Mississauga city council has thrown its support behind a local MPP’s push for a new three-digit phone number for non-emergency police calls to lessen the load on the 911 emergency system.

Mayor Carolyn Parrish said Wednesday she’ll send a letter to the provincial government backing the efforts of Mississauga-Erin Mills MPP Sheref Sabawy to garner support for and eventually have such a number approved by the CRTC (Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission).

Police forces across the Greater Toronto Area and beyond, including Peel Regional Police, have long complained that too many non-emergency calls are being fielded by 911 emergency operators. Such interactions delay emergency call-takers in getting to callers with legitimate crisis situations to report.

Police and municipalities have regularly tried to educate the public on the proper use of the 911 system, defining emergencies and insisting non-emergency calls be made using the more traditional 10-digit local police numbers available in towns and cities across Ontario.

Mississauga-Erin Mills MPP Sheref Sabawy is trying to garner support for a new three-digit non-emergency police phone number.

However, the public largely tends to call 911 instead of taking the time to look for the appropriate non-emergency police phone number online or elsewhere.

Last August, Toronto Police launched a new three-digit number for non-emergencies — *TPS, or *877 — in an effort to reduce the number of such calls to 911.

“This feature lets residents quickly reach non-emergency services with an easy-to-remember three-digit number,” Toronto Police said at the time.

The *877 number, however, is available only for wireless devices and not yet accessible from landlines.

Sabawy, who attended Mississauga’s general committee meeting on Wednesday, told city councillors he’s seeking the necessary support from Peel police and other forces in addition to municipalities in order to press on with his mission.

Mississauga Deputy Mayor and Ward 4 Coun. John Kovac raised the matter in council chambers on Wednesday, and asked the mayor to send a letter to the province supporting the local MPP’s effort.

Kovac said too many people struggle to find a non-emergency police number when needed and end up calling 911. A new three-digit number is a smart solution, he added.

Mississauga Deputy Mayor and Ward 4 Coun. John Kovac agrees a new three-digit non-emergency police phone number is needed.

“You dial that number, you report it and get the help that you need rather than having to quickly go online and search for the (10-digit non-emergency) number.”

Ward 6 Coun. Joe Horneck is on board with the idea as well, saying large numbers of people quickly jump into online neighbourhood chats in which he’s participating to ask for a non-emergency police phone number.

“… the number of times somebody, instead of trying to find some other way, will drop into the chat group (to ask) ‘what is the non-emergency number (for police)?’ … (the number) is way too high and it’s a very nonsensical way to do things,” he said. “But it shows the hunger for that piece of knowledge, so if (a three-digit non-emergency number) can help bridge that gap, then I think it would be a welcome thing.”

In addition to approving a new three-digit non-emergency police number, the CRTC would also choose the number itself, Sabawy said.


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