Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) are improving their capacity for emergency response. The OPP are now equipped to receive emergency calls for service via Text with 911 (T9-1-1) from people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or speech impaired (DHHSI community).

“The OPP is committed to increasing accessibility for persons with disabilities, and has made extensive network upgrades to be able to offer ‘Text with 9-1-1’ service in the communities we serve”, said OPP Commissioner Vince Hawkes.

T9-1-1 enables emergency communication with OPP 911 call takers via text message (or SMS). In order to use T9-1-1, members of the DHHSI community must register their cell phones with their wireless carrier in advance. Some older model phones may not be compatible. Those who have more than one cell phone will need to register each phone individually. The T9-1-1 service is not intended for use by the general public.

An information card is available on the OPP website and via several OPP-serviced jurisdictions. More information is also available through the Canadian Wireless Telecommunication Association.