Edmonton police are taking to social media to educate Edmontonians on when it’s appropriate to call 911, and other ways to contact police.
EPS are launching another push to raise awareness of their non-emergency line; saying despite awareness campaigns in the past, 911 is still receiving tens of thousands of calls that are not emergencies.
“We’re once again trying to raise awareness about proper use of 911, as we continue to see errant calls flood our emergency line,” Insp. Graham Hogg of EPS Police Communications Branch said in a news release. “The majority of these calls come from citizens who don’t know the difference between an emergency and a non-emergency.”
Police said their 911 call centre had received 90,034 calls so far this year – but 36,617 of those calls were not an emergency.
Last year, police said 388,736 calls were made to 911, and 152,320 of those calls not emergencies.
Later Monday, police released an audio clip of a 911 call that was not an emergency, over two people trying to park in the same parking space:
Starting next month, Edmontonians will see ads on buses, LRTs and transit stations, but officials are also reaching out through social media – asking their 122,000 Facebook, Twitter and Instagram followers to share and retweet messages using the #EPS377 hashtag.
Need to contact police? Make the Right Call. Use 911 only in an emergency! #EPS377 #yeg pic.twitter.com/0ZvraqQTFA
— Edmonton Police (@edmontonpolice) April 4, 2016
“We don’t want to deter people from calling 911 when they really need to, but we want them to remember that not all calls are emergencies and that dialing #377 from their mobile phone will connect them with the non-emergency line,” Insp. Hogg said.
Police said you should call 911 if you, or someone else, is in a life-threatening situation (including a medical situation or fire), or you’re a witness to or are a victim of a crime in progress.
However, police said the non-emergency line should be called if you see suspicious people or activity, your car was broken into or vandalized or a non-violent crime was committed.
The non-emergency line is 780-423-4567, or dial #377 on a mobile phone.
Police said some crimes can also be reported online.
