EDMONTON- 40 percent of the calls placed to 911 on a daily basis are not related to an emergency, according to the Edmonton Police Service (EPS).
As part of a new weekly segment on the Global Edmonton Morning News, police officers are hoping to reduce the number of non-emergent calls being placed to 911.
“911 is primarily for emergency calls,” said Sergeant Don Curle with EPS, “which would include a person at risk or a property at risk or there is a legitimate crime in process.”
Despite these guidelines, 911 operators continue to receive calls for cases that simply aren’t emergencies.
“Sometimes, innocently, people will just feel that the best, quickest way to get the police is 911,” Curle said.
Every Wednesday, a representative from EPS will appear on the Morning News to provide two examples of similar 911 calls; one that is considered a legitimate emergency and one that is not.
This week’s example has to do with hit-and-runs.
In the first recording, the caller dialed 911 to report a hit-and-run which occurred hours prior to the call.
Listen to the call below:
Because the crime was not in progress, the call was transferred to the EPS non-emergency complaint line.
Curle says instead of phoning 911, the caller should have done one of two things.
“If he’s calling from a cell phone he could dial #377. All cell phone, all telephone providers have that service. #377 goes to our non-emergency line. If he’s calling from a land line, or from a cell phone as well, he can dial the long hand 780-423-4567.”
“That is a crime in progress. That hit-and-run had just occurred and in fact, the bumper with the licence plate attached was right there so, a perfectly legitimate 911 call,” Curle said.
Curle says a lot of time and effort goes into dispatching police to emergency situations, and he’s urging Edmontonians to make the right call.
“We would just remind the public to dial 911 when it’s a legitimate emergency.”
EPS recommends calling 911 in an emergency if:
– Your life, or that of another person, is in danger
– You are witnessing a crime in progress
– You were just in a collision and you are injured
– If you suspect that a motorist is impaired
EPS recommends calling #377 (from your mobile phone only) or 780-423-4567 for non-emergencies if:
– You need to report a crime that has already occurred, and there are no suspects or evidence
– You were in a vehicle collision and did not sustain injuries, and your vehicle is not driveable
– You want to report suspicious persons or activities
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