Reporting a Crime

When Dialing 9-1-1 From Your Cell Phone:

1. Use 9-1-1 only for immediate police, fire or medical emergencies.
2. Be prepared to provide your location and any essential information the dispatcher may need including a physical description of involved parties.
3. Your phone number and location may not be available to the dispatcher. Know your surroundings (street address, landmarks, mileposts) when calling 9-1-1.
4. Stay on the line until told to hang up. You may be transferred to another agency.

When you call the police, please answer the questions that are asked of you. Many times you may think that the questions being asked are superfluous or unnecessary. However, if a question is asked, it is important. Remember, each dispatcher has been trained in asking the proper questions for both your safety and the safety of the Police Officers that will be responding to your call.

If you call 9-1-1 by mistake, do not hang up!

Tell the Dispatcher that you called by mistake and that you do not have an emergency. Any time a Dispatcher receives a 9-1-1 call where there is no voice contact, the caller must be contacted to be sure that no actual emergency exists. Not only does this tie up the Dispatcher trying to contact the caller but it also ties up the Police Officer that will be dispatched to your address if we are unable to verify the existence of an emergency

9-1-1 Calls from Wireless Phones

Several years ago, 9-1-1 calls from cellular phones were answered by the California Highway Patrol (CHP). CHP, in turn, transferred calls that were not freeway related to the appropriate jurisdiction for a response. Since then, the State of California has mandated that cellular phone companies modify their technology to route calls to the appropriate agencies. The larger cellular phone companies have met the established standards and can now send their calls to any agency ready to receive them. All 911 calls are initially routed to the CHP or the Lake County Sheriff's Department Dispatch. Once it is determined that the emergency requires police response and is occurring in the City of Clearlake, the calls are then routed to the Clearlake Police Department.