The 9-1-1 on emergency hang-ups

WOODSTOCK, ON, CANADA — It’s a phone call no one wants to take.

Tuesday morning, local RE/MAX realtor Laura Barker was in her car doing some running around when she accidentally pocket-dialed 9-1-1 on her Blackberry.

While she said she actually had the lock button on, she believes her seatbelt must have somehow switched it off, connecting her with a police dispatcher.

As soon as she clued in she had connected to someone, she hung up and that’s when she received a call back from authorities.

Barker believes the mix-up occurred because her service provider had preprogrammed 9-1-1 into her list of contacts.

Dispatchers quickly asked her numerous questions, including her name, location and home address, to ensure she was safe and the call was indeed accidental.

“I was really happy they had a good response time getting back to me, and they wanted to make sure I was all right,” she said. “But I was a little embarrassed that I tied up their time worrying about me, when I know how busy they are.”

Woodstock police dispatcher Jenny Shewan explained that recently 9-1-1 hang-up calls have skyrocketed.

“In the month of October, we had 80 9-1-1 hang-ups,” she said. “Only one turned out to be anything.”

She said on Tuesday, Nov. 1, dispatchers received eight 9-1-1 hang-ups, the highest number she remembers ever receiving in one day.

The dispatcher of 12 years said 9-1-1 hang-ups are usually the result of pocket dials, children playing with phones, prank calls or, even more often, people attempting to get information through 4-1-1.

“It affects the force because, if 9-1-1 is initiated, it’s our policy to send two officers out,” she said.

The unwarranted calls generally tie up officers for more than half an hour, and often it takes dispatchers 15 to 20 minutes to find out where the caller is located.

That’s not the only headaches Woodstock 9-1-1 dispatchers, who have received over 9,000 calls already this year, have to deal with.

“There are a lot of rude people,” she said. “People aren’t calling us to tell us we’re doing a good job.”

Callers voicing discontent with fellow residents at their group home or children arguing with their siblings also regularly distract dispatchers. There was also a woman who called wanting to know when the next snowstorm was going to come.

The Oxford OPP has a similar story.

Despite education efforts and warnings, calls to 9-1-1 for service from Oxford OPP are also on the rise, and the OPP says the vast majority is unnecessary.

“A very small percentage of total 9-1-1 calls are in fact emergency calls,” Const. Dennis Harwood said.

In 2010, there were 1,265 calls to 9-1-1 for Oxford OPP, which has risen to 1,694 to date in 2011.

“The vast majority are unfounded,” he said.

Harwood said dispatchers often receive queries on their 9-1-1 lines about road conditions or Toronto weather forecasts.

“Certainly if it’s weather conditions or road conditions, call the (Ministry of Transportation,” he said.

Harwood said many of the calls are also due to children playing with phones or pocket dials of people who have programmed 9-1-1 into their speed dial.

Others occur when dialing 9, then 1 for a long-distance call.

Harwood said the OPP’s policy is to respond to every 9-1-1 hang-up call.

“Our policy is for every 9-1-1 call, an officer will attend,” he said.

In some cases, the dialer truly does need help.

Harwood said officers have responded to 9-1-1 hang-ups to find a case of domestic violence, where the wife has legitimately dialed 9-1-1 after an assault and has been told by her husband to tell the police everything is OK.

“For true emergencies, crimes in progress, people safety at risk, yes, call 9-1-1,” he said.

Read the story here.

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