1-in-4 calls to Halton 9-1-1 are mistakes in Burlington, Milton, Oakville

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Published February 25, 2022 at 11:17 am

Over the last two years, more than a quarter of 9-1-1 calls from residences in Oakville, Burlington, Milton and Halton Hills have been ‘false’.

Another two dozen happened today (Feb. 25) following the Amber Alert and Halton Regional Police want to reduce that number.

Halton police are asking residents to be mindful of how they store their electronic devices as new emergency features on both iOS and Android devices are contributing to the concerning trend where high volumes of ‘false’ 9-1-1 calls are being made.

Today’s influx of calls was primarily as a result of people trying to turn off the alert and inadvertently activating the Emergency SOS feature.

In 2021, the HRPS Communications Bureau answered 178,616 calls to 9-1-1, of which 26 per cent were ‘false’, ‘mistaken’ or non-emergency by nature. Similar call volumes were fielded in 2020.

Many accidental 9-1-1 calls happen when emergency features are inadvertently activated while a cell phone is in a pocket, purse or vehicle’s cupholder.

Often, these emergency features are activated by pressing and holding the button(s) on your device to trigger a call to 9-1-1. False 9-1-1 calls are also originating from smart watches and from deactivated phones children are playing with.

While these features can be helpful in an emergency situation, they can be easily and mistakenly activated.

To help reduce the number of false 9-1-1 calls received, the HRPS is asking the community to learn how these features work on their devices and to be more aware of where and how they are storing their devices. The HRPS is also recommending that parents do not give deactivated phones to children to play with because, even without a SIM card or cellular plan, calls to 9-1-1 can still be made.

So what if you dial 9-1-1 accidentally? Stay on the line, let the call taker know what has happened, and confirm that you are not in need of emergency assistance.

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