Members from the Northumberland Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) responded to 33 unintentional 9-1-1 calls or hang ups this past weekend September 20 – 22, 2019.
For every unintentional call or pocket dial received, an emergency communicator must determine whether a real emergency exists and if police, fire or paramedics should be dispatched. With every unintentional ca ll received, precious seconds may be taken away from someone who really needs help. Many calls still occur when young children are given cell phones and smart phones to play with as toys.
If you place an unintentional 9-1-1 call and an operator calls you back please, stay on the line to let the emergency operator know your current location to allow for police to attend and check on your well being. Every 9-1-1 call is taken seriously. When a 9-1-1 caller doesn’t respond, that could be a sign of someone in distress – a possibility an emergency responder can’t ignore. This then results in officers being dispatched to try to locate the caller to ensure that there is no emergency, taking up even more time dedicated to the call.
You can prevent pocket dials or unintentional 9-1-1 calls by:
Locking your keypad if your phone has this feature and/or buying a phone case with a full screen cover to prevent contact with the touch screen.
Avoid from programming a wireless device/land line phone to ‘speed dial’ 9-1-1.
If you have a smart watch that is synced to your phone ensure that the auto call feature is turned off
For more information and helpful tips visit www.opp.ca and query ‘911’.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
