Residents are being urged not to just hang up on 911.
Lumby RCMP officers have recently responded to two abandoned 911 telephone calls.
“In these cases, our dispatch centre receives a call and the caller then hangs up or ends the call without saying anything,” said Cpl. Henry Proce.
“Our policy dictates that we locate and attend all such calls for obvious reasons. In many cases, it’s folks, and often children, pushing the emergency button on their phones, experimenting to see what happens or simply carelessness when dialing.”
In both of these recent cases, the calls were false alarms.
“People should realize that police drop whatever they are doing and respond with lights and sirens, putting ourselves at risk when responding to any 911 call,” said Proce.
“It’s very frustrating to attend such calls only to find out it’s a youngster playing with the phone. The 911 system is extremely effective, but remember to use it only for serious crimes in progress or life-threatening situations.”
