When a 911 call comes in, dispatchers often face a difficult truth: the caller may not actually know what’s happening. A fall may sound like an assault, smoke may be called in as “fire,” or someone in mental health crisis may be described as “dangerous.” Because of this ambiguity, many systems default to sending police alongside fire and EMS — not always because they’re needed, but because they’re seen as the “catch-all safeguard.”
Why Police Often Tag Along
Scene security: Police arrive to ensure fire or EMS can safely do their work.
Unknown risks: Limited details from the caller make agencies err on the side of caution.
Historic precedent: Systems were built around police as first responders to “everything.”
Liability concerns: Agencies don’t want to be blamed if a “routine” call turns volatile.
What This Costs
Resource drain: Police tied up on calls that don’t require enforcement.
Response delays elsewhere: Fewer units available for genuine emergencies.
Escalation risk: Presence of law enforcement can heighten tension, especially in mental health or minor incidents.
Financial impact: Deploying three services when one or two would suffice is costly in staffing, vehicles, and overtime.
Could Smarter 911 Fix It?
Better call triage: Enhanced training, tech-assisted dispatch, and behavioral health specialists could reduce unnecessary multi-agency dispatches.
Clearer protocols: Distinguish between “safety uncertain” and “safety threatened” — not lumping them together.
Caller support tools: Systems like video call-ins or real-time translation to clarify what’s happening.
Alternative response teams: Mental health crisis teams or community safety officers dispatched instead of, or before, police.
Canadian Context
Toronto: Growing use of mobile crisis intervention teams (nurse + crisis worker) that reduce need for police presence.
Winnipeg Fire/Paramedic Service: Integrated model where cross-trained responders handle both fire suppression and medical calls, minimizing overlap.
911 modernization projects: Provinces exploring Next-Gen 911 with better data capture (text, video, GPS).
Pilot projects: Some municipalities testing “community paramedics” or outreach responders for low-risk calls.
The Savings Question
If protocols sent only the service truly needed, savings could be significant:
Time: Police freed up for actual safety risks.
Money: Lower fuel, staffing, and overtime costs.
Human impact: Reduced escalation, especially in mental health crises. While exact figures vary, studies in U.S. and Canadian cities show millions saved annually when alternative response teams take over non-violent calls.
The Bigger Picture
Emergency response should be about precision, not redundancy. Right now, we often send “the whole toolbox” because the problem isn’t clear. Smarter triage, better training, and alternative responders could let fire and EMS lead in their domains — with police as backup, not default.
The Question
If smarter 911 systems could save money, time, and trust, then why are we still clinging to “all-hands” response? Which leaves us to ask: what would it take for Canada to treat dispatch reform as the foundation of emergency services?
Fire, EMS, Police: Who Shows Up, and Why?
The Dispatch Dilemma
When a 911 call comes in, dispatchers often face a difficult truth: the caller may not actually know what’s happening. A fall may sound like an assault, smoke may be called in as “fire,” or someone in mental health crisis may be described as “dangerous.” Because of this ambiguity, many systems default to sending police alongside fire and EMS — not always because they’re needed, but because they’re seen as the “catch-all safeguard.”
Why Police Often Tag Along
What This Costs
Could Smarter 911 Fix It?
Canadian Context
The Savings Question
If protocols sent only the service truly needed, savings could be significant:
While exact figures vary, studies in U.S. and Canadian cities show millions saved annually when alternative response teams take over non-violent calls.
The Bigger Picture
Emergency response should be about precision, not redundancy. Right now, we often send “the whole toolbox” because the problem isn’t clear. Smarter triage, better training, and alternative responders could let fire and EMS lead in their domains — with police as backup, not default.
The Question
If smarter 911 systems could save money, time, and trust, then why are we still clinging to “all-hands” response? Which leaves us to ask:
what would it take for Canada to treat dispatch reform as the foundation of emergency services?