Tarpon Springs Police Department

Reverse 911

Everyone is familiar that in order to report an emergency situation, you can dial 911 for help.

However, the Reverse 911 system calls you at times when residents need to be informed of situations from where life and property are concerned, to where a situation may create detours due to construction or a public event.

The Reverse 911 System is a mass communication tool used to notify citizens of critical situations, crime alerts, crime prevention information, and other information deemed to be in the interest of the citizens and property of Tarpon Springs.

The Reverse 911 System is an internet browser computer system that uses a combination of an address database and GIS mapping technology. The system has the ability to send out recorded telephone messages at the rate of 600 calls per minute.

The system can send out messages to a specific geographic area, or a specific list of streets, households, or individuals, with a common interest. In addition, the Reverse 911 System has the capability to leave a message on an answering machine, and can also send out TTY/TDD messages for the hearing impaired. Even if an individual’s telephone is busy at the time, the system can redial that number at a predetermined interval.

Some of the situations where the Reverse 911 System can be used for are;

·        Missing or endangered children and elderly adults

·        Evacuations or information concerning critical incidents.

·        Neighborhood Crime Watch information.

·        Street closures due to construction or public events

·        Crime Alerts to a specific area or group.

·        Boil water notices

Reverse 911 Notice
Tele-Zappers Can Block Reverse 911 Calls:
Residents that have installed a device known as a Tele-Zapper, or that have a telephone with the device built in to limit calls from telemarketers, may unknowingly be cutting themselves off from emergency notification messages from the Police Department, and other city departments.
Since the Reverse 911 system operates very similar to the computerized calling systems that telemarketers use, the Tele-Zapper will block these calls to the telephone. However, the Tele-Zapper will not remove the resident's telephone number from the Reverse 911 computer's database.

There have been instances where crime alerts, missing persons, and boil water notices issued by the Police Department or Public Works, were missed by several residents in the affected area. It was later found that the resident had a Tele-Zapper installed on their phone.