Kelowna Mounties offer some insight into bad 911 calls

Kelowna Mounties are reminding people to be judicious in their usage of the 911 emergency service.

On a Facebook post, the police service offered up a list of calls from 2022 that range from banal to barmy as examples of poor choices.

“The neighbours are being noisy and I can’t sleep,” was one of five noise complaint calls listed. Loud upstairs neighbours and lawn mowing were situations people found galling enough that they called 911 for help.

Another person said their air conditioning needed to be turned down and thought the local police should be able to help.

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“My cellphone company is holding me hostage,” one caller said, in a plea that’s a bit too figurative for the emergency service.

Another caller who was having roommate problems was perturbed that their chicken was eaten.

Also, inching toward an actual criminal matter, RCMP said there was a call made from someone who had just used Facebook Marketplace and found out their purchase was stolen.

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Ryan Watters, a communications officer with the Kelowna RCMP, said the post is a lighthearted reminder of the reasons why you don’t call 9-1-1.

He said he’s routinely surprised by some of the non-emergency reasons why people do call.

On average, he said, Kelowna 911 operators get about 1,500 calls a year.

“Some are serious, and some are the reasons that ended up on my post,” he said.