36 per cent of non-emergency calls to Vernon RCMP are not a police matter

Photo: Contributed

With the surge in demand for emergency services, Vernon North Okanagan RCMP wants to remind the public to 'make the right call' during the busy summer months.

Const. Chris Terleski said E-Comm, the agency responsible for handling the majority of emergency calls in the province, reports up to 36 per cent of police non-emergency calls do not belong on these lines and need to be directed to other more appropriate resources.

"Our detachment is supported by E-Comm and the Southeast District RCMP Operational Communication Centre (OCC), which is one of the largest and busiest RCMP 911 police dispatch centres in Canada,” said Terleski. “Often, calls to police non-emergency lines are not police matters and should be referred to another agency such as ICBC, the BC Residential Tenancy Branch, or municipal bylaw services. Any time we can direct these calls to a more appropriate resource, not only does it save time, but it eases the strain on E-Comm and our OCC and ensures essential communication lines remain free for emergency and police matters.
Anyone experiencing a life-threatening emergency, is urged to call 911, but if the call is of a non-urgent nature, people are asked to:

• check online to see if you should call your local police non-emergency line;
• report the incident using our online crime-reporting tool at https://ocre-sielc.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/bc/en;
• or reach out to an alternate resource.

A full list of links to online crime reporting and non-emergency phone numbers is available through E-Comm.