Accidental 911 calls are clogging already hard-hit emergency lines, police warn

Emergency lines are being clogged by a rise in accidental 911 calls and it's taking away time and resources from legitimate crises, police say.

Toronto police, which says it operates the largest and busiest 911 call centre in the country, says its centre received an average of 6,500 calls per day in May. That's a a 25 per cent increase compared to the same month in 2022.

Of all the 911 calls received, the service says 50 per cent of them were accidental.

"When a 911 caller does not respond to the operator, hangs up or is disconnected, the operator must make contact by calling back," the service said in a news release.

"When it takes operators a minimum of 90 seconds to call each person back, that is time that could be better spent responding to emergency 911 calls, when every second counts."

To tackle the problem, Toronto police say the force is taking steps to reduce wait times and is hiring more call operators. That was a recommendation made by the city's auditor general last year, which said the force must hire more operators to offset its staffing shortages.

A CBC Toronto investigation found that the service had an average 911 call wait time of one minute in 2022. While Toronto police say the force strives to meet a voluntary National Emergency Number Association minimum standard of answering 90 per cent of all 911 calls within 15 seconds, it only met that bar 11 days for all of last year.

It's a problem that isn't unique to Toronto. Last week, York Regional Police said that service's accidental 911 calls had also increased by almost 50 per cent compared to this time last year. 

"I think one of the worst things a person could experience when they call 911 is that they can't get through or they're waiting," said York police spokesperson Const. Laura Nicolle.

She says the force has had their worst May yet, with 79 per cent more unintentional 911 calls compared to that time period last year.

"We want to make sure those lines are free for the people that really, really need our help."

How to prevent an accidental call

Police say when accidental calls do happen, it's important to stay on the line to let the operator know you're safe.

If you hang up before then, operators will call or text you back — the latter being a new initiative Toronto police implemented in May to help address the increase in call volumes. 

In recent weeks, several police forces have said recent software updates to the emergency SOS feature on Android devices make it easier to dial 911 accidentally by hitting the power button five times in a row. Some have asked people to consider turning off the emergency 911 feature on their Apple or Android phones and smart watches.

To prevent tying up emergency lines, police say you should:

• Periodically review the emergency alert settings on your cell phones, and update them when required.
• Store cell phones properly so they aren't bouncing around, sat on or get buttons pressed accidentally.
• Not let children play with active or old cell phones, even if they are unregistered with no SIM card installed.
• Not program 911 into your phone or contacts.
• Not test call 911 to see if it's working.