If a victim of an accident or a crime is carrying a cellphone, will police use it to try to contact family members?

Yes, they will. When I was working in the wireless industry we tried to educate people about ICE…In Case of Emergency. You put the word ICE in front of people who you wanted the police to contact in case of an emergency.

Also, I would think they’d first try whomever was in speed dial 2 (1 is voicemail)...which was almost ALWAYS “Mom,” even for adults. Which is interesting.

I suspect that they would try to find an emergency contact number or some kind of information on the phone, if they have no other way, but I really doubt they would use the actual phone itself to contact next of kin or the emergency contact. I’m almost certain the police would not use the victims own cell phone to contact the family, certainly not if the person has been killed, or even seriously injured. They have a lot of resources at their disposal for that sort of thing.

why do you ask?

Because she can, @DandyDear711.

I would think that would be something for the medical people to try once they get to the ER. If they have any records there they are bound to have ICE numbers.

Peoples cellphones are a world of information. Some good and some bad for thieves. Some people install all their personal banking information in cellphones, in which criminals love to receive.

To answer your question, yes. The police also uses a persons cellphone for pertinent information, should that person be injured or become deceased. Contact information in a cellphone is priceless for the police.

But would the police actually use the person’s phone to make the call, or just for the information in it?

It could go either way, depending on the circumstances. A drug deal and the officers may use their cellphone, so their phone number will register on the other parties cellphone caller id.