PURPOSE

It is the purpose of this subchapter to establish the number 9-1-1 as the primary emergency telephone number for use by certain local governments in this state and to encourage units of local government and combinations of those units to develop and improve emergency communication procedures and facilities in a manner that will make possible the quick response to any person calling the telephone number 9-1-1 seeking police, fire, medical, rescue, and other emergency services. To this purpose the legislature finds that: (1) it is in the public interest to shorten the time required for a citizen to request and receive emergency aid; (2) there exist thousands of different emergency telephone numbers throughout the state, and telephone exchange boundaries and central office service areas do not necessarily correspond to public safety and political boundaries; (3) a dominant part of the state's population is located in rapidly expanding metropolitan areas that generally cross the boundary lines of local jurisdictions and often extend into two or more counties; and (4) provision of a single, primary three-digit emergency number through which emergency services can be quickly and efficiently obtained would provide a significant contribution to law enforcement and other public safety efforts by making it less difficult to notify public safety personnel quickly.