When to Dial 911 vs 242-COPS

Your first thought when there’s an emergency might be to pick up the phone and call 911—but what constitutes an emergency for you might not be considered an emergency for the police department or fire department. Some calls require a call to 911, while others should be handled by dialing 242-COPS.

This post from your security guard service will cover the difference between those two types of calls.

Dialing 911

Call 911 when someone’s life or property is in danger or if you just witnessed a crime. Examples of this would be an accident with injuries, a person carrying a weapon or if your home was recently broken into. When you call 911, police officers, firefighters or ambulances will arrive at your location ASAP to assess and solve the situation.

Dialing 242-COPS

You should call 242-COPS in non-emergency situations or when a life or property isn’t in immediate danger. For example, you might call this line if you see someone loitering or a suspicious car parked outside of your car. This is also the right number to call if you have information about past crimes that you’d like to report to the police.

In general, use this phone number if you think the authorities should know about something, but it doesn’t need immediate attention.

Consider hiring a security guard company

Dialing 911 or 242-COPS can get you out of a pinch, but for ultimate protection, consider hiring a professional guard service. Here’s how hiring a team of professionals can help you:

• Deter crimes: The top reason to hire a security guard team is to stop crimes before they occur. The presence of just one uniformed guard can be enough to make a would-be criminal think twice before acting. After all, they’re less likely to commit a crime if they know they’re going to get caught red-handed.
• Rapid response: The average response time for police, firefighters and paramedics is less than seven minutes, but a lot can happen within those few minutes. An on-site guard can work to control an emergency while you wait for the authorities to arrive.
• Emergency assistance: A reputable guard company only hires employees with basic emergency training. A guard can keep an injured person in stable condition until paramedics can arrive on the scene.
• Improve customer service: A security officer’s main duty is to guard, but they’re also valuable customer service representatives. They can step in and help your customers if your employees aren’t available.
• Reduce stress: Even though you know first responders are just a phone call away, dealing with emergencies puts a ton of stress on your shoulders. Hiring a security guard alleviates that stress so that you can focus on other things.

For the best guard service, look no further than Advance On-Site Protection Security. All of our guards are vetted and thoroughly trained to provide peace of mind and ultimate protection for your home or business. Contact us today to see what we can do for you.

Categorised in: Safety Tips

This post was written by ADP Security