Got a non-emergency request for Toronto police? You can now call *877
Residents can dial *TPS or *877 for non-emergency purposes
Toronto police have announced a new, shorter non-emergency number they hope will be easier for residents to remember and help further reduce 911 wait times.
People can now dial *TPS or *877 on their mobile devices to reach first responders for situations that are not life-threatening or that don't require immediate response, said Supt. Greg Watts.
The longer non-emergency number, 416-808-2222, is still available for residents, police said in a news release. But Watts hopes the new number will not only be easier to recall, it will also stop people from automatically calling 911 in non-emergencies.
"In an emergency, seconds count," he said.
"We've worked really, really hard to modernize how we are intaking information from the public … so you don't always have to wait on hold."
While Toronto police have made strides in recent years to reduce 911 wait times, Watts said any initiative to further reduce waits "is a good thing."
Recent 911 wait times are down to an average of 28 seconds — about 69 per cent lower than wait times seen in the same period last year, he said.
"We still have a lot of work to do, but we're going in the right direction," Watts said.
Holly Barkwell, the Canadian region director of the National Emergency Association, says strategies like this one are becoming a trend across North America because public safety answering point agencies are "inundated with all kinds of calls."
"If it's an incident where you are unsure whether it's a 911 call or not, always err on the side of caution and call 911," Barkwell said.
But she adds: "Keep in mind that… if you are taking up those lines and those personnel times with non-emergency communications, it means that somebody that could potentially be experiencing a real emergency might not get through."
Police say the new number is available exclusively on wireless devices and works on Rogers, Bell, TELUS, Freedom Mobile and any of their affiliated companies' networks.
People using a landline or struggling to reach dispatchers via the new number are encouraged to use the longer number instead, said the release.
'Helps us help the public': police
In 2022, a CBC Toronto investigation revealed many people were on hold for over two minutes on 911 before they could reach an operator.
Later that year, a report by the auditor general found staffing problems and call volume were causing call-answering delays.
That report also recommended police and the City of Toronto collaborate and create "a shorter and easier to remember number" for non-emergencies.
Watts said the development of a shorter non-emergency number has been in the works "for a long time," but that the auditor general's 2022 report helped drive the project ahead.
"When we saw that recommendation come out, we were like, 'yes! This is a good one,'" he said.
"Because it not only helps the public, it helps us help the public better too."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
