Don’t call police to report cold fast food

Cold fast food is disappointing, but not a reason to call 911.

Nearly one-third of 195,000 calls Hamilton police fielded in 2018 were not emergencies.

“Non-emergency calls take up valuable resources and potentially delay responding to those individuals in a genuine emergency,” police said in a news release Friday.

Here are some of the “top” non-emergency calls police communications officers answered this year:

• checking the time

• reporting a hacked Facebook account

• assault “by a humping dog”

• reporting a sick cat

• asking the Beer Store’s hours

• inquiring about a noise coming from a light bulb

• reporting a cat in front of a house

• asking when Canada Day fireworks were scheduled

• complaining about a discrepancy in retail pricing

• reporting a cold McDonald’s meal

In addition to non-emergencies, operators also receive about 4,500 calls that are “abandoned” before they can answer.

Operators, however, still have to call back to check that there’s no emergency. To deal with this task alone, police have assigned a full-time staffer.

“Every 911 call is taken seriously, so explaining the mistake will eliminate the need for the emergency operator to call back.”

But for non-urgent cases, callers should use the police’s nonemergency line at 905-546-4925 or visit hamiltonpolice.on.ca.