Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) Senator Arturo Zamora Jiménez proposed sanctions of up to four years in jail and a 500 day-fine to any person who places fake or prank calls to 911.
Zamora presented a bill to reform the Federal Act of Telecommunications and Radio Broadcast, as well as the Federal Criminal Code, in order to set 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 stems from the fact that, according to official sources, emergency response institutions received a total of 58,924,507 calls during the first quarter of 2016, 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.
