broadcasting 911 calls could be feel ike an invasion of privacy to those involved.
On the other hand, I think that taxpayers have a right to know when public servants screw up as badly as the dispatchers did in these cases. We pay for these services with the expectation that we'll get help if and when we need it and these examples suggest that there are holes in the safety net. Were it not for the fact that these cases and others like them were broadcast, we might never know how police services really operate and what needs to be done to improve them. I think I would be fine with it if it were just text in a newspaper. Hearing those voices on the news just irks me.
|
|
|
Guest |