Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) Senator Arturo Zamora Jiménez proposed to punish people who place fake or prank calls to 911 with up to four years in jail and a 500 day-fine.
Zamora presented a bill to reform the Federal Act of Telecommunications and Radio Broadcast, as well as the Federal Criminal Code, in order to establish civic duty upon parents or guardians in case these type of calls are placed by children or teenagers.
The Jalisco Senator stated that the purpose of this reform arose from the fact that according to official sources during the first quarter of 2016 a total of 58,924,507 calls were received at emergency response institutions, out of which 52,828,329 — 90 percent of the total calls — were prank calls.
Zamora mentioned that the calls are usually placed by kids or teenagers during holiday seasons. Prank or fake calls not only waste valuable public resources but pose a risk to people who are actually in danger.
According to the Mexican Red Cross dispatching an ambulance over a prank or fake call costs 3,500 pesos ($170).
The proposed bill also contemplates the launch of an awareness campaign on the proper use of 911.
Source:The News
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