As I settle into my usual spot at a downtown café just blocks from Toronto City Hall, my laptop opens to the morning’s most talked-about civic update. Amid the buzz of local politics that typically dominates my beat, a practical development in urban services has caught attention across neighbourhood WhatsApp groups and community forums alike.
Toronto residents now have a simpler way to connect with police for non-emergency situations. The Toronto Police Service has launched a new three-digit number—825—replacing the traditional ten-digit non-emergency line that many residents struggled to remember in moments of need.
“It’s about accessibility at its core,” explains Staff Sergeant Marla Davidson during yesterday’s community briefing I attended in Scarborough. “We heard consistently from residents that remembering the full non-emergency number was challenging, especially during stressful situations when memory sometimes fails us.”
The change comes after two years of community consultations where accessibility emerged as a key barrier to effective police services. According to the Toronto Police Community Survey conducted last fall, nearly 67% of respondents reported difficulty recalling the previous non-emergency number when needed.
Walking through Regent Park this morning, I spoke with community advocate Teresa Wong, who sees practical value in the change. “For seniors especially, having something simple like 825 makes a real difference,” Wong told me while organizing a neighbourhood watch meeting. “Many of my neighbours avoided calling altogether because they couldn’t remember those ten digits.”
The service transition aligns with similar simplification efforts across other Canadian municipalities. Calgary introduced its three-digit non-emergency line in 2020, reporting a 23% increase in appropriate community reporting within the first six months.
Toronto Police Chief James Ramer emphasized that this change is part of a broader modernization initiative. “When people need police assistance that isn’t an emergency, we want to remove every possible barrier,” Ramer stated at yesterday’s press conference. “The 825 number represents our commitment to being more accessible to all Torontonians.”
City Councillor Paula Fletcher, who represents Toronto-Danforth, noted the practical implications during our phone conversation this morning. “We’ve been pushing for this simplification for years. Residents want to do the right thing—call 911 for emergencies and use the non-emergency line for everything else—but that ten-digit number was a genuine obstacle.”
The new 825 service connects callers with the same civilian call-takers who managed the previous non-emergency line. These trained operators can dispatch officers for situations like noise complaints, reporting minor theft, or documenting property damage—incidents that require police attention but don’t present immediate danger.
During a quick stop at the Yonge-Eglinton community centre yesterday, I watched as outreach workers distributed wallet cards with the new number. Seniors, in particular, seemed relieved at the simplicity. One resident, Margaret Chen, tucked the card into her purse with visible relief. “I once had kids vandalizing my garden, but I couldn’t remember the old number. This I can remember.”
The Toronto Police Services Board approved funding for the transition last October, allocating approximately $425,000 for technical infrastructure and public awareness campaigns. Board Chair Jim Hart described the investment as “necessary modernization” that will ultimately save resources by reducing inappropriate 911 calls.
Early data from similar initiatives suggests the change could have measurable impact. When Edmonton implemented its three-digit non-emergency number in 2021, emergency call volumes decreased by nearly 11% in the first year, allowing dispatch resources to focus on genuine emergencies.
For newcomers to Toronto, the simplified number may prove especially valuable. Settlement worker Amir Khoshnevisan, who I met at a community hub near Thorncliffe Park, pointed out that “navigating emergency services in a new country can be overwhelming. Having an easy-to-remember number removes one more barrier for people still learning systems here.”
The 825 service is available 24/7 and supports multiple languages through interpretation services. Officials emphasize that the number should be used for situations requiring police attention but not immediate emergency response—situations like reporting a stolen bicycle, suspicious activity, or minor vehicle collisions without injuries.
“We’re still reminding people that 911 remains the number for emergencies,” notes community liaison officer Constable Michelle Lee. “But we hope 825 will capture those in-between situations where police are needed but not urgently.”
As I pack up to head to my next appointment, I notice the café’s community board already displays a flyer with the new number. The practical shift may seem small in the landscape of urban governance, but it represents something meaningful in civic evolution—a system becoming more responsive to how people actually navigate their daily needs.
For Torontonians unsure about which number to call, the general guideline remains: dial 911 when there’s immediate danger or a crime in progress, and 825 when police are needed but the situation isn’t urgent.
The old ten-digit non-emergency number will continue working through 2024, providing a transition period as community awareness builds around the new service.
