Should 911 calls be released?

[Liberal_in_LA]

Poll question: Should 911 calls be released?

I've felt a little uncomfortable everytime I hear "up next.. the 911 call...". It seems like such a violation. Guess I'm not the only one:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/01/greene.calls/index.html
Commentary: The people's right to gawk?

* Bob Greene: Increasingly 911 tapes are being played for our entertainment
* He says calls record people in grief and anguish, at their most vulnerable
* Greene: They are public property, but discretion should guide their use

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Most people calling 911 are not auditioning for a reality show; most people calling 911 are not doing it because they have any choice. The least we can do, the next time we find ourselves blithely listening to a tape of one of our fellow citizens in the most awful moments of suffering he or she will ever face, is perhaps to quietly ask ourselves:

Shouldn't we be better than this?

[Rabrrrrrr]

1. Legally, I think they should be released. But socially, anyone who plays one should be shamed

and any "news" show, or shows for undifferentiated assholes like Entertainment Tonight, etc., should be publicly shamed and excoriated for playing the tape.

Very little is served by playing them over the airwaves; however, making them publicly available DOES provide the service of making sure that the government knows it's being watched by we the people.

[NYC_SKP]

2. Other: Release publicly only with consent of the caller.

In case that condition wasn't implied by the "yes" or "no" options in the poll.

There are situations in which 911 call centers fuck up big time, and I think folks should be able to make that public.

If there was a blanket "no" policy, that wouldn't be allowed.

If there was a blanket "yes" policy, it would be a violation of our privacy, IMO, and might even make some people less likely to call for help when they should.

:patriot:

[Liberal_in_LA]

3. well currently it is the blanket 'yes' policy. Call 911, your call is public property

[sandnsea]

4. Yes, we have to monitor public safety

There's not much we can do about the gawkers. You don't stop reporting news just because some people make crude use of the facts.

[Mist]

5. Reminds me of a Carl Hiaasen book, in which one of the characters has

several collections of 911 calls. (Said character isn't one of the good guys, and dies in a freak accident while calling 911. His call is subsequently added into another 911 calls collection.)