Deputy Minister for the Presidency and 911 spokeswoman, Zoraima Cuello says that during the first 48 hours of operation of the 911 National Emergency and Security System, they successfully responded to 1,216 emergency situations.
She said that they received 42,373 calls, which included 1,216 actual emergencies, and the remaining 28,903 could be classified as nuisance calls.
Cuello highlighted the number of nuisance calls, some of which were made by children, and warned that up to 15 minimum salaries could be imposed as a fine, and possibly even more. She went on to say that 60% of the genuine emergency calls were for the National Police, 19% for the health services, 8% for the Metropolitan Transport Authority, 7% for firefighters and 6% for the Ministry of Public Works.
As far as the type of emergency was concerned, 290 were for physical aggression, 263 traffic accidents and 81 for roadside assistance. 75 were for domestic violence, 47 fires and 66 needed assistance for a robbery.
In the case of the nuisance calls, most callers simply hung up the telephone, others stayed on the line in silence and some tried to make a joke of it.
Zoraima Cuello said that they were thinking of additional publicity to warn of the consequences of making nuisance calls, and that the fact that there were 30,000 situations where the lines were busy on a nuisance call put other lives at risk in real emergencies.
She said that 275 numbers have made more than five nuisance calls each, which had been identified and their owners were now under investigation.
http://presidencia.gob.do/comunicados/el-911-atendi%C3%B3-1216-emergencias-en-primeras-48-horas