Durham police are reminding the public to only call 911 for emergencies after a Whitby resident called to complain about the amount of sirens in the area.
On Wednesday, the Durham Regional Police Service shared an audio clip of the exchange with the resident.
“I’m a resident here in Whitby and I hear the Durham Regional Police, the sirens are going off like every hour. Is everything OK?” the man said, to which the patient dispatcher replied, “Well, it’s the weekend right? So it’s busy.”
“Busy with what?” the man replied back. The dispatcher then says it’s a busy time in the area.
“I grew up here my whole life. This is a bit of a complaint. Sorry I’m going to complain…I never hear sirens like this. It’s ridiculous. And unless there’s a lot of crime going on, I don’t know what you guys are doing, but it’s a bit of a disturbance to be honest,” the man said.
Afterwards, the dispatcher explains that the reason for the sirens is because police are responding to many emergencies at the moment and that Durham Region’s population has also expanded exponentially as well, resulting in more emergency calls.
The man on the phone then continues to inquire and complain about the crimes.
“I’m not trying to get upset. I’m just saying it’s Saturday. I hear your sirens in the morning. I hear sirens Friday night. We’re not in Chicago. We’re not in the Bronx, right? We’re in a very safe neighbourhood,” he said.
“To me, it just seems like the cops can maybe do a bit of a better job of not disturbing the peace.”
The dispatcher sternly responded with, “If they have to have their sirens on, they have to have their sirens on.”
In response, the man immediately says, “For what?!” and the dispatcher advises him to call the non-emergency line if he’d like to file an official complaint.
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According to the DRPS, 911 communicators answer more than 600 calls per day.
For non-emergency calls, police are urging the public to use its non-emergency number, 905-579-1520, for non-life and death emergencies.
Back in Oct. 2023, Peel police also issued a reminder to the public about not misusing 911 calls after a resident called to ask for help with her TV.
