Law enforcement may request information from Verizon that is needed to help resolve serious emergencies. We are authorized by federal law to provide the requested information during such emergencies, and we have an established process for responding to these emergency requests in accordance with the law. To request data during these emergencies, a law enforcement officer must certify in writing that there is an emergency involving the danger of death or serious physical injury to a person that requires disclosure without delay. These emergency requests are made in response to active violent crimes, bomb threats, hostage situations, kidnappings, and fugitive scenarios, often presenting life-threatening situations. In addition, many emergency requests are submitted in search and rescue settings or when law enforcement is trying to locate a missing child or elderly person.
We also receive emergency requests for information from Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) regarding particular 9-1-1 calls from the public. Calls for emergency services, such as police, fire or ambulance, are answered in call centers, or PSAPs, throughout the country. PSAPs receive tens of millions of calls from 9-1-1 callers each year, and certain information about the calls (name and address for wireline callers; phone numbers and available location information for wireless callers) is typically made available to the PSAP when a 9-1-1 call is made. Yet a small percentage of the time PSAP officials need to contact the telecom provider to get information that was not automatically communicated by virtue of the 9-1-1 call or by the 9-1-1 caller.
During the first half of 2021, we received 34,961 emergency requests for information from law enforcement in emergency matters involving the danger of death or serious physical injury. During that same period, we also received 11,329 emergency requests from PSAPs related to particular 9-1-1 calls from the public for emergency services.