| Where to find Button Guards |
Cell Phone Keypad Button Guards
SACC (Stop Accidental Cell Calls) has Exhibited at the Aug 2001 APCO convention and has been referenced and written about in the APCO BULLETIN in 3 of the recent monthly publications.
The finer cellular phone accessories retail stores will have this product available as well as our website www.stopaccidentalcalls.com. If you replace your cell phone faceplate you should add a new button guard as well.
Pinellas County 911 is presently undertaking a 30,000 button guard program for its residents and is issuing free button guards, while supply lasts, via web site and media.
Ways you can help eliminate this serious public safety problem are:
- Public going to their cell phone retail stores to pickup the free button guard kits and actually trading in their cell phones for a new one (without the 1-touch 911 feature). Ask your local wireless retail store to have these button guard kits available to the public. These come in kits A thru E as outlined in our products page.
- 1. If you are a 911 center or PSAP (Public Safety Answering Point) you could start up a 911 public education program with a minimum of 1000 button guards. SACC will support the effort thru your local media (i.e. TV, radio, newspapers) at no cost to your center. Further your center will be noted for its proactive stance to combat this major accidental 911 call problem. The results of on-going button guard programs are call reduction thru.
- Button guards given freely and installed by the public on the open faced cell phones.
- Public being educated to lock their key boards.
- Trade in their problem cell phones for a new one.
- Dispatchers are encouraged to call back these accidental callers and politely inform them of a free button guard offer or to please be careful and lock their keyboard, and thanking them for listening for the sake of public safety.
The above steps will result in:
Less Dispatcher and Supervisor distress in determining whether or not to dispatch an emergency vehicle.
Will avoid the possibility of clogging the emergency 911 lines so that real emergencies are able to get through without any delay.
A good example per #1 and #3 above is what the City of Aspen and Pitkin county have done.
Noteworthy fact: In the first 18 days of the Pinellas pilot program (April 1-18, 2004) the number of accidental 911 calls has dropped 11%. This translates to over 500 LESS accidental calls being answered.
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- A great project for community service organizations would be to launch a cell phone button guard program in your area. You could offer "FREE" kits to cell phone users and this program funded by your local PSAP. Lowering the percentages of accidental cell calls will in turn reduce their yearly overtime expenses, saving more tax dollars each year and more than pay for these public safety after market cell phone accessories. . . . . . . . or have your project paid for by one of the many available grant programs available for public safety. See: Pinellas County Connection Newsletter March 12, 2004 or the Pinellas County Free Button Guard Program as great examples of this program in action.
- Another option is to request Cell Phone Button Guards from Wireless Retail Stores, and all other stores selling cell phones and cell phone accessories. This would include your local Radio Shack, Kroegers, Good Guys, Wireless Stores, etc.
- Certainly the following public organizations are striving to save taxpayers $$$, increase quality of 911 response, and relieve stressful false alarms:
Email this website to the following organizations:
NACo (National Association of Counties) Email
IACP (International Association of Chiefs of Police) Email
IAFC (International Association of Fire Chiefs) Email
NLC (National League of Cities) Email
NASEMSD (National Association of State EMS Directors) Email or Email
NGA (National Governors Associations)
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- Lastly you can contact the governmental agencies that are responsible. This includes FCC/WTB (FCC Wireless Telecommunications Bureau) to ask what they're position is and what they have done to correct these problem cell phones for the sake of public safety and to reduce 911 budgets. SACC has met with 9 FCC/WTB staff persons on Feb. 5, 2003 in D.C. and demonstrated our cell phone button guard solution. Their position was amazement with it's effective simplicity but were non committal and remain so to this date.
FCC/WTB points of contact . . .
Mr. John Muleta, FCC/WTB, Bureau Chief (202)418-0660, email: jmuleta@fcc.gov
Jeffery S. Cohen , FCC/WTB, Deputy Chief-Spectrum Policy Public Safety and Critical Infrastructure Division (202) 418-0680, email: Jeff.Cohen@fcc.gov
Ms. Andra Cunningham, FCC/WTB, Attorney, Policy Division, (202) 418-1630, email: acunning@fcc.gov
FEEL FREE TO E-MAIL THIS SITE TO A FRIEND.
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