911 (emergency telephone number)

911, sometimes written 9-1-1, is an emergency telephone number in Canada and the United States, one of eight N11 codes of the North American Numbering Plan (NANP). Dialing 911 from any telephone will link the caller to an emergency dispatch office—called a public safety answering point (PSAP) by the telecommunications industry—which can send emergency responders to the caller's location in an emergency. In approximately 96 percent of the United States, the enhanced 911 system automatically pairs caller numbers with a physical address.

Like other emergency numbers, dialing 911 for purposes other than reporting an emergency is a crime in most jurisdictions. Penalties for abuse or misuse of 911 can range from probation or community service to fines and jail time. Offenders can also be ordered to undergo counseling and have their use of telephones restricted or suspended for a period of time as a condition of probation.

Venezuela also has a 911 emergency service called VEN911.

History

The first use of a national emergency telephone number began in the United Kingdom in 1937 using the number 999, which continues to this day. In the United States, the first 911 service was established by the Alabama Telephone Company and the first call was made in Haleyville, Alabama in 1968 by Alabama Speaker of the House Rankin Fite and answered by U.S. Representative Tom Bevill. In Canada, 911 service was adopted in 1972, and the first 911 call occurred after a 1974 roll-out in London, Ontario.