Brant County OPP complains about 911 pocket calls

PARIS, ON, CANADA – The Brant County police services board wants to see what can be done about those pesky, inadvertent pocket calls from cell phones to 911.

They usually come without any emergency to warrant them, often without the phone’s owner knowing until tracked down by police and having to confess in embarrassment.

But it’s becoming a growing problem that is taking up a lot of time to investigate what is usually not an emergency call, Insp. Dave Durant, the Brant County OPP detachment commander, told the last police services board meeting.

“It’s becoming increasingly more frustrating. The number of times we respond to those things is several times a day,” he said.

People have 911 put on speed dial for that time where there may be a real emergency. But the phone doesn’t have to be turned on, and if the right button is touched when the device is in someone’s pocket, the call will go through anyway.

“When that call comes in, it usually provides an address, but since it’s a 911 call we have to track it down because it could be an emergency. And that takes time.”

He said some calls take officers more than half an hour to close.

Durant said he didn’t have precise statistics on the number of calls in that category yet, but will supply them.

County Coun. Joan Gatward, a board member, sympathized with his complaint. She confessed that it once happened to her years ago. Since she doesn’t give out her cell phone number and uses it only to call when necessary, she never expects to get a call.

One day, she recounted, she was surprised when her phone rang and the police were on the line. She has taken steps to ensure that doesn’t happen again.

The board will discuss the problem further at the next meeting.

Read the story here.

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