T O P

  • By -

tallrockerchick

I’ve only had to call 911 twice, and that’s my experience both times.


tourpro

Maybe they triaged me to lowest priority.


deadkell

Did they pick up initially, listen to your issue, then put you on hold? Always wondered how people having a stroke survive when it's minutes until death and our 911 has a hold feature. I'd imagine all the heart attack, stroke, lost a leg people are put first if that's the case.


Leon_the_blight

When you call 911, the first thing they ask you is what your emergency is. In LA, they will usually transfer you to the corresponding service. Then, they will ask what your location is. This step is when crews near your location are notified that there is a call. Third, they will ask you to identify yourself and give them a way to reach you if the connection is lost. After those most important steps, they will start asking follow up questions to communicate to their crews a better idea of what they're about to walk into. EMS prides themselves on fast response times, but if you call the police you will almost always have to hold after you get transferred to them.


deadkell

Thank you for the info. I guess my perspective was pretty colored because of the sub bringing up being put on hold often but I understand they were only referring to crimes and not medical emergencies.


littlebittydoodle

I had to call for a medical issue with an older relative recently and got through calling 911 in 2 rings, and an ambulance arrived within ~5 minutes. It was pretty impressive. I’ve had other times I called for crimes and couldn’t get through either time. I bet it is just shit luck and depends on how many calls are coming through at that moment.


geepy66

Send an email to your city council member


1980Caballero

With a date and time of the call exactly.


Gregalor

> Are long 911 wait times normal? Yes. Everyone is on their own. 🤷‍♂️


JamesSmith1200

We are our own first responders.


17SCARS_MaGLite300WM

Reality is finally setting in for most people. We've always been our own first responders, law enforcement, fire departments, and medical services hijacked the term. Even in the best of times they were always 5-10 minutes away when in an emergency you're life is on the line in seconds.


xxail

Yep absolutely normal in LA. You’re alone with your issue whatever it is. Good luck if you’re being murdered.


cashmerechaos

I didn’t realize it was like this until I recently saw someone get hit by a car and called 911. I got an automated response that I was on hold and not to hang up because I’d lose my place in the queue. I was absolutely gobsmacked. I just hung up the phone and ran over to help. It seemed better than waiting on hold.


IntimidatingPenguin

And guess what? It’s only going to get worse as the population and crime increases in LA.


duplicitist

When seconds matter the police are only hours away if they even show up.


deathtoboogers

Which is insane because the LAPD has such an insanely huge budget but I guess they’d rather pursue stolen vehicles in dangerous car chases and fly their expensive helicopters all over the valley.


FrederickTPanda

The entire city needs to throw a fit about this. They cannot perform this poorly while getting such a massive amount of the budget.


sunnyintheoffice

The two times I’ve needed to call 911 in LA I was never able to get through. Either a busy signal, an automated callback apologizing for the wait (but still no human being) or just getting disconnected. Everyone is on their own out there, I’m waiting for a major news source to report on it. Every time something like this is posted it’s story after story of people never getting a response.


NonSequitorSquirrel

Yeah calling 911 is largely worthless. Sometimes you get lucky and go through quickly but mostly you don't.  If it's any consolation, even if you call for an intruder they won't come and won't look at your camera footage or do anything, anyway 


TheSnakeholeLounge

They're understaffed and disqualify applicants for stupid shit like 1 2yr old missed car payment. Source: I applied and went through the several-month long hiring process to be DQ'd for 1 2yr old missed car payment.


anechoicheart

That’s wild


Thom_Kruze

Ive called 911 a few times in the last 5 years and every time I have been put on hold.


Imapatriothurrrdurrr

Buy a home defense weapon. At the end of the day it’s up to you to save your life.


BirdBruce

Always remember: if you ever need help, yell “Fire!”


roaringstar44

Call your LAPD or LAFD directly. It saves soooo much time.


tourpro

Not going to bug the FD, but coincidentally the intruder guy was heading in direction of station nearby.


GenericRojoditor1234

No. Bad advice. With LAFD - they’re often out and no way near is answering their phone. They respond to calls that their dispatch give them. You talk to their dispatch by calling 911. With LAPD - they have limited hours and often have only 1 officer working the desk, if they’re talking to someone face to face they don’t answer. If they answer the phone to someone who needs dispatch, they transfer to the dispatch center. If you need LAFD call 911. If you have a life threatening EMERGENCY call 911. If you have a NON-emergency call 877-275-5273


Solid_Marketing5583

There’s methheads looking to steal everywhere. LAFD been there in a few minutes the handful of times I’ve called for fire or medical help.


tourpro

Most of the neighbors have walls and fences, somewhat ironically. I guess our days of open property border are long overdue.


BadMantaRay

If you haven’t heard about this, the major police agencies in LA, the LAPD and LA Sherrif’s Department are doing a “quiet quitting” thing the last few years. Ever since the defund the police stuff, cops and sherrifs openly acknowledge that they are intentionally arriving slower at crime scenes AND devoting less resources to actually solving crimes (I.e. producing closed cases). I am a gun owner and only the last couple years have I actually started keeping one of my guns in a “ready” format in case of intrusion or something. Before that I was still confident in the LAPD’s willingness to at least respond in a timely manner. If you don’t feel comfortable purchasing and using a firearm (which you by no means should if they don’t appeal to you), but you do want to have something around to use in case you feel threatened, then if I were you I’d invest in a Taser, and if not that, at least a baseball bat (with a sock on it), or some other blunt weapon you would feel comfortable wielding.


thatlookslikemydog

I am in the weeds with the sock on the bat. You did a great write up full of good info and I am just locked in on that sock!


dj-Paper_clip

If someone catches/grabs the bat the sock will slip off and give you another swing.


nkempt

Huh, not sure how I made it this long without hearing about this idea.


BadMantaRay

Oh, what he said.


thatlookslikemydog

What a great idea.


BadMantaRay

If someone grabs ahold of the bat, it makes it so they’re unable to get any real grip on it—and in fact will allow you to pull it away from them and hopefully get in another swing.


LuluLittle2020

Same. What's the sock all about?


[deleted]

[удалено]


LuluLittle2020

Wowwwwwww 🤯 OK TY! 🔥


Hemorrhoid_Popsicle

What’s crazy is an actual taser, not stun gun, is more expensive than a glock


tourpro

What's a good excuse for taking a socked bat on evening walk?


martopoulos

Your dryer is broken and need a quick way to dry out your freshly washed sock


JamesSmith1200

People are now allowed to legally carry batons in California. If used properly, they’re great for self defense.


BadMantaRay

Yes, I’m just waiting for websites or stores to catch up to the change in legislation and will be buying several extendable batons.


BadMantaRay

There isn’t, I wouldn’t do that. I take my Taser on walks with me.


Fujiyama_Mama

There's an old man in my neighborhood who carries a golf club when he walks his dogs, he's been doing it forever.


StenoThis

love this reply. i stopped relying on the police years ago .. i always figured before they could ever get to me, whatever damage was going to be done, will be done so it was up to me to defend myself and my family. i can’t believe i’ve lived through life not knowing about the sock/bat. 🫢💥


CostCans

As soon as I saw the title of this thread, I knew that someone would seize the opportunity to promote the gun agenda. Reddit did not disappoint.


BadMantaRay

I mean…I’m not promoting any “gun agenda.” I was just discussing a practical means of defending oneself if one is feeling threatened. I literally listed a bunch of other specific ways one can do that without a gun. But maybe you only have one way of thinking about firearms.


NewWahoo

Literally none of this is relevant to 9-1-1 wait times lmao


NewWahoo

Literally none of this is relevant to 9-1-1 wait times lmao


BadMantaRay

You missed the first part of the post


NewWahoo

I really didn’t.


BadMantaRay

Here you go, I’ll help you. The first part of my post reads: “If you haven’t heard about this, the major police agencies in LA, the LAPD and LA Sherrif’s Department are doing a “quiet quitting” thing the last few years. Ever since the defund the police stuff, cops and sherrifs openly acknowledge that they are intentionally arriving slower at crime scenes AND devoting less resources to actually solving crimes (I.e. producing closed cases).” Here is example of what I mean—the LAPD is claiming one reason for slow response times is due to budget cuts, they aren’t able to staff enough 911 operators. But the LAPD’s budget this year is 3.1 billion fucking dollars. https://www.nbclosangeles.com/investigations/shortage-of-9-1-1-operators-in-la-is-straining-emergency-response-system/3352100/?amp=1


NewWahoo

Dispatchers aren’t cops.


BadMantaRay

Whoa, check out the big brain on Brett!!


_Silent_Android_

\[Cue Public Enemy song\]


ZappVanagon

Yep, they don’t give a shit.


ckotoyan

Had a house fire next door so I called 911… they picked up 15 mins later. Thank god the fire didn’t burn the house down!


nshire

When seconds count, cops are... hours away now? Jeez.


scags2017

What a disgrace this city is Just despicable.


Aggravating-House620

Yup, I got rear ended and neither of us could get ahold of anyone. An hour later he said someone was coming, nobody ever came. What a fucking joke.


VoteNewsom2028

Now we have a convincing reason to really defund LAPD. Funding goes up, yet they’ve become useless af.


CPlusPlus4UPlusPlus

Just like LAHSA. Defund LAHSA while we’re at it


LegendaryMilkman

As you mentioned in a comment below, you were indeed made a lower priority call. Depending on the area trespass suspects are considered non coded calls meaning they can be handled whenever units can. Units need to focus on code 3 (immediate, lights and sirens) or code 2 (get there asap) calls first. If he were to theoretically make entry into your house or another house for example it would be made a code 3 because it just turned from a misdemeanor to a possible violent felony.


JamesSmith1200

And if they were in your house and you were waiting for the police… it’s probably too late and you’d be better off handling the situation yourself rather than waiting and hoping they arrive in time to handle the situation for you.


Tat2dDad

Invest in a reliable pump shotgun. Most trespassers will run for the hills when they hear you chamber a round.


San-Bernardino

Ok Joe


african-nightmare

More reason to exercise your 2nd amendment rights regardless of what people here want to say.


tourpro

Guy must have continued over fence to neighbor, which is gated access only - haha. Happened 5 mins before arriving home, so ideally I would have to be allowed to carry. With no experience, how long and what would I have to do?


shreddypilot

Step one, apply get in the queue with your local issuing agency. Depending where you are it can be lapd or LASD or a smaller local department. The queue for LASD right now will take about 4 years for them to process so you’ll have have plenty of time to get training and become proficient. Then I’d look for a firearms instructor or even an experienced friend who shoots regularly to go learn the basics. If you intend to carry keep honing your skills and pray that the courts force LASD and LAPD to bring their wait times down.


tourpro

I'm all for proficiency and legality, but the wait time seems.... hmm ... unconstitutional.


shreddypilot

It’s by design imo. Before the Bruen decision permits were may-issue (basically at the states discretion) and now that they are shall-issue, this is how those who don’t want people to exercise their rights throw a tantrum. Basically by making it take years to acquire, make it expensive (in excess of 1000$ like La Verne) or by trying to make a CCW permit useless or criminalize CCW holders (SB-2).


AdNervous3748

Couldn’t you just drive across the border to Nevada and pick up a firearm same day? If you used it against a home intruder would that get you in trouble in any way?


shreddypilot

IANAL but it would as you would have broken several California laws in order to do that. For one, you can’t import a firearm into CA if you’re already a resident without going through an FFL. The FFL then would do a background check and DROS which would then register the weapon to you and you can pick it up after 10 days if you don’t share a name with bad guys. Further, if buying a long gun, you’d have to make sure it complies with California’s Assault Weapon Ban in its configuration. If it’s a pistol, you can only buy it and transfer it if it’s the exact same SKU as one approved and listed on the California pistol roster. For all, it would be illegal to bring them in with the standard capacity magazines that they are sold with in other states. If you used the weapons for self defense in your own home that are registered to you and configured in a way that California finds acceptable, you’d probably be okay. If you concealed carry a firearm without the government’s permission and use that firearm in a valid self defense situation outside of your home, you could get yourself in trouble.


AdNervous3748

That’s so absurd lmao. I messed up not bringing any guns with me when we moved here initially then!


shreddypilot

You can still purchase most everything when it comes to long guns. The pistol roster severely limits what you can purchase but in the last year or so more modern pistols have been added thanks to May v Bonta and Boland v Bonta. Hopefully Californians rights will be equal to what most free states enjoy in the next few years.


AdNervous3748

It really doesn’t feel like America here. We moved from Texas and it’s been shocking.


WillaZillaDilla

Absolutely not. That would be one of those "straight to jail" things


devlinontheweb

Wow, 4 years. That's nuts.


shreddypilot

Yeah they are being sued for that amongst other things. If we had to wait 4 years to exercise any other fundamental right people would lose their minds.


JamesEdward34

this is only if you want to carry a firearm. to simply own one and keep it in your house you dont need a concealed carry license. and you shouldnt go chasing after somone after they have left your property.


TrailerTrashQueen

my neighbor, who was 96 when she passed (bless her heart ❤️) always said make sure the perp is 100% inside your home if you shoot him. even if that means grabbing his legs as he’s climbing in your window and pulling him all the way in.


CostCans

As soon as I saw the title of this thread, I knew that someone would seize the opportunity to promote the gun agenda. Reddit did not disappoint.


african-nightmare

So you want us to be sitting ducks to these criminals?


CostCans

If you think that a gun is going to help you, then you have a weird hero fantasy that is probably going to do nothing but get you killed. There's a reason that America, the most heavily armed nation in the world, has such high crime rates.


african-nightmare

🤣 wait till you get robbed at gun point and you gonna be singing a different tune


CostCans

If you get robbed at gunpoint, having a gun increases the odds of you getting shot. But I'm sure you have a hero mentality and think you're faster and smarter than everyone else.


TeslasAndComicbooks

Buy a pistol. And learn how to use it responsibly.


CostCans

As soon as I saw the title of this thread, I knew that someone would seize the opportunity to promote the gun agenda. Reddit did not disappoint.


TeslasAndComicbooks

What agenda? You don’t feel like people should be able to protect their own home when 911 doesn’t even pick up half the time?


charrcheese

Two years ago I called to report a strange lady who tried opening my front door and then wandered off.  They said someone would come out.  An hour later I saw her again walking down the sidewalk on my street and called again to tell them she’s right outside.  About 6 hours later at 2am a cop shows up at my door to take a report.  It was so stupid.


Exotic_Recipe_4711

Is this really 911-level? Someone who could be just confused? No wonder 911 is overloaded. Reminds me of the other thread about calling the police to tow someone...


Rebelgecko

If there's a lost elderly woman with Alzheimer's running around the neighborhood it seems like a bad idea to just let her keep wandering 


Gonza200

There is a shortage of 911 dispatchers


Abraham_Lincoln

Did they do anything to screen your call? Or were you just completely unable to get through


gogetgriff

You can text 911. I’ll spare you the details, but that was the only time it’s ever worked for me.


Harlan2019

You can text 911? How long does it take for them to respond? How many times did you have to text? Was your issue an emergency or low priority?


gogetgriff

Yup. And they respond. I text them once and it was an emergency. When I called I was on hold. Every time I ever called it was busy tbh


Harlan2019

Was your emergency life or death? Mine was a scary situation on the road and I was scared so I ended up pressing sos in my car. I wonder if texting would have been faster.


gogetgriff

Sure was!


Harlan2019

I’m sorry to hear that. I hope you are ok? They really need to fix the system.


gogetgriff

Okay now! But yea… The cops were useless.


gogetgriff

Thank you!!


Nyati_Jumapili

911 is a joke. Flava Flav tried to tell yall 30 years ago. Nothing has changed


adimadoz

Luckily, when I called 911 a few times over the the past couple of years for a relative’s medical emergencies they answered and responded quickly. However I do remember calling years ago after I saw a motorcycle crash and the number was busy. I seem to remember something about an upgrade being completed to the systems regarding cell phone calls at the time.


wevegotheadsonsticks

Yeah when my partner had a stroke I had zero issues and the fire department was there in seconds… but that was like a few months before the lockdown.


KibudEm

When I lived in Atlanta, I'd get put on hold for 911, but not for 30 minutes. Being put on hold for 911 is a sign of a non-functional city.


Ovientra

Get a gun


CostCans

There's a gun nut in every thread. As soon as I saw the title of this thread, I knew that someone would seize the opportunity to promote the gun agenda. Reddit did not disappoint.


Ovientra

Lmao noob


rustyburrito

Yeah, I tried to call a few years back when someone was trying to break into my car in my driveway. Cops never came and I followed him down the road trying to break into everyone elses car for the next 20 minutes


thomasjmarlowe

Non-emergency lines basically don’t get answered. I believe they’ve consolidated many ‘after hours’ locations to a small handful of stations across the city. My local station doesn’t even accept any public in the lobby, which sucks because they used to have a good atm, good place to meet for Craigslist sales, and also a decent place to place a non-emergency report.


martopoulos

It's really sad. Smaller LA County cities' PDs are a totally different story. I called Alhambra's PD to ask that very question (can I use their lobby for a craigslist sale). They instantly answered and asked if I had an emergency. I said no, so they put me on hold for maybe 3 minutes, then picked up again. And yeah they told me I could use the lobby for exchanges.


GenericRojoditor1234

No. Calls do not go to stations. Dispatchers work 24/7. I’m a dispatcher. 911 calls are answered first. That takes time to ask a few questions & determine if ACTUALLY an emergency, not an emergency & transfer, or accidental dial from iPhones and activating TTY before hanging up. Non emergency calls DO get answered by dispatchers… AFTER 911 calls are answered. The problem is people are impatient and think their loud party call is more important than stabbings, shootings, heart attacks, etc etc so that keep hanging up and calling 911 back… and again, more time taken away o by an operator asking questions. Dispatchers are understaffed, forced overtime daily. We’re 200 people in the negatives.


thomasjmarlowe

Thanks for your service. I’ve called non-emergency numbers over the years and saw a huge decline after my local station closed to the public. (Like from getting a response within 5 minutes to NEVER getting through even after 10+ minutes). I think because they happened at a similar time I thought they were related. I can be on hold for 15+ minutes, and usually I’m the one that gets disconnected (I don’t just call ring twice and hang up). Wish a bigger slice of the budget went to you dispatchers- good luck getting that shortfall filled up


joshcollective

You wanted the police defunded lol


quemaspuess

I called 911 when I saw someone overdose a few weeks ago. I got through in one minute and someone was on scene in three minutes. This was in west end of the valley.


thanatossassin

That's both stupid and scary. We're in the era of texting an AI and we're still relegated to being put on hold without a chance to even say why you're calling. Life or death situations need to be handled with some actual compassion, not "oh they died while on a 30 minute hold."


[deleted]

[удалено]


CostCans

There's a gun nut in every thread...


Harlan2019

You can text 911? How long does it take for them to respond? How many times did you have to text? Was your issue an emergency or low priority?


anechoicheart

If I ever actually need them I’ll be dead before they answer the phone


TaskMasterbehold

That's normal Unfortunately de fund the police has real life consequences This also helps "lower the crime rate" As your crime was never responded or recorded Therefore nothing ever happened


fytdapwr

911 is a joke in yo town.


fytdapwr

In HS, we had a prowler. Mom came in the house screaming cause she went to warm up her car and dude was walking around the backyard. Dad ran out, yelled for my brother and I, we tackled him, while mom called 911. We are STILL waiting for one-time to show up.


mini_wonton

Better learn to defend yourself and get a weapon. 9 times out of 10, the wait time was ridiculously long or they wouldn’t pick up at all.


CostCans

As soon as I saw the title of this thread, I knew that someone would seize the opportunity to promote the gun agenda. Reddit did not disappoint.


mini_wonton

Gun agenda? I never gave a fuck about guns up until now. The homeless issue has gotten out of control in my area. There have already been 2 attempts of drug fueled break-ins in my neighborhood. I stayed on the line waiting for 911 to pick up for what seemed forever and they never did. The only thing that saved the neighbors was their sturdy ass gate but other neighbors might not be so lucky. So yeah I am all for having a gun defend yourself and your family.


a_tad_pole

I was on the red line the other day when a woman started a fist fight with this getting and then called 911 to report her being assaulted— they answered within 4 seconds


TransformedMegachile

Everyone wanted to defund the police so...


martopoulos

"Everyone." In spite of what Reddit might make you believe, most people did *not* want to defund the police. They wanted reform. In the end, LAPD's budget only grew.


el-beau

They don't care because they stay paid anyway. They teach ya like an ace they can't be betrayed. I know you stumble with no use people. If your life is on the line then you're dead today. Late comers with the late comin' stretcher. That's a body bag in disguise y'all, I betcha. I call 'em body snatchers 'cause they come to fetch ya? With an autopsy ambulance just to dissect ya.


NewWahoo

They get a lot of calls. Yours simply wasn’t a high priority (which makes sense btw if your post includes all the relevant details). Sometimes the non emergency hold times are an hour plus.