KAWARTHA LAKES-In 2021 the City of Kawartha Lakes Police Service (KLPS)received 17,656 calls for police assistance. According to officials almost all of those calls were first received at the 911 call center. Communications staff receive all 911 calls for
Kawartha Lakes and are also responsible for dispatching both Kawartha Lakes Police and Kawartha Lakes Fire Rescue.
The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission mandated all municipalities to transition to Next Generation 911(NG911) by March 4, 2025. According to the federal government, NG911 will enable infrastructure and technology upgrades to support the transition. It will make it possible to provide additional details about emergency situations including sending a video of an accident or texting 911 for help as well as make medical information available to first responders. It will also give emergency operators and dispatchers the ability to identify the location of a call using GPS coordinates, resulting in a safer, faster and more informed emergency response.
The Ontario government announced a year ago that it was investing $208 million over three years to enhance the province’s 9-1-1 emergency response system.
“Emergency operators, dispatchers and communicators are heroes of public safety, and putting modern 9-1-1 technology at their fingertips will support efforts for faster deployment of first responders and better protect the people of Ontario,” said Solicitor General Sylvia Jones. “Our significant investment will enable the transition to a state-of-the-art emergency communications system that safeguards people, families and communities.
In January KLPS submitted its application for provincial grant funding to support the Federally mandated transition to NG911. The Kawartha Lakes NG911 project is a joint initiative with the City’s Corporate Services department and the Police Service.
On March 1st, they received notice that their application was successful and the service has been allocated $620,000 in provincial funding for the current fiscal year. These funds will help to cover capital purchases that have already been made, as well as budgeted expenses planned for this year according to Chief Mitchell.
“We are also continuing with negotiations to secure a new back-up 911 center to support our NG911 transition,” said Mitchell.
