Emergency?
Call 911
911 is to be used only for emergencies (police, fire or medical) where an immediate response is required – when there is an emergency and lives are in danger, immediate action is required or there is a crime in progress.
Most calls to 911 ARE NOT of an emergency nature and an immediate response IS NOT required.
Non-Emergency?
Call (604) 717-3321
(604) 717-3321 should be used for all non-emergency situations, where an immediate response or dispatch of the police IS NOT required – when some time has elapsed since the incident occurred, the crime suspect is not on the scene or you are calling about a nuisance issue (e.g. noisy party, graffiti).
Crimes in Other Jurisdictions
If you need to report a non-emergency crime that occured outside of Vancouver, please contact the appropriate police agency.
Examples of Emergency & Non-Emergency Calls
Emergency Examples
Examples of calls to 911 for police:
- an event that involves an immediate threat to person or property (e.g. screams or shots fired)
- a substantive in-progress crime (e.g. fight, break and enter or impaired driving; this includes drug dealing if the suspect is on scene)
- a serious crime that has just occurred (e.g. sexual assault or robbery)
- a suspicious circumstance that may indicate an immediate criminal act (e.g. prowler, door-to-door salesperson who doesn't have proper identification, vehicle "casing" the neighbourhood)
911 calls within the Greater Vancouver Regional District go directly to the ECOMM central call taking centre.
The use of (604) 717-3321 for all non-emergency reporting helps to keep the 911 lines available for people reporting an emergency situation.
If you are unsure how serious an incident is, call 911 and they will advise whether or not to call the non-emergency number (604) 717-3321.
Non-Emergency Examples
Examples of non-emergency calls for police:
- reporting a crime with no suspect (e.g. theft of license plate)
- reporting a non-emergency crime with suspect, but suspect is not on the scene (e.g. fraud)
- reporting a serious crime with suspect, but with a lengthy delay (e.g. assault that occurred last night at a bar)
- non-emergency incidents in-progress (e.g. noisy party, barking dog)
- ongoing crime issues, not in-progress (e.g. graffiti problems, or ongoing drug dealing with the suspect not on the scene)
- a suspicious circumstance that may indicate an on-going criminal activity (e.g. marijuana grow operation)
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