"We have to respond to them:" Germantown PD taking in 911 calls...that aren't actual emergencies!

GERMANTOWN (WITI) -- Five calls on Monday, July 28th and two on Tuesday. People are dialing 911 when there's no emergency! These calls are pocket dials! People are accidentally hitting buttons that dial 911 -- and police say it's taking resources away from where they're needed.

There is no downtime at the Germantown Police Department. Dozens of emergency calls are answered every day, and every second counts.

"Every day is different! There's never a dull moment," 911 Dispatcher Joyce Schweitzer said.

Sometimes, in those dozens of calls are a handful that shouldn't have ever come in.

"It is frustrating," Schweitzer said.

"We may have six or seven or eight in a day, in a shift," Germantown Police Officer Shawn Jones said.

"A lot of times, it is dead air," Schweitzer said.

"(Monday) we had five, and (Tuesday) we've had two, so far," Officer Jones said.

People are unknowingly dialing 911 from their cell phones.

"It makes the call and they don't know because it's in their pocket, or in their car or they put it down in a cup holder," Officer Jones said.

It is putting a strain on the Germantown Police Department. They must respond to these pocket dial calls. At times, just three officers work a shift, and they have to treat every 911 call as an emergency.

"It can hold us up from doing another call or doing something else," Officer Jones said.

So now, officers are asking the public to be mindful and pay attention.

"It can be a strain on resources. Expect that if you make a call to us, we have to respond to it. We have the resources that we have. We have a lot of calls, and we're a busy department," Officer Jones said.

Police have seen an increase in the number of pocket dials they receive, but they really don't know why. The best way to avoid pocket dialing is to put a cover on the front of your phone.