Accidental 911 calls waste police time and resources

Posted By Police Blotter

Posted 1 year ago

There were 155 complaints reported to Strathmore RCMP last week. Of those, there were a surprisingly high number of non-emergency 911 calls.

Of the 13 calls made last week only one was a legitimate call. Sgt. Kevin Reilly said that of the remaining 11 calls, seven were unattended children, one from the arena in Strathmore, two were untraceable and two were cellular phones which had dialed while in a pocket or purse.

Reilly said it’s not unusual to get calls from a purse, and it seems that it’s because some phone companies have programmed 911 as a speed dial into their handhelds. He said people should check their phones, and probably remove it to ensure they won’t be calling 911 by accident.

“We waste a lot of time and resources trying to deal with all these calls,” said Reilly. “Most of them are cellular phones.”

--- Fire in Rockyview ---

A fire started in the industrial area of Rockyview on Dec. 2 when sparks from some welding lit insulation on fire in a building under construction. Three workers were treated for smoke inhalation at the scene.

--- Stolen tractor trailer ---

On Dec. 3 a tractor trailer unit loaded with wood was found in Calgary after a motorist called in the truck to the company. There have been no charges laid and the investigation is still ongoing.

--- Weekly roundup ---

There were four assaults reported last week, all are still under investigation. Five cases of mischief were reported, including a home in Langdon which was hit with paintballs.

There was also a report from McKinnon Flats that their outhouses were run over.

Three bylaw complaints were made, two reports of disturbing the peace and three impaired drivers were reported.

Despite the snowy weather, there were only two collisions reported to RCMP after the snow fell.

There were 15 in total last week, 14 of which resulted in property damage.

There was one injury collision on Dec. 7 where the female victim refused medical attention when Calgary EMS attended.