A rural New Ulm man suggested Wednesday to the Journal a new phone number for police as one way of encouraging people to call police about suspicious incidents.

Several persons heard screams the night a New Ulm woman was raped recently but failed to call police.

Arthur Paquay, Route 1, New Ulm, noted that the current police phone number, 354-5216, is confusing and hard to call, compared to, for example, the Scotland Yard number in England, which is 9999.

Paquay said people might be fearful to turn on a light which would be necessary at night to look up the police number and dial it. They might fear the light would attract the attention of the suspected criminal, he said.

People can, of course, dial “O” for the operator 24 hours per day and ask for the police or tell the operator to tell police to come to a certain address for an accident or a possible crime.

But the telephone company does not encourage this approach since this passes the responsibility from the calling party to an intermediary, the operator, according to John Holland, manager of New Ulm Rural Telephone Company.

Also, sometimes the operator is busy with another call and can’t answer right away.

Holland said Wednesday that the police used to have a three-digit number (202) when the telephone company first went over to a dial system. But the police requested a seven-digit number, he said, so the change was made.

He said police could have a three-digit number if they wanted, for example the “911” which is supposed to eventually be the emergency number nationwide.

But the City would have to work out all the details of coordination between all emergency units such as police, fire, ambulances, hospitals, doctors, sheriffs, Holland said.

A switchboard would have to be installed at a central location where someone would be on duty 24 hours per day to answer the phone, in order to implement the “911” system.

And the cost might be about $200 per month rental, Holland estimated, when asked. The central location would have to have enough room for both the switchboard and a room for the switching gear.

Holland said NURTC is ready for the changeover any time someone orders it.

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POLICE CHIEF Richard Gulden said Wednesday that no city officials are working on the “911” idea. He said the changeover was suggested at the time Dr. James Seifert was mayor but had not been mentioned since then.

The main problems with switching over to use of “911” as an emergency number would be the cost and the coordination, Gulden said. There would also be the problem of where to put the switchboard since the police department is already crowded.

He said the changeover would have to be approved by the City Council and the city manager.

The police station has a dispatcher on duty 24 hours per day and already receives all police and fire calls. Gulden said he thought the ‘911″ number for all emergency services would help get people to report incidents. Since the aim is to get “911” used in all towns, eventually everyone would know the number, even people from out of town, he said.

Holland said few cities have installed the “911” number because of the cost factor. He said no towns in our area have it, nor does Minneapolis. Gulden said federal funds were issued at one time to a few cities to set up the “911” system as an experiment.

New Ulm Daily Journal,

July 1, 1973