Blood cells - Chicago Cop.com

A change of number, either temporary or permanent. This
may be accompanied by routing all incoming calls through
the intercept operator. She asks the caller for the number he
is calling and of the phone he is using. This often succeeds in
discouraging a "crank" caller. He hears the operator answer
and realizes that the telephone company and, perhaps, the
police have been alerted. Fearing-or realizing-that his calls
are being traced usually discourages him.
If these or other measures fail to bring results, the next
step may be to try to trace the call. Sometimes, especially in
cases where it is necessary to hold the caller on the line while
the call is being traced, the police may assign a policewoman
to assist. She will answer the phone, perhaps pretending to be
the woman the caller previously talked to, and prolong the
conversation while Illinois Bell traces the calling number.
A trace-or line identification-attempt is arranged by the
Security Department working closely with the police. For
legal reasons, any request for police aid must come to the
police from the "injured party"-the person receiving the
calls. The telephone company's central office equipment can
only determine the number of the calling phone, not who
might have been using it, nor the nature of the calls made.
If, for example, a call is traced to a residence phone, there is
no interview of the homeowner or "stake out" of public phone
booths. This is a job for the police. Phone company's records
will be made available when a subpoena is properly served .
And Security or other telephone company people will testify
if this evidence is brought into a trial.
There are stiff penalties in both Illinois and Indiana for
persons convicted of making annoyance calls. For making
certain kinds of calls, the offender can be punished by a
$500 fine and/ or six months' imprisonment.
And recently a bill was introduced into the U. S. Senate
calling for criminal penalties for making "obscene or harassing
interstate telephone calls." The bill, introduced by Rhode
Island Senator John O. Pastore, provides that each such call
would constitute a separate offense, and could result in a
fine up to $1000, one year's imprisonment, or both.
I N
JANUARY, Security helped the State's Attorney's Office
to solve one of the most bizzare abusive calling cases on
record.
For several weeks, new mothers in at least eight Chicagoland
hospitals received cal1s from someone who falsely identified
himself as a public health officer, and who told them
that they and their newborn babies were suffering from incurable
cancer. The staff on one of the hospitals asked the
State's Attorney for help, and he assigned a detective, Maurice
McCarthy, to the case.
Detective McCarthy, who had worked with Illinois Bell's
Security people before, came to ask if their files could offer
any leads on this case. The name of a young man who
twice had been convicted of making obscene calls was found,
and certain similarities between his previous offenses and the
case under investigation suggested him as a suspect.
Acting on this information, Detective McCarthy questioned
the man about the hospital calls. Finally, he admitted having
made them.
Chicago Police Detective William Rittenhouse has also
worked closely with Security on abusive calling cases. He
says that quite often these callers don't know their victims.
They may see a woman's picture in the newspaper and call
her. Others dial numbers at random until they find someone
who will listen to them. This human curiosity is what too
often makes lewd telephone calls possible. People just can't
seem to hang up, and as long as they stay on the line they
are doing just what the caller wants. When the phone from
which such calls are being placed is identified, it is often
a public coin phone.
"It's been my experience," says Detective Rittenhouse, "that
teenagers who make obscene or harassing calls use their home
telephones, but that the majority of adults making such calls
use public phones."
Both he and Detective McCarthy agree that the best solution
is to hang up the moment you realize the nature of the
calls.
"These people won't continue feeding dimes into a pay
phone just to hear a 'click!'"
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A few tips you should remember:
1. Hang up promptly if a caller won't identify himself
to your satisfaction, or if he makes any suggestive or lewd
remarks.
2. Before diVUlging any information be sure you know
to whom you are talking. When in doubt, ask for the caller's
name and number and tell him you will call him back. Then
verify the number in the phone book or with information.
3. When someone asks "What number is this?", don't tell
him. Instead, ask what number he is dialing and tell him
whether he is right or wrong.
4. Instruct children and baby sitters not t6 give out information
indiscriminately. Have them take the caller's name and
number.
5. If the caller remains silent after you have said "Hello"
twice, hang up. Don't encourage a "breather"-a person who
won't talk but just wants to listen to your frenzied reaction.
6. If a threat against your life or property is made, call
the police immediately.
7. If your privacy is being invaded by unwanted phone
calls-whether abusive, pushy sales pitches or repeated wrong
numbers-call your Illinois Bell service representative.
JUNE. 19 66 15