Petition calls for Amber Alert complainers to be fined

A Toronto woman is calling on the provincial government to levee fines against people who call 911 to complain about broadcasts of Amber Alerts.

Dalia Monacelli launched an online petition asking Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Attorney General Doug Downey to consider instituting fines for those who tie up emergency dispatchers to criticize the alerts.

The federally mandated emergency broadcasts go out to wireless devices across the province every time police issue an alert concerning a missing child believed to be in imminent danger.

There have been five Amber Alerts in Ontario so far this year. On every occasion, police forces have been flooded with calls by people complaining about the notification.

Monacelli says she has been appalled to read about the repeated calls. Especially after the first Amber Alert of the year culminated in the death of 11-year-old Riya Rajkumar, who police say was killed by her father.

The petition has garnered more than 58,000 signatories so far.