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Wellington County OPP seeing spike in 911 misdials

After swiping SOS, the smart phone dials 911. Phillip Bollman

Wellington County OPP say they have seen a spike in 911 misdials this year.

In a video posted online, Const. Josh Cunningham said their call centre has seen a 163 per cent increase in misdials from what they received in 2018.

He said one of the reasons could be because of the emergency settings on newer smartphones.

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READ MORE: RCMP seize 100 guns during response to misdialed 911 call at N.S. home

For example, newer iPhones can dial 911 by pressing a button on each side of the phone at the same time.

“If you have a smartphone, chances are there’s something built into it that allows you to call 911 quickly,” Cunningham said. “We want you to take the time to look at your phone, understand how it works and decide whether that option is going to work for you or not.”

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Cunningham said misdials cause a drain on resources as officers have to respond to these calls to determine if there’s an emergency.

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