There has been a major spike in 911 calls in Toronto, and police say that people's butts are partly to blame.

Butt-dials are being blamed in part for a significant surge in 911 calls, and the Toronto Police Service (TPS) is calling out the public for the hundreds of daily accidental calls clogging up emergency lines.

According to police, the 911 Call Centre received an average of 6,500 calls per day last month, up by a staggering 1,300 calls per day from the average of 5,200 daily calls recorded in 2022.

TPS' Communications Services operates the largest and busiest 911 call centre in Canada, handling both 911 and non-emergency calls. Nearly 70 per cent of calls in May were 911 calls, but TPS states that, of that figure, roughly half were accidental calls.

An accidental 911 call — whether a butt-dial or the just-as-common pocket-rummage-dial — doesn't just tie up emergency operators for the duration of the call. If a caller does not respond, the operator must call back the phone number to ensure that everything is okay, keeping the operator occupied for a minimum of 90 seconds.

This time sink will hopefully be rectified through the May 19 introduction of text message notifications to respond to some calls, requesting callers call back for an emergency.

Police are also offering tips on how to avoid accidental 911 dials, some of them surprising, and others that should be painfully obvious for anyone who has spent more than 5 minutes of their life holding a mobile device.

First and foremost, mobile phone users should review their emergency alert settings and lock them based on their needs, including periodic checks on settings as devices may reset after system updates.

iPhone users can update their emergency settings by clicking on "Settings" and "Emergency SOS."

Similarly, Android users can update emergency settings by selecting "Settings" and "Safety and Emergency."

How you store your phone also matters, and letting your device bounce around in a purse or loose pocket is a recipe for accidental dialing. Many phones are built with a setting where if the side button is pressed five times rapidly, 911 is automatically called.

Letting kids play with phones — even inactive ones — is another big no-no, as even old unregistered phones with no SIM card or phone plan are capable of making emergency calls.

Police warn the public not to program 911 into their contacts, and in perhaps the most "duhh" advice, they caution not to call 911 just to see if the service is working.

If you realize that you have, in fact, dialled 911 by mistake, police advise you not to hang up in a panic and to stay on the line. Calls are tracked in a queue, so even if you hang up, an operator will have to dedicate valuable time to calling or texting you back and verifying that there is no emergency.