On Thu, 8 May 2008 10:04:20 -0700 (PDT), sus._by_the_sea@hotmail.com
wrote:
>Anyway, apolgies for all the pre-amble, my main point was: when one
>makes a 999 call from a mobile phone, then why the chuff does the
>operator simply not ask where one is?
The operator is automatically informed where you are with sufficient
precision for their needs. The emergency service will usually need a
more precise location. It would waste time to give an exact address
to more than one person.
> Do they really try to trace you
>by contacting the mobile phone provider, asking them where the signal
>is coming from, and then f*cking it all up by confusing sus. with
>suffolk? The operator could simply have asked me where I was calling
>from. Anyway, rant over. Grateful for any views.
Your mobile number is displayed on the emergency operator's console -
you cannot withhold your number from the emergency operator. IIUC the
operator will also be given which cell the call originated from, and
may also have a more precise location if the base station and handset
support it. They do not have to contact the mobile provider
separately in order to get that information - it is provided
automatically almost immediately after you press "send" on your
handset.
The operator needs to know your approximate location in order to
contact the appropriate emergency service. There is little point in
putting a caller in Brighton through to an ambulance despatcher in
Glasgow.
What the operator will *not* know is who the phone is registered to.
That would have to be sought separately from the service provider -
and may well not be obtainable at all in the case of a PAYG phone.
Though in the latter case, if the caller needs to be traced as a
matter of importance, the handset can be tracked all the time it is
switched on even if the SIM card has been changed.
I suspect that in your case the 999 operator may have had a dyslexic
moment and read "Suffolk" instead of "Sus." on the console or
perhaps pressed the button marked "Police, Suffolk" instead of the
button marked "Police, Sus." or similar. Or maybe passed your
location verbally to the police, and the police operator misheard.
The caller's number is always passed so that you can be called back if
cut off.
--
Cynic
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