To request a wellness check, call your local police department’s non-emergency number and ask them to send an officer to check on the person you’re concerned about. If you believe the person is in immediate danger or facing a life-threatening situation, call 911 instead. The process is straightforward, but having the right information ready and choosing the right number to call can make a real difference in how quickly and effectively the check happens.
When to Call 911 vs. the Non-Emergency Line
The distinction is simple: 911 is for emergencies, and your local police department’s 10-digit non-emergency number is for everything else. An emergency generally means a dangerous or life-threatening scenario where police, fire, or medical responders need to arrive quickly. If someone has expressed suicidal thoughts, hasn’t been heard from in an unusual amount of time and you suspect a medical emergency, or you believe they’re being harmed, call 911.
For situations that feel concerning but not urgent, the non-emergency line is the right call. Maybe a friend has gone quiet for several days and isn’t responding to messages, or a neighbor you usually see daily hasn’t appeared in a while. These situations warrant a check, but they don’t need lights and sirens. You can find your local non-emergency number by searching your city or county police department online, or by dialing 311 in many municipalities.
What Information to Have Ready
When you call, the dispatcher will ask you a series of questions. The more detail you can provide, the better equipped officers will be when they arrive. At a minimum, have the following ready:
- The person’s full name and address. If you don’t know the exact address, provide as much location detail as you can, including apartment or unit numbers.
- The nature of your concern. Be specific. “She texted about wanting to die two hours ago and stopped responding” is far more useful than “I’m worried about my friend.”
- When you last had contact. Tell the dispatcher exactly when you last heard from the person and what that communication looked like.
- Relevant medical or mental health information. If you know the person has a medical condition, mental health history, or substance use issues, share that. This helps officers prepare for what they might encounter.
- Whether weapons may be present. If you know the person owns firearms or has a history of violence, say so. This is critical for officer and subject safety.
- A physical description. Especially helpful if the person lives with others, so officers can identify who they’re checking on.
You don’t need all of this information to request a check. Dispatchers will work with whatever you have. But the more context you provide, the more appropriately they can respond.
Can You Request a Check Anonymously?
You can ask to remain anonymous when you call, but there’s no guarantee the person won’t find out who made the request. Policies vary by department. If you specifically ask the dispatcher not to share your identity, officers will generally honor that. But in practice, many officers do tell the person who called, particularly because it helps explain why police are at the door. Someone who learns a concerned family member called is more likely to cooperate than someone who has no idea why officers showed up.
If staying anonymous matters to you, state that clearly at the beginning of the call. Just be aware that in some situations, the person may be able to figure it out on their own based on who knows their address or who they’ve been in contact with.
What Happens When Officers Arrive
Officers will knock on the door and announce themselves. If the person answers, they’ll have a brief conversation to assess the situation, checking whether the person appears safe, oriented, and able to care for themselves. If everything looks fine, that’s typically the end of it. The officer may relay information back to you if you’ve left your contact number with the dispatcher.
If no one answers, officers will look through windows, check for signs of activity, and may talk to neighbors. They’ll look for clues like accumulated mail, unusual odors, open doors or windows, or anything that seems out of place. Police can enter a home without a warrant if they have reasonable grounds to believe someone inside is in danger. This is known as the emergency aid exception, and the Supreme Court has affirmed that law enforcement doesn’t need probable cause to enter a home when responding to a public safety emergency. In practice, this means that if officers see or smell something alarming, or if the circumstances strongly suggest someone inside needs help, they can and will go in.
Possible Outcomes of a Wellness Check
Most wellness checks end without incident. The person answers the door, confirms they’re okay, and the officer leaves. But several other outcomes are possible depending on what officers find.
If the person appears to be in a mental health crisis, officers may recommend voluntary transport to a hospital or crisis center. In more serious situations, involuntary commitment can occur. The general threshold for this is that the person has a psychiatric condition causing symptoms that pose an immediate safety threat to themselves or others, or that prevent them from meeting basic needs like eating, dressing, or finding shelter. The specific legal criteria vary by state, but involuntary holds are reserved for situations where someone clearly cannot keep themselves safe.
If officers find evidence of a medical emergency, they’ll call paramedics. If they find signs of a crime, such as evidence of abuse or neglect, that can trigger a separate investigation. For elderly individuals, officers may notice warning signs like preventable health problems, unclean living conditions, unexplained injuries, or signs of financial exploitation, all of which can prompt a referral to adult protective services.
Alternatives to a Police Response
A police wellness check isn’t your only option, and it may not always be the best one. If your concern is primarily about someone’s mental health, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (call or text 988) connects you with trained crisis counselors who can help you assess the situation and, in some areas, dispatch a mobile crisis team made up of mental health professionals rather than law enforcement. This can be a better fit when you’re worried about someone’s emotional state but don’t believe they’re in physical danger.
Some cities have also launched non-police crisis response programs that send social workers or paramedics instead of officers. These programs go by different names depending on your area, so it’s worth searching for your city’s name along with “crisis response team” or “community responders” to see what’s available locally.
If the person you’re worried about is elderly and you suspect ongoing neglect or abuse rather than an acute emergency, contacting your local Adult Protective Services office directly may be more effective than a one-time police visit. APS can open a case and conduct follow-up visits over time.
Tips for Making the Call
If you’ve never done this before, it can feel uncomfortable to call the police about someone who might just be busy or ignoring their phone. But wellness checks exist precisely for this kind of uncertainty. You don’t need proof that something is wrong. A reasonable concern is enough.
Stay calm on the phone and answer the dispatcher’s questions as clearly as you can. If you’re calling about someone in another city or state, call that location’s police department directly rather than your own local department. You can usually find the correct number with a quick online search for the city name plus “police non-emergency number.” If you can’t find it, calling 911 in the person’s area will still work, and the operator can redirect you if it’s not an emergency situation.