Ontario police force will now text you if you make an accidental 'pocket dial'
It's estimated that about 90 per cent of Canadians now have a smartphone and if you have one, you know it's easy to dial 9-1-1 — sometimes, even by accident.
“We get hundreds of these calls a day, which amounts to thousands of accidental calls a year,” inspector Paul Hallett with Durham Regional Police 9-1-1 Communications told CTV News Toronto Tuesday.
The police force is trying to better manage these accidental calls and has now decided to text someone first to let them know they made an accidental call to the 9-1-1 system.
Under previous protocols, to deal with an accidental 9-1-1 call, an operator would have to phone the person back to see if it was an accident or a real emergency.
The problem? Many people would not bother to answer the phone and then the operator would then have to follow up.
In the event that the line was left open, the operator would have to send police, fire and ambulance crews to make sure there wasn’t an actual emergency.
Now, an automated text is sent to the person that states, “Durham Region 9-1-1. Your phone dialled 9-1-1, but disconnected before reaching an operator.”
The person is told they will be getting a call from a 9-1-1 operator and they should answer the call and remain on the line to advise if it was an accident or if assistance is actually needed.
Hallett said, “we are getting some pretty good success because people seem to respond to text messages ... and it's really cutting our calls in half."
Another time-waster for emergency operators is dealing with 9-1-1 calls made by children playing with phones.
Halton Regional Police said last year there were approximately 300 cases of kids accidentally calling 9-1-1.
Even if it's an old phone that's no longer connected to a service provider without a SIM card, it can still get through to a 9-1-1 operator.
Emergency operators want everyone to be aware that accidental calls by children and adults put unneeded strain on 9-1-1 services.
“It is a real drain on resources and, with thousands of these calls coming in now, it's creating a lot of work and unnecessary work," Hallett said.
Durham's new initiative to send texts for "pocket dial" calls is also being put in place in other 9-1-1 operation centers across North America.
If you do call 9-1-1 by mistake, don't hang up. You should advise the operator whether it was an accidental call, first.
There are no fines or penalties — emergency services just want to stop accidental calls from wasting resources.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
An El Nino-less summer is coming. Here's what that could mean for Canada
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Stamp prices rise for the third time in five years amid financial woes for Canada Post
Canada Post is increasing stamp prices for the third time since 2019, a move the Crown corporation says is a "reality" of its sales-based revenue structure.
NDP calls out Conservatives for effort to squash pharmacare legislation
The federal New Democrats are calling out Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and his party for trying to block the bill that could pave the way for millions of Canadians to access birth control and diabetes coverage.
Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, argues he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
Mediterranean staple may lower your risk of death from dementia, study finds
A daily spoonful of olive oil could lower your risk of dying from dementia, according to a new study by Harvard scientists.
Ontario MPP asked again to leave Ontario legislature over keffiyeh, Speaker loosens ban
An Ontario MPP was asked again to leave the Ontario legislature on Monday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that was banned by the Speaker last month due to its political symbolism.
WATCH Avian flu: Risk to humans grows as outbreaks spread, warns expert
H5N1 or avian flu is decimating wildlife around the world and is now spreading among cattle in the United States, sparking concerns about 'pandemic potential' for humans. Now a health expert is urging Canada to scale up surveillance north of the border.
Trudeau Liberals to unveil new bill Monday aimed at countering foreign interference
Democratic Institutions Minister Dominic LeBlanc will be tabling legislation on Monday aimed at countering foreign interference in Canada. Federal officials have scheduled a technical briefing on the incoming bill for Monday afternoon.
Human remains were found at a former Hitler base, but decay prevents determining the cause of death
Polish prosecutors have discontinued an investigation into human skeletons found at a site where German dictator Adolf Hitler and other Nazi leaders spent time during the Second World War because the advanced state of decay made it impossible to determine the cause of death, a spokesman said Monday.