WHEATON, Ill. – Traditional telephone services link to the emergency 9-1-1 center using hard-wired connections through your telephone system provider. These traditional hard-line connections provide the 9-1-1 dispatcher with automatic computerized information identifying the phone number, the specific address of the telephone and the name of the phone’s registered owner.

Cellular phones, voice over internet protocols (VoIP), some cable connections, and other types of telephone services DO NOT provide automatic location information to 9-1-1 dispatchers when you dial 9-1-1. Should you utilize cell phones, VoIP, or some cable connections to call 9-1-1, you need to know your location when speaking with the dispatcher.

Additionally, the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office provides a reverse 9-1-1 service for our community. During emergency situations, either the police or fire departments may initiate reverse 9-1-1 calls to your home or office in order to notify you of the situation. For example, reverse 9-1-1 has been used when the police department was searching for a lost child.

If you do not utilize a traditional telephone service, check with your cellular, VoIP or cable phone service to ascertain if your phone will automatically identify its location to the 9-1-1 operator, and if your phone number information has been reported to the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office and is listed in the reverse 9-1-1 directory.

Should you wish to ensure that your phone and address are logged into the reverse 9-1-1 system, you may call the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office Communications Center at 630-407-2400 (open 24 hours per day). Additionally, visit the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office website at www.dupageco.org/sheriff/ and click on the reverse 9-1-1 emergency notification form found on the site.

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