A member of the OPP says complaining about Amber Alerts is bad enough but now people are tying up emergency phone lines to do so.
Authorities say provincial police emergency phone lines have again been flooded with complaints in the wake of an Amber Alert issued just after 3:00am on Thursday.
The alert was issued after two young boys from Newmarket and their grandfather did not return as expected.
Staff Sergeant Stacy Whaley manages community safety services for the OPP. He says police get compliments and thanks for issuing the alerts, but nowhere near the number of complaints.
“Not only is it selfish,” he stated, “but it also compromises the safety of others when you’re tying up emergency lines.”
Whaley says most complaints are from cell phone users, as the alert program expanded to the devices last year, expanding from just radio and TV messages.
Said Whaley, “Put yourself in the shoes of a parent who is going through that grief, ‘Where’s my child? Is something bad happening to my child?’ We just want everybody to put themselves in those positions.”
With files from Bob McIntyre, MyTimminsNow.com
