In this Sunday, Aug. 11, 2019, photo, a man uses a cell phone in New Orleans. With suicides on the rise, the government wants to make the national crisis hotline easier to reach. Once implemented, people will just need to dial 988 to seek help. Currently, National Suicide Prevention Lifeline uses a 10-digit number, 800-273-TALK (8255). Callers are routed to one of 163 crisis centers, where counselors answered 2.2 million calls last year. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
Carrollton, Coppell, Farmers Branch, and Addison now have a new way to make non-emergency phone calls, now residents with cell phones can dial *247.
The *247 number can be used for noise complaints, property theft where the theft has already occurred, a vehicle break-in not currently in progress, and other non-emergency situations.
The number stands for the line's availability 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
"With the addition of this new *247 non-emergency phone number, we can continue to keep residents' well-being our top priority by providing them the best possible services." NTECC executive director Terry Goswick said.
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The North Texas Emergency Communications Center (NTECC) created the new number to give residents more ways to get assistance as well as give residents an easier number to memorize.
The new number is not available for landlines, but residents with landlines or cellphones can still dial the 10-digit non-emergency number at 972-466-3333 in Carrollton.
The four major carriers, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T provide access to this number for free, and the new number doesn't cost anything for taxpayers either.
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For general City information such as facility hours of operations, residents should still call 972-466-3000.
In case of an emergency, residents should still contact 911 by phone if possible, and if not, by text.
