58% of Windsor 911 calls deemed non-emergencies

WINDSOR, ON, CANADA — More than half of the 911 calls placed to Windsor police this year have been for non-emergencies, causing a waste of time and resources, police say.

Sgt. Brett Corey said that as of Tuesday, 36,982 calls were made to 911 dispatch this year and 21,556 of them were dismissed.

He said most calls are dismissed because they are for non-emergencies incidents, are duplicate calls — which are when more than one call is made for the same matter — or are accidental calls such as pocket dials or children playing with the phone.

“It ties up valuable time, resources and the 911 lines for people who need to call for an actual emergency, so that’s our main concern,” said Corey.

“You may not get the communicator immediately which may delay the process and could be critical depending on the situation.”

Some “incredible” instances of people calling 911 for non-emergencies include people ordering pizza, calling to complain about their utility bills or reporting that their cat is stuck in a tree, Corey said.

Chris Grant, deputy chief of operations for Essex-Windsor EMS, said keeping 911 dispatch lines open and accessible for those calling in with actual emergencies is crucial.

“It could affect somebody with a heart attack or a stroke because ultimately those seconds count to causing a significant amount of damage to those vital organs which could lead to people’s deaths,” said Grant. “So obviously time is of the essence for these types of calls.”

Corey said another common occurrence is people who dial 911 by mistake but hang up before the call is answered.

“All calls have to be investigated so if you dial by mistake, better to stay on the line because when somebody stays on the line, the communicators can investigate it right then and there, they can speak to the person and determine what kind of call it is,” said Corey.

“Unfortunately if somebody hangs up, then we’re in the dark and that’s when, often times, we have to send an officer out to investigate to make sure that person is safe.”

Often times people will call 911 to report property crimes — such as a car tire being slashed or a car is broken into — which don’t require immediate emergency intervention, said Corey. These calls are meant to be reported through Windsor police’s non-emergency phone services.

“The easiest way to differentiate is if you’re calling to make a police report about something, whether you want to report that somebody threw a snowball at your car or maybe somebody did some damage to some shrubs at the front of your property, if it’s something that doesn’t require immediate police or emergency service intervention, it’s something that you want to report to the non-emergency police line,” said Corey.

The non-emergency phone number is 519-258-6111.

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