Edmonton Neighbourhood Watch - Guidlines police

Guidelines for Calling the Police

When you are calling the Police to report an incident or a crime there are certain protocols that are currently in place. The 9-1-1 Emergency Line is used to report a life or death situation, a crime in progress, an injury accident, a fire, a call for medical aid and ambulance transport to hospital, or any other emergency situation.

How to use the 9-1-1 Emergency Number
When you dial 9-1-1 your call will be answered by an Operator saying "9-1-1 Emergency. What service do you require?"
At this point ask for:

Police, or
Ambulance, or
Fire Department, or
Any other emergency service (e.g. Hospital, Gas Company, etc.)

Do not hang up your phone. Your call will be put through to the Emergency Service that you requested.

Using the 9-1-1 Emergency Number to Call the Police
Use 9-1-1 to call the Police if you are reporting:

A crime that is happening as you speak or a crime that just happened.
A motor vehicle accident where people are injured.
An impaired (drunk) driver.
Suspicious persons or vehicles.
Any incident that may result in loss of life or injury to any person.

Be prepared to give the police the following information:

your address and name
the problem and where it is happening
whether anybody is hurt

Stay on the line. Do not hang up your phone.
Keep talking with the police until they say it is okay to hang up the phone.

All other requests for police service can be made by calling 423-4567 (reporting minor accidents, minor thefts, request for information, etc.)
Call response is based on the priority level of the complaint and member availability. Priority levels are as follows

0 - Police Member in Trouble; dispatched immediately
1 - High Priority Response; dispatched immediately
2 - Priority Response; dispatched based on availability
3 - Service Response; dispatched based on availability
4 - Deferred Response, and: held for member assigned to area
5 - Parking Complaints: held for member assigned to area.

Stating that you are a member of the Neighbourhood Watch Program assists the Edmonton Police Service in believing that your information is perhaps more credible than some of the other complaints that we receive. It does not however elevate the call's priority level.
If you feel that your complaint has not been properly handled please forward the date, time and nature of the call to Reg.#1673 Lisa Trenka or myself Reg.#1837 Linda Herczeg. We will review the call and will let you know what protocol was used to respond to your complaint. You can contact us at 421-2196 or by e-mail: linda.herczeg@police.edmonton.ab.ca or lisa.trenka@police.edmonton.ab.ca

If there are events occurring in your neighbourhood that involve police you will only be notified if the event becomes public information. It will then be published through the media (i.e. newspaper, television, radio and/or autodialer). If the police require your assistance Sylvia Oakley will contact you through the Neighbourhood Watch Office either personally or via the autodialer.

Releasing information to members of the community whether it is Neighbourhood Watch members or members of the community at large prior to or during a police investigation could jeopardize the outcome of our investigation. Therefore we will not advise you of current investigations in your community unless your assistance is required.