911 services

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson's alternative 911 mental health response teams are seeing increased calls and greater support from the Chicago Police Department. The program sends trained responders to certain mental health emergencies instead of police officers alone. The reported uptick suggests growing public awareness of the service as the city continues shifting how it handles crisis calls.

Preble County, Ohio, is routing its 911 emergency calls to neighboring Darke County after an internet outage disrupted local dispatch services. Officials say callers will still reach help, but the disruption has raised concern about reliance on internet-based emergency systems in rural counties.

Police departments across Maine are reporting an increase in automatic 911 alerts triggered by crash detection technology built into smartphones and vehicles. The feature, standard on devices like the iPhone, contacts emergency services when it senses a severe collision. The rise in automated calls is prompting departments to adjust how they respond to these alerts.

Preble County, Ohio has restored its 911 emergency dispatch services after an outage left residents without access to emergency calling. The Dayton Daily News reported the restoration, and local officials are expected to confirm when normal operations fully resumed. Residents who experienced difficulty reaching emergency services during the disruption are being advised to call again if they need help.

The City of Vicksburg, Mississippi, disclosed a ransomware attack that forced a temporary shutdown of its municipal computer systems on October 1, 2026. City officials confirmed that critical services, including 911 dispatch, police, and fire departments, remained operational while other services were disrupted. The incident adds to a growing string of ransomware attacks targeting US local governments, prompting calls for stronger municipal cybersecurity defenses.

AT&T is urging iPhone 18 Pro Max owners to install a software update immediately, warning that a bug on the device could prevent calls to 911 emergency services from going through. The alert, reported by The Apple Post, makes the potential failure of emergency calling the central safety concern for affected users.