Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!csd4.csd.uwm.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!wuarchive!texbell!vector!telecom-gateway
From: davef@brspyr1.brs.com (Dave Fiske)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Caller ID Linked to Decline in Harrassing Calls
Message-ID: 
Date: 18 Aug 89 18:32:35 GMT
Sender: news@vector.Dallas.TX.US
Organization: BRS Info Technologies, Latham NY
Lines: 47
Approved: telecom-request@vector.dallas.tx.us
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@vector.dallas.tx.us
X-TELECOM-Digest: volume 9, issue 309, message 6 of 8

In article , GABEL@qcvax.bitnet
writes:
> The following article appeared on page 1 of the New York Times,
> Saturday, 8/5/89. (copyright 1989 New York Times)
>
> Harrassing Calls Show Decline When Phones Identify Callers
>   by Calvin Sims
>
>    The number of obscene or harassing telephone calls has fallen sharply
> in the first test of a system that allows people to see the number of the
> phone the call was dialed on before they answer.

I have no doubt that this is true, but this is not the only way the
phone company can deal with problem calls.  They've had those "black
boxes" for years, enabling them to keep a line open in order to trace
a call.  Over ten years ago, a friend of my mother's was getting
nuisance calls in the middle of the night.  After a  number of
occurrences, the phone company gave her one of these devices, and the
next time there was a call, they traced it, and the police ended up
knocking on the guy's door not too much later.  I guess he was pretty
surprised.  However, of course it turned out to be an ex-lover, so my
guess is that in most cases, an educated guess would lead you to the
culprit.

Also, someone once told me that the phone company had given them the
following strategy for nuisance calls.  Tap the receiver so it sounds
like a couple of clicks, then say "Operator, this is the call I want
you to trace."  I think this would probably be enough to scare off the
"casual" prankster.

There was a neat story here maybe five or six years ago.  Apparently
the phones at the White House are (or at least were) constantly
equipped with tracing devices, so that any threatening calls can be
traced immediately.  Seems this local high school student was showing
off or something, called the White House from a pay phone at the Cohoes
High School, and made some kind of vague threat.  Well, the call was
traced immediately to that pay phone, the Secret Service called their
office in Albany, who contacted the Sheriff's Office.  They dashed
over to the school, asked a few people if they'd seen anybody using
the pay phone, and confronted the offending student--all within 45
minutes!   You can imagine, that student was pretty impressed with
the response.
--
"ANGRY WOMEN BEAT UP SHOE SALESMAN   Dave Fiske  (davef@brspyr1.BRS.COM)
 WHO POSED AS GYNECOLOGIST"
                                     Home:  David_A_Fiske@cup.portal.com
Headline from Weekly World News             CIS: 75415,163  GEnie: davef