311 TO BE CALLED ON AS LESS-URGENT 911.

Byline: Stacy Finz Daily News Staff Writer

Dispatchers who handle 911 calls just want to know if it's a dire emergency.

Otherwise, hang up and call 311 - a new, nonemergency line that is expected to be operating by 1998 in Los Angeles.

The 311 number was approved Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Justice, to take pressure off 911 operators. The new number would be used to report car burglaries, noisy neighbors and other incidents that don't need immediate attention.

Nearly 3 million people phoned 911 in Los Angeles last year, but only about 20 percent of the calls were real emergencies, said Los Angeles Police Department communications Cmdr. Carlo Cudio.

``They're either nonsense or not life-threatening,'' Cudio said.

People have used the 911 number to ask whether the Dodgers are playing, discuss their divorce, report a missing cat and even ask for the time, he said.

But first the LAPD has to work out how to integrate 311 with its telephone system, and it then must find the money to staff the new line.

``If people still feel compelled to call and ask what they should do about their divorces,'' Cudio said, ``I'd rather they use the 311 line.''