Bridgeport Police officials said that more often than one might think, that call is not made. There are a number of reasons.

 

Lt. John Post, training coordinator and A-shift supervisor, reminds residents that the Bridgeport Police Department daytime line, 304-842-8260, is only answered during operating hours of Bridgeport Municipal Building, 7:30 a.m. through 4 p.m. If a situation arises outside of that window of time, the call must be placed to 911 and not the local number.

 

“We have had people wait until Monday after the weekend to report a crime because no one was in the office to answer the phone instead of calling 911,” Post said.

 

Bridgeport Police personnel have arrived to work on Monday mornings to find messages regarding situations to which an officer should have already been dispatched, Police Chief John Walker said.

 

Even during daytime hours, it’s more efficient to call 911, rather than call the police line or call or text an officer directly.

 

“You really need to call 911 when there is an issue,” Post said. “Dispatch logs the call and is able to dispatch an officer that is available. If you text someone, they may be tied up on another call, then there is a whole new issue of them being distracted to notify dispatch.”

 

Both office staff and police officers still have to go through dispatch. When an incident is directly reported through 911, a step – and important time – is saved, not to mention important details can be shared directly with dispatch and not lost along the way.

 

Other reasons people shy away from calling 911 are that they aren’t sure the incident is important enough to be reported and that they don’t personally want to be involved.

 

“When you call 911, you are asked, ‘What’s your emergency?’ Walker said. “People don’t want to call because it’s not really an emergency. But it’s really OK to call if you have a valid concern. We would rather check it out and prevent a crime than to have to go investigate and try to solve it later.”

 

Whether it is a suspicious person, suspected crime, possible sighting of a missing person or a known emergency, Bridgeport Police urges residents to call 911. One does not need to identify himself or herself when placing the call. It is important, however, to share as much information as is available regarding the incident, time and place.

 

Post said hesitancy to call 911 is common in Bridgeport and that he has witnessed it since he began working in the immediate area.

 

“When I worked in Buckhannon, if a shot was fired, 911 would be inundated with calls,” he said. “In Bridgeport, for instance, we had a deer shot years ago in (a residential) neighborhood and only one person called in.  When checking other residents, they stated they didn’t know what to do or did not want involved.”

 

Post said even murder can fail to be reported.

 

“A few years ago, a son shot his mom and the neighbor did not call,” Post said.

 

The list goes on and on, he said. Placing a call to 911 when a resident is concerned can result in the timely dispatching of law enforcement and medical responders. It can prevent a crime from happening and possibly even safe a life.