Murray Wood: Who's hot... and who's not
Every Friday, Murray Wood takes a look at the week's news and decides who's hot... and who's not. This week's list inclu...
It’s not exactly one of David Letterman’s Top 10 Lists, but the Saskatchewan RCMP has issued its list of the 10 worst 911 calls received in 2021 by the Divisional Operational Communications Centre (DOCC).
The RCMP said the DOCC fielded 350,667 calls for service last year, up 8.5 per cent from 2020. Some were for real emergencies and some — like these 10 — were not.
1. Help desk — An individual whose laptop had stopped working called and asked to have an RCMP officer go to their home to fix the machine.
2. Hopeless romantic — A person called 911 to report their spouse had stolen their heart.
3. Fishing in the dark — An angler called the RCMP to report they had found a shopping cart in the water while fishing and wanted an officer to return the cart to the store from which it came.
4. Sleepy time — A grandparent, unhappy their grandchild was refusing to go to bed, called 911 to see if an RCMP officer could persuade the child to go to sleep.
5. Im-purr-fect — Someone called to say they had seen some “suspicious activity” in the community. It seems two cats had been hanging around an intersection near the caller’s home.
6. Way off course — A caller had left their cellphone at a golf course and asked 911 if an RCMP officer could retrieve the phone for them.
7. Hangry — A caller reported they were having technical difficulties paying for their lunch on a restaurant’s debit machine.
8. Inedibles — A person called 911 seeking help from the RCMP because their dog had got into the caller’s edibles.
9. Nice room — An individual phoned and told 911 dispatchers the Mounties had a nicer detention area than the one at their local police station.
10. Time flies — Dispatchers got a call from someone who wanted to know what day it was.
“We want to remind the public that misuse of 911 can potentially delay someone experiencing a life-threatening emergency from getting help,” the Mounties said in a media release.
“Before dialing 911, please remember that calling the police should be reserved for police-related matters only and calling 911 should be reserved for life-threatening emergencies only.”
