Peel Region police are reminding residents that the 911 hotline is only for emergencies after someone called to complain about the ice cream truck in their neighbourhood.

“It’s hot outside which means the ice cream trucks will probably be out,” police tweeted Saturday. “If the ice cream truck stops in front of your house and is there for a bit due to all the children, it’s still not a reason to call 911 to complain. If you have a complaint about ice cream trucks, call 311.”

The tweet quickly went viral with people commenting on the misuse of the 911 emergency line, with some people suggesting fines for inappropriate calls.

“We need to keep 911 lines open for actual emergencies,” Const. Akhil Mooken said. “We staff accordingly and if we tie up the lines, people with emergencies are put on hold.”

Peel Const. Danny Marttini said Monday that “there only appears to have been one call made for this specific incident."

She said this isn’t the first people have called 911 for a non-emergency situation, “but a lot of people just don’t know where to call and what to do when something like this happens.”

Marttini urges everyone to use 311 instead in situations like this.

“It’s constant education and reminding to people that 911 isn’t the only place to call when you see something that might be police-related,” she said.

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Ali Raza is a reporter for Mississauga News and Brampton Guardian. Reach him via email: aliraza@metroland.com