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Automated Switching System Proposed to Screen 911 Calls

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Los Angeles City Councilman Richard Alarcon proposed Tuesday that the city’s 911 dispatch system be connected with an automatic, electronic selection menu to handle non-emergency calls.

Since many calls to 911 are not life-or-death emergencies, and many are “frivolous requests for directions, time of day and the weather,” Alarcon asked the staff to report within two months on the prospects for implementing a voice-mail-type system to direct calls.

Laura Chick, who heads the council’s Public Safety Committee, said such an electronic answerer is already part of the long-term plan for reforming the 911 system.

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