OPP launching text messaging pilot project

Beginning on Monday, people who call in police for incidents such as minor traffic collisions or to report fraud for example, may receive automated text messages from the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).

When someone contacts the OPP through a SMS-enabled device where nature of the call is determined, the caller will receive a text message with an event number.

“So for instance, their insurance company may be asking them what is your occurrence number or they may need an occurrence number for a follow-up report down the road – so rather having to contact the OPP again to ask for that information – the text message will be sent to them with that occurrence number in it," said Superintendent Heath Crichton OPP Communications.

"There may be also some follow-up information and educational pieces in relation to frauds or the landlord-tenant act or collision reporting centres that are useful to the member who called in.”

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After the call is cleared, an invitation to a brief and voluntary survey will also be sent, asking the caller to provide feedback on the experience with the call taker or the officer.

“Messages will be available in both English and French,” said police in a news release Friday.

“Recipients can easily opt out of receiving any additional texts from the system.”

Crichton said the Provincial Communications Centre in North Bay dispatches more than 181,000 calls for service in the northeast region and many of them would meet the definition to receive a text message.