According to estimates by emergency communications, one in five 911 calls turn out to be non-emergencies.
E-Comms is conducting a public awareness campaign to help people better understand when to call 911 and when to call the non emergency line.
E-Comms Manager Jasmine Bradley says it can be hard to determine when to call the emergency line.
“Calls to 911 need to be for situations that require an immediate response, from police, fire or ambulance. So somebody’s health safety property’s in jeopardy, there’s a crime in progress. Non-emergency lines are still for police matters, but they don’t need officers to be sent right away.”
Bradley adds that if anyone is in doubt if their situation is an emergency, they should dial 911 first.
In 2016 E-Comm managed close to 400,000 emergency calls for 17 police agencies in Metro Vancouver and approximately 77,000 were non-emergencies.