By Pam Wright
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Chatham-Kent police have some advice for those who call 9-1-1 by accident.
Don’t hang up.
That’s the word from Inspector Jason Chickowski, head of Administrative Services for the Chatham-Kent Police Service.
At the CKPS board meeting in March, the veteran officer advised people to stay on the line – or if they do hang up – to make sure they answer the phone when police call back.
“Please answer and let us know what the situation is,” Chickowski advised. “Nine times out of 10, through that communication with the person, it will help us avoid deploying other resources.”
Chickowski’s words are pertinent. In 2022, the municipality’s Emergency Communication Centre answered just under 200,000 calls and managed 68,700 events.
It averages out to about 186 calls in every 24-hour period with an answer rate of approximately nine seconds.
According to an administrative report, the ECC receives calls in two formats, including live calls that ring into the centre and “no answer” calls. The data from the no answer calls is retrieved through software with operators engaging call back procedures apply.
A total of 64,328 computer aided dispatch calls were received for fire and police services over the course of the year. The ECC dealt with 7,030 events relating to the fire service, of which 2,829 were active events where units were dispatched. The remainder were administrative calls such as logging alarm tests and open burns.
For police, the ECC handled 57,192 incidents.
The number of emergency calls spiked in May due to a historical windstorm and again in December when the bomb cyclone blizzard struck.
Calls to the ECC last year saw a 2.21 per cent decrease in volume, compared to 2021. There are 23 operators and one manager who work at the centre.
Over the past decade the number of 9-1-1- calls has trended up, increasing by 23 per cent over the last decade.
