HUNTSVILLE OPP LATEST TO RESPOND TO 40 POCKET DIALS

HUNTSVILLE Unintended consequences,

That’s the latest alarm from OPP here after police were forced to deal with almost 40 “pocket dials” and unintentional calls.

Between Friday, Aug. 9 and Sunday July 11, officers from the Huntsville detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police responded to them all.

If you make a pocket dial by mistake, do stay on the line to let the operator know it was a mistake, so they don’t have to follow-up by tracking you down.

They say that for every unintentional call or pocket dial received, an emergency communicator must determine whether a real emergency exists and if police, fire or paramedics should be dispatched.

With every unintentional call received, precious seconds may be taken away from someone who really needs help.

If you place an unintentional 911 call, stay on the line to let the emergency operator know it was a pocket dial/unintentional call.

Every 911 call is taken seriously.

When a 911 caller doesn’t respond, that could be a sign of trouble — a possibility an emergency responder can’t ignore.

See a related story about 400 calls received in one month by the OPP at Bracebridge:

400 ‘POCKET DIALS’ FOR 911 HELP THIS MONTH

TIPS TO STOP POCKET DIALS

You can prevent pocket dials or unintentional 911 calls by:

  • Using the keypad lock feature. Keypad locks, some of which can be programmed to activate automatically, prevent a mobile device from responding to keystrokes until the user unlocks the keypad using a short combination of key presses or password.
  • Turning off the 911 auto-dial feature. Check the user manual or the manufacturer’s website, or call the service provider to determine whether your device has this feature and how to turn it off.
  • Refraining from programming a wireless device to automatically or “speed dial” 911.