Law of the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911)

The NATIONAL EMERGENCY SYSTEM "NINE, ONE, ONE" (911) is hereby established as a public service and national security service, responsible for handling EMERGENCY calls directed to the unique telephone number Nine, One, One (911), made by any person from any part of the national territory requiring security, health care, fire suppression, rescue, or civil protection, ultimately striving to provide immediate, coordinated, and quality response and to manage a consolidated source of information and value. The National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) must in turn facilitate the management of resources and unify radio communications on the same platform for all institutions that comprise this system, through a single emergency and security operations center, for administrative and budgetary purposes.

An "Emergency" is considered any circumstance that may compromise the life, liberty, integrity, and security of persons or their property, and that requires immediate assistance from one or more of the institutions that comprise the System governed by this Law.

The National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) is assigned a unique telephone number consisting of three (3) digits: Nine, One, One (911), which shall be the same throughout the country, regardless of the telecommunications network from which the request or communication originates. The National Telecommunications Commission (CONATEL) must guarantee and execute strict compliance with this mandate at the national level.

It is mandatory for all fixed-line or mobile telephone service companies, whether public or private, throughout the national territory, to assign the number Nine, One, One (911) for purposes of the System created by this Law. Telephone calls to the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) are free of charge in their entirety, even when the operator or user has no balance, including any possible interconnections between telephone operators, which may be made from any public or private telephone, whether fixed or mobile. Furthermore, it is mandatory for all fixed-line or mobile telephone service companies, whether public or private, throughout the national territory, to conduct, permit, and/or facilitate mass communications to the population from the Emergency Centers and Operations Coordination Centers in the event of an emergency, which may be of national, departmental, or municipal scope. The National Telecommunications Commission (CONATEL) must guarantee and execute strict compliance with this mandate at the national level.

The National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) is comprised of the following institutions:

• 1)

  State Secretariat of the Office of Security;

• 2)

  State Secretariat of the Office of National Defense;

• 3)

  State Secretariat of the Office of Health;

• 4)

  Honduran Institute of Social Security (IHSS);

• 5)

  National Police of Honduras;

• 6)

  Military and Public Order Police (PMOP);

• 7)

  Permanent Contingencies Commission (COPECO);

• 8)

  Heroic and Esteemed Fire Department;

• 9)

  National Penitentiary Institute (INP);

• 10)

  National Institute of Migration (INAM);

• 11)

  National Institute of Women (INM);

• 12)

  National Transportation Directorate (DNT);

• 13)

  Municipal Governments that are part of the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911);

• 14)

  Honduran Red Cross (CRH);

• 15)

  Public Prosecutor (MP);

• 16)

  National Telecommunications Commission (CONATEL);

• 17)

  National Commissioner of Human Rights (CONADEH);

• 18)

  Directorate of Civil Aeronautics; and,

• 19)

  Other Public or Private institutions that join the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911).

The National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) operates hierarchically under the coordination of the National Council of Defense and Security.

The National Directorate of the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) is hereby created, dependent upon and attached to the National Council of Defense and Security, whose functions shall be the following:

• 1)

  To submit before the National Council of Defense and Security, for approval, the policies, the organization and competencies regulation(s), and the internal operation regulation of the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911), establish the coverage areas and communication, coordination, and work protocols of the institutions comprising the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911);

• 2)

  To coordinate the action and operation of the institutions comprising the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) and to control the quality of this public service;

• 3)

  To conduct mass campaigns on the use of the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911), and likewise to facilitate that a child or minor person may use a telephone more quickly;

• 4)

  To submit before the National Council of Defense and Security, for approval, the budget properly justified and work plans; and,

• 5)

  Other functions inherent to it or that may be assigned or instructed to it, including giving priority to those complaints related to domestic violence, family violence, and sexual violence related to the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911).

The National Directorate of the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) shall be headed by a National Director, appointed by the President of the Republic, whose responsibilities are:

• 1)

  To develop and maintain the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) in operation for receiving and handling emergencies to respond to requests for assistance that fall within its competence;

• 2)

  To receive, handle, contain, guide, and automatically process in a centralized manner, emergency requests from throughout the national territory, as well as to coordinate with the competent authorities and specialized support units it has created;

• 3)

  To follow up on the emergency until the conclusion of the service, according to the established protocol;

• 4)

  To maintain a permanent training program for officials linked to the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) that includes joint instruction and drills;

• 5)

  To coordinate actions in crisis situations that, due to their magnitude, are considered as such;

• 6)

  To propose before the National Council of Defense and Security, for approval, the policies, the internal organization and competencies regulation(s), and the internal operation regulation of the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911), establishing therein the coverage areas and communication, coordination, and work protocols of the institutions comprising the system, among other matters of rigor and competence;

• 7)

  The personnel of the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) have the obligation to inform the Special Prosecutor's Office for Women when it so requests, regarding complaints and reports regarding gender violence, family violence, intrafamily violence, and domestic violence so that it may provide timely and appropriate follow-up;

• 8)

  The personnel of the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) must be trained in procedures and protocols for domestic violence, so that they may prioritize and measure effects and measure risk factors; and,

• 9)

  Other functions inherent to it or that may be delegated or instructed to it related to the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911).

In each institution that effectively comprises the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911), a Specialized Support Unit to the System is hereby created, called the Institutional Operations Center (COI), whose objective is the immediate and effective handling of emergency requests received and directed to each of the operational components thereof in accordance with the Internal Operations Regulation of the System.

Officials linked to the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) must manage the information generated in the operations within their competence with the necessary reliability to safeguard the security and integrity of users. The National Director of the System must provide, or instruct his subordinates to provide, the information in his records only upon request by an authority that, in accordance with Law, is competent, or by order of a Competent Judge. The emergency call must be considered as a manifestation of presumed consent by the interested party. The National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) must properly preserve and archive the electronic or physical records that are generated for each incident or emergency handled, as well as all information and voice, video, data recordings, and other elements that were presented in the handling of an emergency, in order to have them available upon request by investigative bodies or by order of a Competent Judge, who may request them from the Integrated System.

The National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) cannot use any equipment to intercept telephone calls or violate the privacy of persons, except for those used to conduct conversations that are generated during an investigation in accordance with Law to identify the number from which the request is made, as well as its geographic location, for which purpose it is established as mandatory for all fixed-line or mobile telephone operators, whether public or private, throughout the national territory, to provide identification and location of whoever made the call. It falls to the National Telecommunications Commission (CONATEL) to guarantee and execute strict compliance with this mandate at the national level.

The use of the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) is prohibited for calls with purposes other than those established among its functions and for situations of false emergencies that obligate the System and the institutions comprising it to incur unnecessary expenses. The National Director of the System must denounce and conduct the corresponding administrative actions when a violation of the prohibition established in this Article occurs. Whoever requests the services of the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) acting fraudulently or reporting nonexistent facts is subject to the sanctions and penalties that may be appropriate in accordance with Law.

The National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) functions through:

• 1)

  Emergency and Operations Coordination Center of Tegucigalpa (CECOP-TEGUCIGALPA), as the main headquarters;

• 2)

  Emergency and Operations Coordination Center of San Pedro Sula (CECOP-SPS), as a backup center, but with operational capacity equal to the main headquarters;

• 3)

  Institutional Operations Centers, in each of the institutions that effectively comprise the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911);

• 4)

  Institutional Operations Bases (BOI), that are established at the national level;

• 5)

  Mobile Command and Control Centers (CCM), rapid intervention vehicle;

• 6)

  Center of Excellence in Training (CEF), as a permanent training center to certify civil and institutional personnel under the international standard and where the development and evolution of implemented tools shall take place in such a way that they become a source generating qualified personnel and technology for export; and,

• 7)

  Other units or dependencies that may be created hereafter through the regulations related in Article 18 of this Law and that ultimately contribute to the efficient operation and functioning of the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911). For greater coordination and operational efficiency of the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911), security and emergency bodies must integrate all radio systems and share the same room and technological platform for handling calls, incident management, communication and radio, as well as comply with all protocols, at minimum in CECOP-TEGUCIGALPA and CECOP-SPS. Each center mentioned in this Article must have a Center Director or Base Director, as appropriate.

Once the emergency communication is received, the receiver must refer it to the specialized unit assigned to the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) in the institution or institutions comprising it that have competence based on the nature of the matter. The competent institution must act with the greatest possible speed so that each reported emergency is resolved, and may summon the participation of other components or members for better fulfillment of the objectives of this Law.

The National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) must have the necessary infrastructure of technological means of communication, computer systems, and information that permit fulfillment of its objectives. At minimum, the infrastructure must meet the following characteristics:

• 1)

  System for identification of the number from which the call was made, with the name and address of the service holder. Telephone operators are obligated to provide this information as well as that necessary for its implementation;

• 2)

  System for recording incoming and outgoing calls;

• 3)

  Direct connectivity to the telephone networks of all operators established in the country;

• 4)

  Automatic identification system for location to determine geographic location of all calls to the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) that report an emergency. Telephone operators have the obligation to provide this information as well as that necessary for its implementation;

• 5)

  Internet access commensurate with the volume of communications that the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) must handle; and,

• 6)

  Others that are technologically necessary for compliance with this Law. For purposes of having the necessary infrastructure and technological means of communication and information that permit fulfillment of the objectives of this Law, the National Council of Defense and Security is authorized for all corresponding legal and administrative purposes to directly contract for goods, services, and their maintenance that are considered strictly necessary and that are not available in the institutions comprising the System as of the effective date of this Law, due to being acquisitions of specialized technical goods and services and due to the characteristics and circumstances of strict national security, which require that the operation and functioning of the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) be maintained with the necessary confidentiality; authorization that is granted in accordance with numerals 2), 4), and 6) of Article 63 of the State Contracting Law. The State Secretariat of the Office of Security must incorporate into the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) created in this Law all the infrastructure, technological platform, and other human, material, and logistical resources of the number Nine, One, One (911) and the Smart Cities Project, including the Video Surveillance Network that operates only in security matters, to articulate them appropriately to the System. Likewise, the other institutions comprising the System must incorporate all the infrastructure, technological platform, and other human, material, and logistical resources with which they operate for the same purposes of articulation and coordination mentioned herein.

The installation and operation in general and in each institution that is part of the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911), must be financed with the Fund for Population Protection and Security, through budgetary allocations from national and municipal funds that are assigned for that purpose in each of the institutions that comprise it and through national or foreign transfers and of any nature that are made in favor of the System.

The National Director, the Center Directors and the Operational Managers of the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) in the constituent institutions, must formulate annually a General Budget Preliminary Project providing for personnel expenses, travel, meal allowances and expenses necessary for the operation and maintenance activities of the System, which must be submitted in a timely and annual manner to the approval of the National Defense and Security Council for its financing and effective execution.

The following are considered of strict National Security: The policies, the internal regulations of Digital Documentary Technical Processing organization and competence, and the Internal Operating Regulation of the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911), in which the coverage areas and the communication, coordination and work protocols of the constituent institutions of the System are established, among other aspects, once approved by the National Defense and Security Council.

The National Defense and Security Council is authorized, in order that, during the progressive implementation of the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) at the national level, it also approves progressively and if deemed appropriate and opportune to guarantee an efficient comprehensive emergency response and security, the incorporation into this System of technological solutions for data, voice and audiovisual, among others, that operate at the private level, in hotels, commercial banks, shopping centers, private buildings, among others, as well as the progressive implementation of the System in public and private transportation of persons and in other public or private services. The National Defense and Security Council must issue the corresponding regulatory provisions to regulate these cases, as well as the pertinent resolutions in each specific case, defining for all purposes whether the incorporation or integration is total or partial and temporary or permanent, guaranteeing in all cases and at all times an appropriate, efficient and transparent integration, incorporation and implementation.

When the falsity of the calls is determined, these must be charged to the user at a cost equivalent to five hundred percent (500%) of the normal value of the call, which must be charged to their billing or available balance. These amounts must be delivered to the General Treasury of the Republic by the service provider company, once it deducts its collection as a normal call. Recidivism must be punished with a fine equivalent to double the amount previously indicated. What is indicated in the preceding paragraph must be applied, without prejudice to any other administrative, civil and criminal sanctions that may apply. The administrative responsibility of public servants for non-compliance with the provisions regarding reserves to guarantee Constitutional Rights of persons must be applied in accordance with the disciplinary provisions of each institution. In case of lacking regulation in this regard, the highest analogous sanction from among the rest of the institutions of the System must be applied supplementarily. In the absence of rules to sanction the conduct to which this paragraph refers, the National Defense and Security Council must issue the corresponding Disciplinary Regulation.

A person commits the Crime of False Communication or Call who uses the services of the National Emergency System Nine, One, One (911) or other public emergency services, acting with falsity or reporting non-existent facts or false emergencies. The person who makes the False Communication or Call shall be sanctioned with imprisonment of three (3) to six (6) years.

This Decree shall enter into force on the day following its publication in the Official Gazette "La Gaceta". Given in the city of Tegucigalpa, municipality of the Central District, in the Meeting Room of the National Congress, on the twenty-first day of the month of May of two thousand fifteen. ANTONIO CÉSAR RIVERA CALLEJAS PRESIDENT MARIO ALONSO PÉREZ LÓPEZ SECRETARY SARA ISMELA MEDINA GALO SECRETARY To the Executive Branch. Therefore: Let it be executed. Tegucigalpa, M.D.C., June 29, 2015. JUAN ORLANDO HERNÁNDEZ ALVARADO PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC THE SECRETARY OF STATE IN THE OFFICE OF SECURITY. JULIAN PACHECO