911 Dispatchers Reveal Which Crimes Happen More Than You'd Think
[rebelmouse-image 18344873 is_animated_gif=911 operators get tons of calls every day, and a surprising number of them are for the same types of crimes - identity theft, drugs, and larceny are fairly common. But some people call emergency services for some pretty strange reasons, like being lost, or feeling lonely.
BlupHox asked, [Serious] 911 dispatchers, what's a crime that happens more often than we think?
Submissions have been edited for clarity, context, and profanity.
I need a button for when the bank robs me. #overdraftfees
[rebelmouse-image 18344874 is_animated_gif=I remember being surprised by how many bank alarm calls there were. Turns out, bank tellers accidentally bump the silent alarm button fairly often.
Remember the 72-hour rule? It's silly - and do missing people know they're missing? What if they just want to be left alone?
[rebelmouse-image 18344875 is_animated_gif=Cop here, not a crime, but the amount of missing people reported is insane. Normally juvenile runaways but I feel like it's hundreds a day.
It takes some gall to just steal a canoe in plain sight...
[rebelmouse-image 18344876 is_animated_gif=Former 911 operator;
What surprised me was the sheer amount of big-ticket item theft...
I'm talking like they walked into an electronics store and walked out with a 50"+ TV (or two or three or whole damn pallet of them)...or walking into a sporting goods store and walking out with a canoe.
It just floored me as to how frequently it happens. I guess if you act like you're supposed to be walking out of the store with a canoe, people don't seem to ask too many questions.
That's not a bomb, it's a 40.
[rebelmouse-image 18344877 is_animated_gif=My friend who was a 911 operator says that suspicious packages are reported all the time. 99.9999% of the time they're backpacks left by homeless people.
Man, people are really sensitive and paranoid.
[rebelmouse-image 18344878 is_animated_gif=As a former 999 operator, these 'crimes' were reported regularly-
Car parked across someone's driveway
Neighbors having a barbeque
Fireworks, even on Bonfire Night or New Year
Kids 'hanging around'
Children playing football
'I'm really drunk and I've lost my friends and I haven't got any money left, you need to come and pick me up' (No, we won't)
'Yeah, what it is yeah, it's all kicking off, get down here now!'
Let kids run their lemonade stands.
[rebelmouse-image 18344879 is_animated_gif=Lest anyone forget, you forgot to add to your list the ignorant aholes who call cops on little kids for running a godd_mn lemonade stand.
It's hard to find anyone that hasn't lost someone close to suicide.
[rebelmouse-image 18344880 is_animated_gif=Mom does dispatch. Not actually a crime per se but suicides. The number of times she tells me about talking to a parent/spouse/child that just found their loved one dead from suicide is depressing in and of itself. We live in Utah so our suicide rate is higher than almost everywhere in the nation.
Domestic violence has reached epidemic proportions in the United States.
[rebelmouse-image 18344881 is_animated_gif=Criminal lawyer here who has to listen to 911 recordings daily.
Family violence. Husband/wife, parent/child, elder abuse.
Almost every victim tells me by the time it's a criminal offense that's reported, it's been going on for years. And usually? It's someone from outside the family that reports.
Lots of people fall and then can't get up.
[rebelmouse-image 18344882 is_animated_gif=Alarm Company Dispatcher here
Old people slip out of bed ALL THE TIME. You don't really think about it but if they can't really move, they will probably just get into bed barely resulting in them falling out of bed during the night.
Life lesson: don't leave valuable stuff in your car. Learned that the hard way in DC years ago.
[rebelmouse-image 18344883 is_animated_gif=Larceny from your vehicle. Especially when your car is unlocked (which is stupid to ever do). People who break into cars for a "living" are quick, able to get in and out without breaking anything, and will take anything they can find.
Seems like every few months I need a new debit card because of fraud.
[rebelmouse-image 18344884 is_animated_gif=On the non-emergency side of the police calls we get, fraud and identity theft are really on the rise. Especially preying on the elderly, calling and saying a loved one is in jail and making them "pay" over the phone for bail. We have dozens of fraud calls pending every day. People are so trusting and naive to the fact that people are scamming them.
Welp, TIL DUI cases usually don't go anywhere, despite how cut and dry they appear to be.
[rebelmouse-image 18344885 is_animated_gif=DUI. We may have the plate, the location, the info of the driver but if the officer can't find them there's nothing that can be done.
To add onto that, I might tell an officer that they are obviously intoxicated and they clear the call with nothing done. They do that because DUI cases are a pain in the ass and often don't amount to anything which is a shame considering the amount of work that goes into them.???????
Living in New York City will teach you to take threats of towing seriously.
[rebelmouse-image 18344887 is_animated_gif=I had no idea how many cars get towed out of private lots. Years ago my wife and I were out and she suggested we just park in some strip mall's lot. There were signs everywhere advising you'll be towed so I decided against it.
Fast forward 4 years and I work for the agency that covers that parking lot. They tow a few cars every night. Never knew so many places made good on the threat.
Have you ever gotten a call saying you'd be arrested for owing money to the IRS? It's a scam, don't panic.
[rebelmouse-image 18344890 is_animated_gif=1) identity theft. Literally all the time. There are 100 different ways to do it just as many ways to cover your tracks.
2) scam callers claiming to be the publishers clearing house or the lottery or the IRS. I have people calling from the other side of the country claiming someone from my PD called and said they have a warrant and if they don't pay they will be arrested.
Here's a suggestion: don't get naked for strangers on Skype.
[rebelmouse-image 18344891 is_animated_gif=(S)extortion, by which I mean people getting naked for a stranger during a Skype chat, that stranger records and/or takes a bunch of screenshots, and then tells them it'll take $500 or more to prevent the video/pictures from being all over Facebook.
This used to be an occasional deal, maybe once every couple weeks, but lately, there are a few that come in every other day. A lot of it seems to come from the Philippines, or at least that's where the money gets sent, and yes some people do send the money.
Gangs are a symptom of a broken society that leaves people behind.
[rebelmouse-image 18344892 is_animated_gif=911 Dispatcher here. Gangs are very common. The most affluent part of my county has a rather dangerous gang and all the rich people in their gated communities are either ignorant or in denial. One woman was even offended that I even suggest the very notion it was possible.
Calling the cops because you're lost? Genius.
[rebelmouse-image 18344893 is_animated_gif=My mom is a dispatcher. Kind of different, but apparently she gets a large amount of non-emergency calls or people who can't explain where they are which isn't very helpful for her. I also imagine these callers are taking up a space that would be better used for an actual emergency.
There are hotlines people can call if they are feeling desperate.
[rebelmouse-image 18344894 is_animated_gif=People who phone wanting attention. I mean people who are lonely or bored.
It's saddening how many people phone up and say they're in pain/bleeding anything to get an ambulance and once the paramedics are there and assessing them, there is nothing wrong but they just wanted someone there.
Part of me wishes that people who do this and waste police/fire/ambulance times should be fined the amount it costs to send them out but then part of me realizes that these people may/may not have mental issues that aren't being met so where does the blame lie.???????
Lock your phones, people.
[rebelmouse-image 18344895 is_animated_gif=OH. Forgot about this one. Misdials of 911, especially babies playing with phones.... you have no idea how often babies happen to hit the right combination of keys to call 911 or activate the phone emergency functions. I mean it is a LOT. We get dozens and dozens of them a day.
It's highly believed that it is important to learn history as a means to improve our future.
What is often overlooked is that what is taught in history class is going to be very different depending on where you went to school.
And this isn't just internationally, even different regions of the United states will likely have very different lessons on American history.
This frequently results in our learning fascinating, heartbreaking and horrifying historical facts which our middle or high school history teachers neglected to teach us.
Redditor Acherontia_atropos91 was curious to learn things people either wished they had learned, or believe they should have learned, in their school history class, leading them to ask:
What isn’t taught in history class but should be?
The Irish Troubles
"The troubles."
"Too many people in America do not understand why a wall straight through Ireland would be a BAD idea."
"I’m referring to the Brexit referendum and possible outcomes."
"If people were wondering why we were talking about walls through Ireland in the first place."- CLCVS.
Forgotten elements of World War II
"What the Japanese did to the Chinese during WW2."
"Unit 731."- CaptainMcBoogerJew.
"Japan gets off easy for their war crimes in WW2."
"They killed an estimated 16mil Chinese civilians and another 8mil soldiers"
"Also, Pol Pot."
"Didn't know who he was until I was like 25."
"Worst dictator all time (in terms of percentage of population he decimated)".
The truth about the American Revolution
"That the American Revolution was part of a wider cold war type of conflict with France."
"The American Revolution was basically the UK's equivalent of the US version of Vietnam."- vinsant7.
The Dark side of Swedish history.
"As a Swede, I'd like to know more of all the horrible sh*t my country has done throughout history."
"It's a damn shame we're trying to hide our history."
"For example, Swedes killed a metric sh*t ton of all Polish people when we were at our strongest."
"That's the kinda sh*t we don't get to learn."- mogwandayy.
Colonization
"Basically what Belgium did to the Congo."
"A lot of people are telling me that they are taught about this actually."
"I'm glad to hear it because I wasn't taught about this in the USA during my public school days (1995-2008)."- EconArch.
The truth about "heroes".
"While teaching about historical Heroes they should also tell students about the unspeakable things some of them did."
"Many famous figures throughout history who are pillars of morality actually did many terrible things." - User Deleted
Intolerance for Mental Illness
"The dark history of mental illness treatments."
"I think it's worth learning about."- 7dayexcerpt.
Slavic Mythology
"Slavic mythology in Slavic countries."
"Don't get me wrong, I love both Greek & Roman mythology and as a person from the Balkans both of those cultures are part of my country's history and had great influence over not only my region but the entirety of the continent & the western world but I wouldn't mind knowing more about Slavic mythology as well."- ShorsShezzarine.
The truth about the CIA
"How the CIA was made and all the shady things they did over the years."- ALargeChip.
There is a lot about the history of our world, not to mention our own country which shouldn't be ignored.
And it's from learning from our mistakes that we really improve our future.
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So apparently we are in the endemic phase of this nonsense.
We have light at the end of the tunnel.
So what now?
Where do we go from here?
Normal seems like an outdated word.
How do we get back to normal though?
Is it even possible?
What are reaching back to?
Life pre-Covid.
Those were the days.
If only we could bring them back.
Redditor hetravelingsong wanted to discuss our new normal in this hopeful "endemic" phase. So they asked:
"What’s something random you miss about pre-COVID times?"
I miss people being sane. Though that maybe election cycle issues not COVID. We'll never know.
I thought I was Alone...
"Being able to grocery shop after 11 pm."
Reading_Rainboner
"Hell yes. I miss the days where the Walmart across the street was open 24 hours."
Small_Tax_9432
let's just go...
"I miss spontaneity... everything now seems to have a barrier of difficulty."
iidosee
"I live very close to Disneyland so I have an annual pass. My friends and I would just go there after work and hang out and grab a bite to eat."
"Now, we have to reserve a day to go. And most of the time, the days are at 'full' capacity so we couldn't even reserve. I don't want to schedule to hang out at Disneyland for a couple hours for July. So yeah, I definitely miss the 'lets go eat at Disneyland tonight?' texts."
mymymissmai
Not til 24-25
"Functioning global supply chains. Ah, the product you want has got microchips in it? 9 month wait."
richard-king
"Minimum, I'd been saying for a while now that I wouldn't expect a true return to normalcy in terms of electronics prices till 2024-2025. Although Crypto crashing through the floor really took some of the pressure off graphics cards which I really appreciate."
statiiic
WTF?!?!
"How affordable everything was!"
Disastrous_Hour_6776
"Yep. Today I was bagging up my things at the grocery store and I heard the cashier say to the lady behind me 'thats $78.12.' She had -- 2 boxes of Kellogg's corn flakes, a carton of 12 eggs, milk, strawberries, raspberries, blue berries, a small cheese cake, English muffins, coffee, and a small whole frozen chicken that could maybe feed 3 people if the meat portioning was small."
SnowyInuk
Sushi
"My favorite sushi place. It was good quality, close by, kid-friendly, and not too expensive."
InannasPocket
All of this... it was a simpler time.
NASTY
"As a retail worker, just how f**king NASTY some people have gotten."
DmitriPetrov*itch
"They applauded you for being an essential worker but won’t vote for policies that’ll raise minimum wage while insisting a wage cap for heavily paid employees."
sketchysketchist
CHANGES your DNA...
"Some of the people closest to me became very bitter and petty over the last 2 years. So many people have the 'crazy eyes' now."
__--__7
"So true and holidays with the family is like who has the biggest tinfoil hat building contest. How many jumps does your brain have to go through to think that the Covid vaccine CHANGES your DNA into the patented DNA so that the government now controls your body."
"So like vaccinated people now have a singular DNA set. I feel like I still have a chunk of my brain just broken off due to that comment alone. I was also told by same family member that I could never donate blood again due to the vaccine. I guess it is so my patented DNA doesn't affect people?? FYI my vaccinated butt just donated today fine and multiple other times after the vaccine."
tyreka13
Homeward Bound
"House prices."
adrianinked
"I'm resigned to never thinking I have a chance on owning property where I live. I'm 30 and just can't imagine it anymore. And I don't want to live anywhere else so, whatever."
Osdab2daf
"That didn’t happen because of the pandemic. That was already happening regardless."
CH11DW
Oh Mickey
"All Day Breakfast at McDonalds."
hutch2522
"It was honestly hell to do, and not very popular. ITs margins aren't anywhere dinner and lunch specials. ON top of that, the temperatures are such that They require its own grill, meaning that if you have 2 grills in shop, you are down 50% of lunch capacity."
Freyas_Follower
Way back when...
"Hanging out with friends. And I mean waaaaaay before Covid. Like 2006 back when I had some friends."
LoocsinatasYT
I miss the old days. Maybe we'll get back there.
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What do you believe?
Is there a GOD in the sky?
Is he guiding us and helping us?
Life is really hard. Why is that is a big entity is up there loving us?
Atheists have taken a lot of heat for what feels like shunning GOD.
What if they've been right all along?
Maybe let's take a listen and see what they really think.
Redditor __Jacob______ wanted to hear from the people who don't really believe all that "God" stuff. They asked:
"Atheists, what do you believe in?"
I'm waffling between G-O-D and nothing. So please give me some education.
911
"We need to look out for each other because help isn't coming."
cknipe
Peace Out
"More than 2 decades ago, a priest was giving a sermon in my church and he said 'our faith requires you to believe without question. Why call it faith if you have to ask questions?' I haven't returned to church. Not until my wedding day but you know what I mean."
asiangontear
Delusion
"When I was young I used to think that after death you would have access to a PC that you could see absolutely anything about your life. Stats, any question you had no matter how obscure, replays of moments, perspectives of others in relation to you. No matter what you wanted to know, if it was relatable to you, you could see it. I know it's silly, but as time goes on I just want it to be real, and I don't think I'd have any issue allowing myself to fall into that delusion."
eggwardpenisglands
I think nothing happens...
"Realistically, I think nothing happens. We literally experience nothing after death. Same thing that we experience before birth. We don't exist, so it's nothing. I think the tenant that we should follow while living is to try to be happy and healthy while minimizing the damage we do to each other."
"What I would LIKE to happen after death is whatever you believe in, exists. I think Christians should get to go to heaven if they truly believe in it, Hindus and Buddhists get reincarnated, and everyone else also gets to experience what they believe they will experience."
"'I would still experience Nothing. Maybe it's one of those things where at the moment of death their brain makes them experience what feels like an infinitely long moment in time where they experience their afterlife. I just think it would be neat for everybody."
Better_Meat_
Shrug
"Best advice I received from a dear senior on their way out. 'You win some, you lose some' shrug. Nothing divine, life is that simple and wonderful, accept it and move on."
Tune_Kindly
It all sounds pretty simple. Why are people so up in arms about Atheists?
Whatever
"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, and people that do."
imCIK
Cool with Empty
"Nothing. [Serious]."
rumblingtummy29
"I feel this way about death. When I was 5, my grandfather died and my cousin simple said, he is dead, that means you are gone forever. Everything ends up dying, even plants and animals. I'm now in my 40's and still have this simplistic view of life and death. People think I'm ambivalent to life and death but it's just what it is."
thepigfish82
puppet-masters...
"I think a lot of religious people struggle with the fact that we are all just swirling units of chaos. There is no grand plan or great orchestrator. I think that’s why people who are prone to religion are also susceptible to things like Q anon and the Cabal and all that. They REALLY want to believe that there is some almighty puppet-master who determines all of humanity’s fate."
Lngtmelrker
“we’re living in a society!”
"Just be a kind and empathetic person not because you’re worried about some cosmic justice, but because it’s the right thing to do. If there is some being that created us there’s no way they actually care about believing in it or adhering to some rules from over 2000 years ago."
"Also a big thing for me is that I find the idea that you need religion or the Bible in order to have morals and ethics pretty dumb. It’s pretty f**king clear that most evangelicals have neither. But my main thing is being a good person simply because, as George Costanza once said we’re living in a society!' If you’re only a good person in order to make it to heaven you probably aren’t actually a good and moral person."
conservative_genius
That's All
"You're born. You live. You die. That's it. After you die you cease to exist, the same as before you were born."
serefina
Believe what you want. We're all here together. So let's focus there.
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The list of what irritates me is endless.
I mean... breathing too loud or dust can set me off.
I'm a bit unstable, yes.
But I'm not alone.
So let's discuss.
Redditor Aburntbagel6 wanted to hear about all the times many of us just couldn't control our disdain. They asked:
"What never fails to piss you off?"
I feel like this article can go on forever. Let's get some highlights.
Wasted Time
"Meetings that could and should have been an email."
Sirena609
Lotto People
"Getting stuck behind people playing the lottery at a corner store."
thenuggetlover
"I also used to work in a gas station and you’re SO right. I f**king hated the lottery people. Especially since my store had a small staff and there was usually only one of us working at a time, which meant that I couldn’t get any of my other work done as long as they were there."
"And you’re right, it’s also pretty sad to watch. I had one lady who used to come in every day and spent hundreds and HUNDREDS of dollars on scratch tickets. One day, she won $200 after spending probably around $600 and she was so excited and saying she can 'finally pay her bills.'"
i-am-your-god-now
Aware...
"No situational awareness. Job, home, shopping, driving. Think for one minute and go about. OBSERVE!!"
Dizzy-Foundation8122
"My mom is one of those people who leave the shopping cart in the middle of the damn aisle and proceed to walk twenty feet away. After correcting her a million times to no effect I just walk away now so people don’t know I’m with her."
OutrageousEvent
Shut Up!
"Endless barking in the middle of the night, I love animals but that sh*t I can't stand."
Acceptable-Lemon2924
"Endless barking in general drives me up a wall. One of my friends dogs was barking almost an entire gaming session the other day. I wanted to reach through the computer and smack him for letting it go on."
bangersnmash13
Kindness
"People being mean to service workers, especially if the workers are very young."'
scaryboilednoodles
All of these things. I hate them all.
Admit It
"People who never accept fault when they mess something up. Like, why blame a million people when it was clearly you who did it???"
Quirky-Area-8978
From Above
"My upstairs neighbors."
lutzow89
"I had terrible neighbors at my previous apartment. It was a one person studio for students, but her boyfriend was clearly living with her illegally and he was loud."
"One night we knocked n the door at 3 AM because of the loud music and an unknown girl opened the door. I just thought they were having a little party. But the next door I saw the girl living there come home with a suitcase after having been away for the weekend... Her BF was cheating on her in her own apartment."
Th3_Accountant
Move Away
"People who sit directly next to me at the airport, movie theater, any other place where you can choose a seat when there is PLENTY of other seating."
BacardiPardy33
"I can’t YES this enough and the ones who can’t park for crap so they park so close you can’t open doors on one side of the car or the ones who park directly behind when you pulled through so the door won’t open to load groceries."
BacardiPardy33
It's Over
"People who try to restart old drama. Like I'm done with you, just leave me alone."
Tired_Potatos
"Yep, half the reason I've basically quit playing one of my favorite online video games. People keep bringing old crap up or sh*tting on on someone who used to be our friend. I got tired of it so I just ejected the game out of me."
CaucasianHumus
AHHHHH!!!
"People walking too slow in front of me with no way to get around them. It’s even worse if it’s a couple or group taking up the whole sidewalk. HAVE SOME SPATIAL AWARENESS FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!"
_-v0x-_
Life in general pisses me off. I'm easy.
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