AUDIO: Cricket complaint among 50,000-plus 911 calls that weren’t emergencies in Mississauga, Brampton

More than 50,000 calls to 911 in Mississauga and Brampton in October and November were not for legitimate emergencies, and police are concerned that such ongoing misuse of the emergency number will cost lives.

Peel Regional Police said via social media on Tuesday that of more than 100,000 calls to 911 between Oct. 1 and Nov. 30, “more than 50 per cent of those calls were hang-ups or deemed misuse of 911.”

They remind the public that general complaints to police should be reported through the non-emergency line at 905-453-3311. For municipal bylaw matters in Mississauga and Brampton, police note, residents should call 311 — even on weekends.

One particular recent caller complained to the 911 emergency operator at the Peel Communications Centre that “…there’s a bunch of guys ah playing cricket. So, people walk on that walk path and they’re playing cricket…”

When told by the 911 dispatcher that, “OK, that wouldn’t be a police matter. It would be a bylaw issue. You can call 311 and they will be able to…,” the caller didn’t seem entirely convinced.

“Well, who is going to answer 311 on a Saturday?” they responded.

“It’s bylaw, so they will be answering it,” the 911 operator said.

Between Oct 1st & Nov 30th of this year, we received more than 100,000 calls to 911. More than 50% of those calls were hang-ups or deemed misuse of 911. For general complaints, call our non-emergency line @ 905-453-3311 . Call 311 for municipal by-law. #911AwarenessPeel pic.twitter.com/CmnlUtHRVg

— Peel Regional Police (@PeelPolice) December 5, 2023

Police in Peel have been trying for several years to get the rate of such non-emergency calls to 911 down to a more acceptable number. The rate has remained at about 40 per cent or greater of all 911 calls over the last two years.

“911 is for emergencies only, such as a life in danger or a crime in progress,” police say, adding that for incidents where lives aren’t in danger or crimes are not in progress, people are to call the main police line.

Meanwhile, 911 caller hang-ups are also troublesome because in many cases first responders must attend those scenes to ensure there’s no emergency, police say, noting such incidents draw resources away from where they’re really needed.

Earlier this year, Region of Peel officials released numbers that showed nearly 40 per cent of all calls to 911 in Mississauga and Brampton in 2022 were not due to an emergency. They were either non-emergency situations or accidental calls to the emergency service.

The statistics related to 911 calls were the same the previous year, 2021, when four out of 10 Peel residents also mistakenly called the emergency line.

So, it appears people are not getting the message, officials fear.

Such misuse of the life-saving service is wasting the valuable time of police, firefighters and paramedics, Region of Peel officials and police have said on several occasions.

Officials say residents should:

• call 911 only when someone needs immediate help from firefighters, police or paramedics
• call 211, 311 or 811 or police non-emergency lines for other help
• lock their cell phones and don’t program 911 into the devices
• teach children how to use 911 correctly and how to recognize emergencies
• stay on the phone if call 911 by accident so you can let operator know you’re okay and it’s not an emergency. If you hang up, operator may send emergency services to your location