A raccoon that was shivering in the cold, a landlord that refused to replace a tenant’s carpet and a television that wouldn’t turn on.
Those are just a few of the frivolous 911 calls received by Hamilton’s emergency dispatch centre in 2019.
In fact, Hamilton police say that nearly one-third of the 195,000 calls fielded by 911 operators this year were for non-emergency matters.
To raise awareness to the problem, Hamilton have again released their top 10 list of frivolous 911 calls along with a video in which officers read the transcripts from some of the calls.
One caller, for example, said that they spotted a raccoon on the side of the road who was “shivering and very cold.” The caller went on to say that her husband had a “pet raccoon and felt sorry for it.”
Another caller, meanwhile, said that they had a mouse in their apartment and wasn’t sure if “you guys do something for these things.”
Yet another caller dialed 911 to say that they were having television problems. They said that the issue was an emergency because there was a game that they wanted to watch.
“Non-emergency calls take up valuable resources and potentially delay responding to those individuals in a genuine emergency,” Hamilton police said in a press release issued Friday morning. “A 911 emergency is when someone needs help right away because of an injury or an immediate danger.
In addition to the superfluous calls, Hamilton police say that they are also dealing with a high number of apparent pocket dials.
They say that in 2019 approximately 45,000 911 calls were abandoned before an operator even picked up. As a result dispatchers had to take the time to call those people back and verify that there was no emergency.
"If you have called 911 accidentally, it’s important to stay on the line to speak to an operator to explain the error. Every 911 call is taken seriously, so explaining the mistake will eliminate the need for the emergency operator to call back," police said in the press release. "It is also important to ensure all cell phones are locked to avoid accidentally calling 911."
Here is the full list of wasteful calls:
- A forensics person to assist with identifying spiders in the basement
- Someone asking for cigarettes
- Putting out an Amber Alert for a stolen puppy
- Helping locate keys lost in a drain
- Changing a bad carpet
- Mice in an apartment
- Help in calling a taxi
- TV isn’t working and an important game is on
- Cold raccoon
- Locking keys in the car
