Reporting Suspicious Behavior – What 911 Needs to Know

This is Part 3 of a 5 part series on Reporting Suspicious Behavior. It’s from a flyer handed out by the police at the North Precinct Advisory Council.

Information that the 911 call taker may ask but is not limited to is:

• What is happening?
• Where is it happening and where are you in relation to what is happening?
• What made the person’s actions suspicious?
• Did the person say anything? If so, what?
• Were thre any weapons displayed, or was there a threat of a weapon?
• What was the person’s last known location and direction of travel?

If you are reporting a suspicious vehicle – or a suspicious person in a vehicle – please provide as much information about the vehicle as you can. Consider the acronym CYMBOL – Color, Make, BOdy style, License.

Answer the call taker’s questions to the best of your ability. If you don’t know the answer to all the questions the call taker asks, don’t worry. Answer the best you can and don’t hang up until the call taker tells you it’s okay to do so.

Part 4 will be on calling 911 from a cell phone.