Peel police urge proper 911 use after calls complaining about bus delays, emergency lights

Police in Peel Region are reminding residents to keep 911 resources for those who “need it most” after receiving two non-emergency calls on Sunday.

In a tweet Sunday at around 7:40 p.m., Peel Regional Police said someone had dialed 9-1-1 to “ask for the bus schedule because their bus was late.”

“PSA: This is not a reason to call 9-1-1,” the tweet read. “Also: The call-taker probably doesn’t know the bus schedule.”

Hours later, the force said it received another 911 call from a citizen who was complaining about the emergency lights at an active police scene.

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“We understand the lights are bright, but they are necessary,” the force said. “Please keep the valuable 9-1-1 resources for those who need it most.”

In an email to Global News, Tyler Bell-Morena, a spokesperson for Peel Regional Police, said misuse of 911 is a “major issue” facing communications centres in the Greater Toronto Area, “and has been for some time.”

“Of course, not all 9-1-1 misuses are this extreme and while they do happen far too often; they are typically non-emergent matters that should have been called in via the non-emergency line, accidental dials (Pocket dials, kids playing with phones, people dialing out),” Bell-Morena said.

He said a “vast amount” of the calls that come into 9-1-1 are not 9-1-1 emergencies.

“This is of course problematic as we have heard of people waiting on hold for 9-1-1,” Bell-Morena said. “Every 9-1-1 call gets answered and needs to be followed up which can take valuable time away from communicators while real emergencies are holding.”