Essex County OPP and the Town of Tecumseh are working together to decrease accidental 911 and false alarm calls for service.
A review of accidental and false alarm calls over the 2013-2017 period has indicated that on average, 572 accidental 911 calls and 665 calls for residential and commercial false alarms were responded to annually in Tecumseh.
That compares to an average of 7,000 dropped calls a year for Windsor Police.
The OPP has launched the #KnowWhenToCall campaign (www.OPP.ca/911) to educate the public on unintentional calls. They continue to urge the public not to call 911 unless it's an emergency, and not to let children play with mobile phones or tablets.
Police respond to all calls for service whether intentional or not. For every unintentional call, an emergency communicator must determine whether a real emergency exists and if police, fire or paramedics should be dispatched.
Police say if you place an unintentional 911 call, stay on the line to let the emergency operator know it was a pocket dial/unintentional call. When a caller doesn't respond, that could be a sign of trouble - a possibility an emergency responder can't ignore.
You can prevent pocket dials or unintentional 911 calls by:
-Using the keypad lock feature.
-Turning off the 911 auto-dial feature.
-Avoiding programming a wireless device to automatically or "speed dial" 911.
Accidental calls or abuse of 911 ties up emergency lines, communicators and officers, resulting in slower responses to real emergencies and risking the safety of people in urgent need for help.
The OPP also advises that callers should never use 911 for information on road conditions and closures.
