Hamilton police have released a list of the top ten non-emergency 911 calls of 2019.
The police service has received roughly 195,000 911 calls so far this year and of that, nearly one-third were not an emergency.
A video posted on the Hamilton police website features members of the service reading the transcript of the phone calls. It includes someone calling to report their television wasn’t working and a big game was on.
Another caller was worried about the well-being of a raccoon that appeared to be cold outside. “Actually, there was a raccoon off the side of the road and he was alive. We thought maybe he was injured. He’s moving around but he’s shivering and he’s very cold. I didn’t know what number to call. He’s a really big guy and actually walked up to my husband. My husband had a pet raccoon and he felt sorry for it,” stated a caller.
Other calls included:
- A request for a forensics person to assist with identifying spiders in the basement
- Someone asking for cigarettes
- Putting out an Amber Alert for a stolen puppy
- Helping locate keys lost in a drain
- Changing a bad carpet
- Mice in an apartment
- Help in calling a taxi
- Locking keys in the car
Hamilton police are reminding residents that 911 is for emergencies and “not to request assistance for rodents in your basement.”
Non-emergency calls take up valuable resources and potentially delay responding to those individuals in a genuine emergency. A 911 emergency is when someone needs help right away because of an injury or an immediate danger.
If you need to contact the Hamilton Police Service for a non-emergency situation, please call 905-546-4925.
