The Barrie Police Service has seen a significant increase in the number off 911 misdials and hang ups in the past month. It is believed that this is a result of a recent update to Android phones that turned on the Emergency SOS feature that allows the phone to automatically call 911 if a side button is pushed five times.
For those who use an Android phone, in order to prevent these accidental 911 calls from taking place, simply search “Emergency SOS” on your Android phone to find the setting and turn it off. Another way of preventing a pocket dial is lock your screen when you are not using your phone.
In May 2022, Call Takers from the Barrie Police Service Communications Unit received 1694 911/hang up calls which was up 300 from the year before. This year in comparison, during the month of May, there was an almost 54% increase over last year as we received 3139 911/hang up calls.
If you accidentally call 911 and you do not require emergency services, please stay on the line so that our call takers can verify that the call is not an emergency.
Police Services in Ontario are reporting this issue to Android phone owners and unfortunately, this problem involving accidental 911/hang up calls is being seen across Canada.
By working together now to resolve the problem, we can ensure that 911 lines are always available to report urgent life-threatening calls that require an appropriate response and prevent any unnecessary dispatching of police resources to an address or approximate area to determine the wellbeing of a caller.
| Prepared by: | Corporate Communications |