Kent residents now have the option of calling a non-emergency phone number for police, fire, and medical services and questions of a lesser urgency.

Residents can dial 253-852-2121, a non-emergency phone number 24 hours a day. A call receiver will always be available to provide non-emergency assistance or information.

By using the non-emergency number, the public is ensuring that 911 will be readily available for actual emergencies, according to an email from Kent Police Assistant Chief Pat Lowery.

Examples of calls that are appropriate for a non-emergency operator can include reporting:

• A residential, business or vehicle break-in that occurred on an earlier day

• The return of a runaway child.

• Identification of additional lost or stolen property after an initial report has been made

• Lost property

• A hit and run traffic collision when no longer at the scene of the collision

Lowery said residents should still call 911 for crimes that are in progress as the call is made, any life-threatening emergency, or information regarding crimes that have just occurred.

If a caller is in doubt as to which number to call, they should call 911 so that their call may be immediately screened.