Provincial police are issuing a stern reminder about the purpose of 911 after a woman called the emergency line to make sure her phone was working.
It was around 11 a.m. Sunday that Norfolk County OPP got the call — the second over the weekend they’ve said unnecessarily tied up police resources — from a woman who had just gotten a new phone.
The caller told the dispatcher she wanted to call 911 to make sure the device worked properly, and then hung up.
Const. Ed Sanchuk told Global News Radio 980 CFPL “officers spent a great deal of time attempting to locate her.”
Police didn’t find the caller, nor did they find an emergency.
“Whether false alarms are intentional or unintentional, they tie up the phone lines at the communications center, waste taxpayer money, tie up law enforcement officers and threaten lives,” Sanchuk said in a statement.
On average, it takes two police officers about 30 minutes to respond, investigate, and clear a call. OPP say it puts “enormous pressure” on their resources when officers respond to unnecessary calls.
The case of the new phone comes less than 24 hours after Norfolk County OPP responded to a call in Simcoe made by a nine-year-old girl who was upset she’d been asked to clean her room.
Sanchuk is asking people to have conversations with their kids about the proper use of 911. He’s also reminding people that it’s for emergency situations only; a dispatcher shouldn’t be fielding calls about power outages, road conditions, food orders, or sick raccoons in the backyard.
London police estimate about one third of calls to 911 are not emergencies.
If you do mistakenly call 911, Sanchuk says you should stay on the line and explain to the dispatcher that you’re safe.
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