Non-emergency Calls Made Easier  –

911 calls are your lifeline to reach police, fire or ambulance. In 2023, people in British Columbia called that number 2,342,892 times!

Less dramatic – but still important – are the calls made to non-emergency lines, and those calls have now been made easier for callers in Hastings Sunrise and across the Lower Mainland and Sea to Sky region.

A new interactive software system has been launched by E-Comm, the agency that handles 911 calls here. Callers to non-emergency have more options when they call during peak hours of 7 am to 9pm:

• Estimated wait times are now provided
• Callers can request a call back instead of waiting on hold
• Call takers can send police file numbers to callers via SMS text.

Since the new system was launched in May, E-Comm has seen many callers using the call back feature and fewer abandoned calls. (After peak hours, police call takers handle both emergency and non-emergency calls.)

The public is encouraged to report all non-urgent crimes through non-emergency, even those that do not require a police officer to attend:

• Crime analysts working with police can use information provided in non-emergency reports to track crime patterns and trends.
• Police can use the data from non-emergency reports to help them direct proactive patrols in your area.

In Vancouver, the non-emergency number is 604-717-3321.

Many non-emergency matters can also be reported online at vpd.ca/report-a-crime

For more information, see www.nonemergency.ca

When to Call 911:

• Whenever your—or another person’s—health, safety or property is compromised
• Domestic disputes, attacks, gunshots, fires and/or smoke, hazardous goods incidents, downed power lines, car accidents with injuries or any other medical emergency that is a threat to life or health
• An in-progress crime such as theft, break and enter or vandalism (if there is a suspect on scene) or to report an impaired driver
• A serious crime that has just occurred (sexual or other assault, robbery, child abduction)
• Suspicious activity (example: a stranger trying to open car doors)