What to Expect When You Call 9-1-1

Dial 9-1-1 if you have an emergency where you need the police, fire, or ambulance.

You should call 9-1-1 when someone is in danger or there is a crime happening right now.

What to expect when you call 9-1-1

The 9-1-1 operator will first ask if you need police, fire or ambulance. If you ask for the police, the operator will help you. If you ask for fire or ambulance, the 9-1-1 operator will transfer you an operator at fire or ambulance.

Here is an example of the first thing you will hear when you call 9-1-1:

911 Call 1

Once you call 9-1-1:

  • Stay on the line, do not hang up
  • Stay calm
  • Tell the operator what your emergency is

The 9-1-1 operator will want to know:

  • Where you are
  • What are you seeing
  • Who you are
  • When the incident took place
  • Weapons present if applicable
  • Witnesses

The type of emergency will determine which emergency services need to attend. If someone's life is at risk, the police, fire, and ambulance will all attend.

Here is an example of a full 9-1-1 call:

911 Call 2

If we determine your call is an emergency, our officers will come right away with their lights and sirens.

If we determine your call is urgent, but not an emergency, the time it will take for our officers to arrive can vary greatly depending on how many other urgent calls are waiting, the time of day and the availability and location of our officers.

Once you have spoken to our dispatchers, do not call back to 9-1-1 to ask for an ETA. Our dispatchers cannot provide you with an ETA. If you need to make arrangements to have officers attend at a different location or at a specific time, call our non-emergency line at 519-661-5670

 

9-1-1 is for emergency calls only. You should only call us back if your situation has changed or you have more information.

A person with hearing loss can call for police using a TTY by calling 9-1-1 and pressing the space bar until they receive a response. Non-emergency calls can be made to our TTY line 519-661-6472 which is available 24 hours a day.

Our 9-1-1 operators will ask you all the same questions as if you dialled 9-1-1 by phone.

When you call 9-1-1 from a cell phone we can only access limited information about you. So we will need more information from you such as where exactly you're calling from. If you don't know where you are, stay calm and provide us with as much information as you can about your location.

If you accidently call 9-1-1 stay on the line and tell us you made a mistake. If you hang up on us, our 9-1-1 operators will call back to make sure you are all right.

When you call 9-1-1 from a VoIP phone line, the first person you will talk to is a VoIP emergency call taker. That person will tell you the address you have registered with your VoIP phone company and ask you if that is where you are calling from. They will then transfer you to us. We can only access limited information about you and will need more information from you such as exactly where you are.

If you accidently call 9-1-1 stay on the line and tell us you made a mistake. If you hang up on us, our 9-1-1 operators will call back to make sure you are all right.

If a crime is not happening right now and no one is in danger, do not call 9-1-1.

To report a non-urgent event, please call us at 519-661-5670. You are also welcome to attend our headquarters in person to speak with our officers.

Our location is:

London Police Service
601 Dundas Street
London ON
N6B 1X1

Contact Us

London Police Service
601 Dundas Street
London, Ontario
N6B 1X1

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Emergency: 911
Non-Emergency: 519-661-5670

Contact Us

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