(WEST PARRY SOUND, ON) – The West Parry Sound Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) are asking residents to put their phones in ‘lock’ mode and use a proper phone carrier to avoid making erroneous 911 calls. During the first quarter of this year, 70 percent of 911 calls for service were “Unfounded”, misdials, children playing on the phone or some type of user error.
OPP are mandated to respond to all 911 calls for service to promote public safety and security. Police must locate the source of the call and ensure that there is no real emergency.
If you realize you have misdialed 911, don’t hang up. Stay on the line and speak with the operator to provide more details. This will alleviate some of the strain on first responders by providing the information needed to respond to the call in an expedient manner.
Detachment Commander Staff Sergeant Ron Campbell says: “There is no need to program 911 into auto dial or to check if 911 works, it does. Our biggest problem is pocket dials. Users must ensure their phone is locked and/or in a proper holder when not in use, which will prevent an accidental dial of the 911 system.”
Erroneous emergency calls place unnecessary strain on police resources and all first responders. Time spent on 911 misdials is time that could potentially be used to save someone’s life.
The OPP reminds you that 1-888-310-1122 is available 24/7 for non-emergency calls for service in Ontario.