The call volume coming into the Chatham-Kent police emergency communications centre (ECC) has gone up recently.

A 2020 annual report presented at the police service board this week showed calls increased by seven per cent from 2019 to a total of nearly 199,776 calls for service. Almost 38,000 of the calls were 911 calls, a five per cent jump from 2019.

Inspector Mike Domony said overall telephone activity at the ECC has gone up over the past four years after declining since 2011. Domony also noted the time it takes to deal with a call has increased because of social disorder and mental health issues…