Mis-use of 999 risks lives
Essex Police’s emergency call handlers are reminding residents
that abusing the 999 system risks lives.
Over December 2011 and January 2012, the handlers, based at
the Force Information Room at headquarters in Chelmsford, received
calls that not only wasted police time but could have delayed
police responding to a genuine emergency.
On Christmas Day a man called 999 to report a fault with his
battery operated heated gloves and three days later a call handler
answered an emergency call from a man who wanted to know if his
bank in Basildon was open.
Earlier in December a woman called 999 to ask if a police
officer could call at her house to remove a spider because she was
scared of it.
Other examples of time wasting 999 calls received recently include
a drunk man asking police to collect a pizza from a restaurant on
his behalf as he had had too much to drink to drive and another
intoxicated man phoning to report that he had seen a chef in a
takeaway restaurant drop a burger on the floor before serving it to
someone.
Between April 2010 and March 2011, Essex Police received 2441
nuisance calls and 733 hoax calls,
FIR supervisor Joanna Traynor said: “People ring asking for
directions, they ring 999 because they’ve run out of credit on
their mobile phone and want a lift home and sometimes they ring 999
because their electricity has failed.”
Chief Insp Alan Gooden from the Force Information Room
said: “Essex Police deals with around 25,000 emergency 999
calls a month so it’s vital our resources are reserved for people
who really do need urgent help.
“The 999 system is something that must not be abused. We have a
finite number of resources and we need people to be
responsible.”
Essex Police will continue to take strong action against
persistent nuisance callers and those that repeatedly abuse the 999
service.
Knowingly making a hoax call to 999 is a criminal offence and
can result in a heavy fine and more seriously a criminal record and
prison sentence.
Essex Police defines an emergency situation as one where there
is a crime or serious incident in progress, a serious risk of
injury or a risk of serious damage to property.
In a genuine emergency always dial 999. However if you don’t
need immediate help or just require advice or information 101 is
the most appropriate number to call.