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This thread has been an education for me. I've never had the experience of having to call in a complaint and just assumed that, if need arose, I'd call 911 to report a "disturbance". Perhaps it's good that I never had the experience ....
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Thanks for the clarification... when I worked there we didn't have a 24 hr phone centre. Noise would still be 100% through WRPS.
Coke
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(10-31-2018, 10:24 AM)Coke6pk Wrote: Thanks for the clarification... when I worked there we didn't have a 24 hr phone centre. Noise would still be 100% through WRPS.
Coke
Yeah, I get the idea it was new...frankly, it is a really nice feature in the city, because there's only one place to call for any problem, compared with Waterloo where you have to figure out who to call, then because it's a person, not a call centre, you usually get a personal message machine, it's a PITA. Frankly, City Waterloo has better service through their social media accounts. Really big props for CoK in that aspect.
I haven't asked about noise complaints, but they'd probably direct you to the WRPS in that case, I've never called in a noise complaint.
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(10-31-2018, 09:42 AM)panamaniac Wrote: This thread has been an education for me. I've never had the experience of having to call in a complaint and just assumed that, if need arose, I'd call 911 to report a "disturbance". Perhaps it's good that I never had the experience ....
I've never been quite sure sometimes if I should call 911.
Once there was a bus, which had the emergency signal activated, so the sign on the front said call 911, I did then, and 911 knew quickly it was a false alarm.
But that was easy. Another time, there was a man who was, having a loud argument with a woman, who was with a second man (holding hands, clearly together). The man and the woman seemed to know each other, but the man was telling the second man to leave. I feared that it could turn violent, so I called the police dispatch line and gave a description, and watched, eventually, they parted ways, without the police ever showing up, and I wasn't about to wait around. I wondered what I should have done there, whether 911 would have been appropriate. If they had gotten in a fight, or escalated in some other way, there wouldn't be police showing up.
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In your latter scenario, had it become a case of assault or a similar offence, that's when you call 911. If it's only a possibility, it's harder to say.
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Its easy, if you think there is a chance it would of turned violent, or there is possibility of serious harm or injury, then call 911. Even if its not really 911 worthy, you will not be chastised for making an honest mistake. For reporting something of no urgency (most vehicle collisions, stolen bike/vehicle, break and enter (not active), etc.), then the non-emergency number is correct. Regardless, the call ends up with the same operator [prioritized in sequential order, AFTER 911 calls]. There are a limited number of 911 lines into the dispatch centre, which is why it is discouraged for non-emergency use. [When the max 911 lines are filled, new callers receive a "your call is important to us"-like recording. Not what you want when there is an intruder in your house, or suffering a heart attack. I saw it happen once, and trust me, the dispatchers were frantic to clear the lines quickly, something they don't normally do.]
Calling 911 to report they are out of Chicken McNuggets is NEVER acceptable.
Coke
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