People called 9-1-1 to complain about the Amber Alert notification, once again

Toronto Police have once again had to reiterate that 9-1-1 is only for emergencies, following a number of calls from people complaining about this morning’s Amber Alert notification.

At around 3am EST on July 11th, Ontarians received an Amber Alert through Canada’s Emergency Alert system. This prompted dozens of calls to 9-1-1 of people complaining that the alert woke them up.

9-1-1 is for emergencies only. Following the @YRP #AmberAlert, 2 children & their grandfather were located. However, we have been receiving dozens of complaint calls. Please do not block 9-1-1 lines with non-emergencies, as you are risking the health & safety of others. ^adc

— Toronto Police OPS (@TPSOperations) July 11, 2019

 

This isn’t the first time that people have called 9-1-1 to complain about the Amber Alert. This has happened twice earlier this year, once in February, and again in May.

Many took to social media to complain about the notifications, while others voiced their support for the system.

And amber alert at 3 am distorts people in the middle of their sleep and imaging for those who even struggle to fall asleep. Waking up to that then to go back to sleep? Very hard for them. That’s why I say change the sound it makes too. Not so harsh

— J.F (@Ms_JacqulineF) July 11, 2019

 

Don’t like the #AmberAlert notification waking you up? Turn your phone off at night. Oh, you leave it on in case of an emergency? You mean… like an amber alert? ?‍♀️
The system’s not perfect, but it does work.
Also: What. If. It. Was. Your. Kid.#stopwhining #priorities

— Taylor Renkema (@taylorrenkema) July 11, 2019

 

All wireless carriers are required to provide Canada’s Emergency Alert system, as it was mandated on April 6th of 2018.

Source: Twitter (@TPSOperations)