Police: 911 Is For Emergency Purposes Only
The police issued an advisory saying that 911 dispatchers continue to receive calls reporting non-emergency incidents that do not require urgent assistance, and reminded the public the 911 service is for emergency situations
A police spokesperson said: “The Bermuda Police Service would like to remind the public that the 911 emergency telephone number is only to be used for emergency situations where assistance is required urgently.
“Dispatchers for first responders continue to receive calls from members of the public via 911 reporting non-emergency incidents that do not require urgent assistance. These types of phone calls to 911 are unnecessary and can cause a delay in responding to genuine emergency calls.
“Instead, the public should contact the main police number on 295-0011 for general advice or to report any non-urgent matters that do not require an immediate response. However, to report an emergency situation, 911 should be called immediately.”
Maybe they should invest in a 311 non-emergency line instead of new cars for their top brass every few months.
Yes yes yes, my cat is missing isn’t an emergency we get it, however they take calls that’s their job, what else are they doing? An emergency to the person involved maybe seen as nothing serious by someone sitting behind a desk playing solitaire, it’s a public service paid for by the people and we are being told that vehicle accidents that don’t require services is not worthy of a 911 call, despite the fact the traffic may be backed up for miles behind us, nonsense and yet another excuse to do less work, people need help…help them!
ARE YOU FOR REAL Y-GURL!!!!! SMH
I agree! People may be confused at times as to what constitutes an emergency, but if they call 911 what’s the problem? How many ‘genuine’ emergencies are the people at COMOPS dealing with at any given moment? I would think they would rather people call 911 if unsure, than to call the main number and it’s a “real” emergency and time is wasted. What I find most interesting is that while sitting in at court (murder trial) a police Inspector stated that he called 911 after finding a dead body. I called 911 after a dead body was found. The dispatcher told me that since the person was clearly dead, I need not have called 911 as emergency services (EMT’s and ambulance) were not needed. The operator then went on to tell me she would notify the coroner. I was totally confused as one would think seeing a dead body constituted a call to 911!!! This seems more like a personal pet peeve of the operators, but tough luck!!! We all have things on the job that annoy us!!!
Your right, in general Bermuda police are lazy and dont want to do their jobs, I went into the new station to report a bike that appeared to have been abandoned on property we own and was told by the reception person they could do nothing unless i gave them the plate number…what! and even worse is when a police car was parked blocking entry to our property and when we called and indicated police cars shouldnt just park anywhere the woman hung up on us! what a service, I was silly enough once to beleive a guy who hit the rear of my car when he appologised and assured us he would take care of everything etc etc and come to find out he had no insurance and my insurance advisor told me to always call 911. Point is they are paid to be there during their shift and we all know the phone is not constant so just do your job and assist people, we are not asking the telephone operator to come out and help…just put the damn call through.
Sometimes when people do call the regular police number, they get passed around so much and that is very frustrating so who else to call but 911. Emergency number lines should always be manned weather its an outside caller calling in or an inter department call. Then comes the “inquest” and you discover the truth behind the delay
You would think people would know this already! What is wrong with people these days.
Why have a 911 number if people can’t use it. The last thing a person wants to do is to have to find their phone book, then look up the number they need to call when they require help. It should not be up to the police to determine why and for what reason a person calls for help.
Damn. Even the police don’t want to do their jobs.
Personal injury, as in road crash or assault is a 911 call. A prowler/potential burglar on property is a 911 call. Reporting theft after the fact is not. A no injury non traffic hazard crash is not a 911 call. Deal with it like grownups. Police don’t need to show up for every little fender bender.
I think youll find that the insurance companies require a police report to acertain liability or fault in order to process a claim
Y-Gurl, I think you will find that is nonsense. If insurance companies did their jobs and not reply on a piece of paper from the police that only lists the vehicles involved in an accident it would let the police deal with more important issues. Read the traffic law and see what type of accident must be reported to police and what type does not. Insurance companies collect a lot of money, hate paying out and rely on the police to do the insurance companies job.
The police can’t even do the job they are employed to do, no one is expecting them to do the job of the insurance company, it’s the people that get stuck in the middle of this garbage and are you suggesting both parties can go to their insurers and claim to be the victim…nonsense
Y-Gurl,did that hit a nerve? It was factual though.
Triangle Drifter, if I come across an accident, I’m going to call 911. How am I to know if anybody is injured or not? Furthermore, when you call, do they not ask which service you want? If clearly nobody is injured, then I can state that I need police. If someone is injured, I can state police,EMT’s,ambulance or whatever. And this is a silly police statement anyway. For proper clarification, why don’t THEY clearly state what THEY consider an emergency or non emergency? Some people, particularly seniors, may be frightened or call about things that seem silly, but SO WHAT!!! They have a command center up at Prospect with operators whose JOB it is to take these calls. They are probably annoyed at the non emergency calls, but it is a “pet peeve” as stated earlier, put forward under the guise that it takes them away from “real emergencies”. Is this New York City or some big metropolis that is being flooded with “real emergencies” every second of the day….so much so that they can’t handle other calls? Of course not!!! As also stated, I would think the police would rather someone call 911 than hesitate and call the other number (after calling directory or stopping to look up the number in the phone book) wasting precious time. EVERY second counts, and I would think if your butt is involved in an accident you would prefer the caller to call 911. Stuff like this just turns people off and adds to the “let me mind my own business rather than get involved” mentality.
911 sucks either way! I have had to extreme emergencies and tried to contact them multiple times and got NOOOO Answer at all!
The police are not using their resources properly. They are seriously understaffed due to so many people being on long term sick leave. I hope this is any issue the new Minister will look at. There are cops that have been on sick leave for two, three years and still collecting a full paycheck. Too sick for work, but are still seen all around town and all over the show. If you cannot work for that length of time, then clearly you are unfit for that type of job. I feel guilty if I take off even one day of work, yet these people have no qualms about still collecting a check for doing nothing. I remember when DeSilva was sworn is as Commissioner, this was one area he attempted to clamp down on (even as far as taking out writs against a couple of officers) but it is still happening. Inexcusable and a total rip off of taxpayer’s funds!!!
This is 100% correct! How can somebody be out of work for years- not weeks or months, but YEARS- and still keep a job? There can be no denying this, I know for a fact this is going on and the big brass are turning a blind eye. And to think you all are complaining about what Corey Butterfield is getting paid. Take that and multiple it many times over for the cops being paid for sitting home doing absolutely nothing. At least Mr Butterfield is doing something for his! I have a suggestion. All those officers that can’t work the beat due to back injuries, knee injuries and the like- how about retraining them and let them answer the telephones. 911 problem solved!
*oops multiply
If it is an emergency then call 911 – if it not an emergency and you use 911 then it is not possible for someone with a real emergency to get through!
Here are some true examples (in Bermuda) of 911 calls that are NOT emergencies:
1: Is it daylight savings tonight?
2: What time do the fireworks start?
3: This is not an emergency……but (fill in the non-emergency question)
4: My neighbour’s dog is barking.
5: The music next door is too loud.
6: Can I speak to Officer (Fill in a name?)
7: My neighbour is cutting his grass and it is a Sunday.
8: I just got a parking ticket……..
9: My electricity just went out…….
Either you really work there or you pulled these examples off the internet (I suspect the latter). However, if these are real examples, then a police advisory is not going to help. Only an idiot would call 911 for that, and you can’t fix stupid.
i dont believe that list AT ALL!
ECS I thought it was just me- I was skeptical from the start! It sounded like a piece of creative writing to me lol.
Not off the internet all 100 % calls – If you know anyone who has worked in this area they could add many more.
I agree you can’t fix stupid and the advisory will not stop many calls that should not be made to 911.
But they have caused for much needed laughter over the years.