Bill protects identity of 9-1-1 callers

Posted by Press Release on May 11, 2011

In an attempt to protect
the privacy of individuals who call 9-1-1, Rep. Joe Hackett (R-Delaware) has
introduced legislation to protect the identity of callers to the state’s
emergency phone lines.

“As a former police
officer and detective, I am aware of the necessity of protecting the privacy of
crime victims and witnesses who could be placed in danger if their location is
revealed,” Hackett said. “This bill is designed to protect them, while giving
the courts the oversight to release that information if it is deemed in the
public interest.”

To view Hackett’s or
Barrar’s video comments about the legislation, visit RepHackett.com or SteveBarrar.com.

House Bill 1174 provides
an exemption to the state’s Right-to-Know law for records containing
identifying information of an individual who calls a 9-1-1 center, unless a
court determines public interest in disclosure outweighs the interest in
nondisclosure.

Rep. Stephen E. Barrar
(R-Chester/Delaware), a co-sponsor of House Bill 1174 and majority chairman of
the House Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee, noted that the
legislation is in reaction to a decision of the Commonwealth Court of
Pennsylvania in the case of County of York v. Pennsylvania Open Records and Ted
Czech. The decision puts victims and innocent bystanders in danger by
requiring public access to geographic information about where 9-1-1 calls are
made in an emergency.

The case stems from an
incident in which the York Daily Record/Sunday News requested time-response
logs, but was not provided geographic information identifying the location of
the 9-1-1 caller. The newspaper appealed to the Office of Open Records,
which decided in favor of the newspaper. York County appealed the ruling
in court, but lost.

“In this age of
electronic media, the moment the address of a 9-1-1 caller is released, that
person’s identity is compromised,” Barrar said. “The identity of the
caller must be kept confidential to prevent cases of retribution against
informants and to ensure the public has a sense of safety and privacy when
reporting a crime or other emergency.”

“As the current law has
been interpreted by the courts, citizens who need help in an emergency to
protect their life and property must sacrifice their very safety and security
to receive help,” said Dan Tancibok, director of the Centre County
9-1-1/Emergency Communications. “The courts have held that the name,
address and phone number of each 9-1-1 caller, along with the reason for their
emergency call, is a public record. This means anyone can routinely
request those records, without regard to what the requestor intends to do with
that information. The potential for abuse is frightening.”

The lawmakers noted it
was never the legislative intent of the Open Records Act of 2008 to provide the
public with any information that could reveal the identity of 9-1-1 callers
because doing so could put the callers in danger.

“It is time to correct
the alarming harm to victims of domestic violence and other crimes that stands
as a result of the court’s current interpretation of Pennsylvania’s Open
Records Law,” said Ellen Kramer of the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic
Violence. “The Commonwealth’s Protection from Abuse Act, Address
Confidentiality Law, Crime Victim Act and child custody law all offer
unequivocal protections from the public disclosure of any information that
would lead to the location of a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault,
stalking and other crimes. These laws specify that information, including
the address of the victim, simply cannot be disclosed.”

House Bill 1174 has the
support of county 9-1-1 center dispatchers, victim rights groups, and law
enforcement organizations including the Keystone Chapter of the National
Emergency Number Association (PA NENA), the Pennsylvania Chapter of the
Association of Public Safety Communications Officials International (PA APCO),
the PA Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the Ambulance Association of
Pennsylvania and the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania.