New! Dial *877 for Non-Emergency Help

The Toronto Police Service is launching *TPS (*877), a new, easy-to-remember three-digit number that can be used to reach the Toronto Police non-emergency line. 

This new number follows a key recommendation from a 2022 Auditor General’s report on 911 call wait times, which found that 57 percent of all calls made to this number were not for emergencies and were using up resources meant for responding to calls where every minute counted. In 2021 alone, more than 13,000 calls to 911 left people waiting over a minute to speak with an operator. Earlier this summer, a Toronto teenager died after a 911 caller was reportedly kept on hold for up to 15 minutes.

**Context:** Toronto’s communications centre handles nearly two million calls each year, and officials hope the new number will free up emergency operators to respond as quickly as possible to critical inquiries.

Wireless customers with Rogers, Bell, TELUS, Freedom Mobile, and their subsidiaries can dial *877 directly from their cell phones. However, users cannot dial this number from their landlines and must use (416) 808-2222 to reach out for help. 

Police are calling this move a “big step” toward reducing the volume of calls on the regular emergency line and ensuring help reaches those in need more efficiently.

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