At 6,145 calls for police service through 911 in April, emergency responders were dispatched to 682 more calls than they responded to the previous month, representing a 12.5-per-cent jump.
“The phone’s ringing,” Acting Deputy Chief Dan Despatie said during this week’s police board meeting, adding that with two groups of four in training programs, they’ll have another eight call-takers and trained communicators working in the near future.
Greater Sudbury Police Services spokesperson Kaitlyn Dunn responded to Sudbury.com’s request for a phone interview with a member regarding 911 call volume with a written statement.
In it, she noted the monthly 911 call volume has been steadily increasing this year, from 4,099 in January to 5,287, 5,463, and then April’s 6,145.
There were 8,082 police events generated in April, of which 900 were for Priority One and Two calls for service. This is a slight increase from March’s approximate total of 7,900, which was in itself a 20 per cent increase from February.
Last year’s monthly peak in 911 calls took place a few months later, in July, with 6,047 recorded. This was followed by 6,039 calls to 911 placed in September.
This year’s early jump in call volume, Dunn’s statement explained, “is likely reflective of early spring/summer-like weather that we experienced in April, when we normally see a slight increase in our call volumes.”
“Call volumes are also impacted by civic holiday weekends, poor weather conditions or events, and priority incidents/calls for service where we receive higher than average calls from the public.”
Despite the recent spike in call volume, the statement noted the city had enough staff at the 911 Emergency Communications Centre to handle the volume.
The National Emergency Number Association standards dictate that 90 per cent of 911 calls be answered within 15 seconds, and 95 per cent should be answered within 20 seconds.
In April, 97 per cent of local calls to 911 were answered within 10 seconds.
The 911 Emergency Communications Centre received a total of 23,466 calls (including non-emergency calls to 911) in April, which was an eight per cent increase (1,805 calls) over the previous month.
Some other statistics to stick out of Greater Sudbury Police Service’s April report include:
- 26 drivers were charged with impaired driving, including 17 allegedly impaired by alcohol and nine allegedly impaired by drugs.
- There were 20 stunt driving charges laid
- There were four major motor vehicle collisions, including one fatality and three involving serious injury
- Intimate partner violence occurrences totalled 245
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
