Grant To Help Increase LESA'a 911 Education Program

LESA’s 911 community education program will get a boost this year with help from a $5,000 State Farm Good Neighbor Citizenship grant.

The grant will go toward a yearlong community education campaign, Be Safe – Be a Good Neighbor, beginning this month. The campaign aims to educate families and neighborhood groups about what to expect when calling 911.

Many 911 education programs stress the need to only call 911 for life-or-death emergencies or in-progress crimes – which is important – but this approach can sometimes create fear, causing some to not call for help at all. LESA’s Be Safe – Be a Good Neighbor campaign provides citizens with information they need should they have to call, which includes educating citizens about the kinds of questions they may be asked by a 911 call taker and what information they may need to provide or remember.

Neighborhood groups or associations interested in scheduling a Be Safe – Be a Good Neighbor 911 presentation should emailinfo@lesa.net for more information.

Citizens should dial 911 for emergency situations in which a prompt response is needed, such as a life threatening injury or illness or for a serious crime that is in-progress. Keeping 911 phone lines open for true emergencies affords call takers the opportunity to get people immediate assistance in times of crisis. Non-emergencies may be reported 24 hours a day, seven days a week, by calling LESA’s non-emergency phone number, 253-798-4721.

About the Law Enforcement Support Agency

LESA provides 911 call-taking, police dispatch and a records/data channel for 11 police agencies serving approximately 88% of the Pierce County population. Though known primarily for providing 911 communications, LESA also provides Records Management and Information Technology services for law enforcement agencies serving approximately 96 percent of the Pierce County population. For more information about LESA, visit www.lesa.net.