Mar 22, 2016 3 min read

Unnecessary or outmoded laws that linger on the books are frequently a source of laughs, like those regulations that say you can’t parachute on a Sunday, hide dirt under a rug or wear a fake mustache in church.

Legislators in Harrisburg – frequently a source of unintended hilarity – are considering a law that is outmoded, unnecessary and, unfortunately, no laughing matter. After being approved unanimously in October by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, the state Senate has started to review a measure introduced by state Rep. Maria Donatucci, a Democrat from Philadelphia, that would limit the information available to the public about 911 calls.

Donatucci’s bill would forbid the release of any “identifying information” from 911 calls, such as addresses, locations of the caller, the caller’s name or phone number. Cooked up after the York Daily Record sought the addresses of 911 callers for an investigation it was conducting on the response time of emergency service personnel, Donatucci says the measure will protect the privacy of 911 callers. While acknowledging last year that it was vital to be able to measure response times, Donatucci said respecting privacy was also important. “It’s a delicate balance, but we can manage it,” she said.

We’re not so sure.

First, the bill would do little to actually protect the privacy of anyone calling 911. Police scanners can be readily purchased. Some private citizens listen throughout the day in the same way that others listen to the radio or keep a television set on a low hum. The addresses of 911 callers are routinely announced. If you’re listening to 911, you’ll know if your neighbor has slipped in the shower or has suffered a dog bite. If there’s a crime that’s been committed in the neighborhood or someone has fallen victim to an accident, social media can also spread this information, and names and addresses will eventually be available on police reports. What “privacy” is Donatucci looking to protect?

The value of the public being able to access these logs is to determine how quickly law enforcement gets to crime scenes, or how quickly a fire is extinguished. Having this kind of information not only lets taxpayers know how effectively their money is being spent, but also can shed light on where police and fire departments or ambulance services should locate their bases of operation.

That address and cross-street information from 911 calls should remain part of the public record was upheld by Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court in 2011. The bill being considered by the Senate would override this.

Also, members of the public who would fear for their safety as a result of a 911 call are already protected under the commonwealth’s Right to Know Law.

As the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association puts it, “Creating a blanket exemption for ‘identifying information,’ as provided in this bill, is both unnecessary and overbroad. It would elminate any public oversight of the emergency response system and significantly undervalue the important public policy supporting disclosure of this basic information.”

It boils down to this: The work of law enforcement and emergency service personnel is one of the most important functions of government. The public has a vested interest in knowing how well these agencies are doing their jobs.