Help for 911 Call Centers
Georgetown Initiates Caller ID Service for Emergency Preparedness
Will Anderson
On April 22, 2003, University Information Services, working with the University's telephone service providers, installed caller ID components on the campus telephone system. Before this initiative of the Emergency Response Team was completed, 911 centers that received a call from campus only saw "Georgetown University" and "202-687-0100" as contact information. To provide assistance, the 911 center requested that the Department of Public Safety locate the caller's direct telephone number. If the caller became disconnected from the 911 center in the meantime, the 911 center could not call back. Now 911 centers will receive a caller's direct telephone number and provide it to DOPS, greatly enhancing DOPS's ability to respond to crisis situations on campus.
Soon, Washington, DC's 911 centers will receive a database of locations that correspond with campus telephone numbers. The ability to determine where a call originated without DOPS's help is especially important for the Georgetown buildings on Wisconsin Avenue and Prospect Street that are separated from the main campus.
As a consequence of providing this information to 911 call centers, direct telephone numbers will also be available to anyone off campus who has a caller ID device. Calls are now identified as "Georgetown University" with the direct telephone number listed. At no time will a person's name or location be listed, only the telephone number.
On-campus callers can hide their numbers from caller ID by dialing "195" before they dial a telephone number. They will then appear on the recipient's caller ID device as either "Anonymous" or "Unknown Caller" depending on the recipient's telephone company. Information on using the "195" number blocking service can be found at http://www.georgetown.edu/uis/help/telecom.number.blocking.html.
Will Anderson is Support Services Manager for University Information Services. |
