A newer feature on smartphones is leading to more accidental 9-1-1 calls.
According to the Mount Vernon Police Department, the feature, Emergency SOS allows you to quickly access 9-1-1 services, but the issue with the feature is that it will call 9-1-1 without the knowledge of the caller if certain actions are caught by the phone. Dispatchers and police personnel will then call back and initiate a phone ping and send officers to the phone’s location. Dispatchers say that the feature can be turned off in the phone’s menu.
Officials also say that if your phone accidentally dials 9-1-1 to stay on the line with dispatchers to inform them that it was a misdial.