9-1-1 - Making Calls Public

Making Calls Public

In recent years, 9-1-1 calls have aired on news broadcasts.

Ohio Senator Tom Patton introduced a bill in 2009 which would have banned the broadcasting of 9-1-1 calls, requiring the use of transcripts instead. Patton believed that people would be reluctant to make calls because of possible retaliation or threats against those who called. He intended to seek proof of this idea to satisfy those who did not believe him, or that broadcasting 9-1-1 calls hurt investigations. The Ohio Fraternal Order of Police supported the bill because broadcasts of 9-1-1 calls just "sensationalized". Ohio Association of Broadcasters director Chris Merritt said government did not have the right to decide how public records were used. Other opponents of such a ban point out that recordings hold dispatchers accountable and show when they are not doing their jobs properly, in a way transcripts cannot.

A bill signed by Alabama governor Bob Riley on April 27, 2010 requires a court order before recordings can be made public. Alaska, Florida, Kentucky and Wisconsin also had bills banning the broadcasts. Mississippi, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Wyoming already banned the broadcasts.

In April 2011, the Tennessee Senate passed a bill banning broadcasts of calls unless the caller gave permission.

North Carolina law defines 911 recordings as public records, but an exception allows officials to release either transcripts or distorted voices.