WELLINGTON CTY. – Numerous times, police officers have related the same story.
“People placing their cell phone in their pants pocket and taking their seat in their car or at school accidentally dial someone,” said OPP Constable Mark Cloes, who added many times women have placed their cell phone in their purse, things get jostled around and suddenly they are calling 9-1-1.
Cloes reported that county OPP officers have responded more than 430 times to 9-1-1 calls in the past 90 days. Police have to respond to make sure that all is okay; that there isn’t any medical emergency or ongoing domestic issues.
“Although some of these calls have turned out to warranted, many have not,” Cloes said. “Many of these phantom calls have wasted valuable resources, trying to track down cell phone users, to ensure all is well and emergency services are not needed.”
He said people need to prevent pocket dialing. Most of the latest phones or communications devices have a lock switch or button to prevent unwanted dialing when not in use. If the phone does not have that feature, there are some applications that can be added to prevent random dialing.
County OPP officers will continue to respond to all 9-1-1 calls, to ensure the safety of all persons.
