Staff based at the Essex Police Control room have tweeted about their frustration of having to take an emergency call from a male who wanted to complain
Just what the male thought the police would/could do is a complete mystery.
Most people tend to just sort themselves out with some food if they are hungry, rather than demanding that their spouse makes them their dinner and then contacting the police when he/she refuses to do so.
The Tweet shared by @EPControlRoom said:
“Today we have received a call from a member of the public on 999
Personally, I would love to listen to call in the hope of trying to make sense of just how someone can be so misguided as to believe that the emergency services are here for such trivia.
Unfortunately, this sort of time wasting is a common thing with hundreds of needless and unnecessary calls being made to the emergency services each day.
The whole time that the 999 call handler was speaking to this individual, he/she could have instead been dealing with a genuinely emergency being made by someone in genuine need of help.
Surely this male knew deep down, that his wife not making him dinner was not a police emergency!?
So was it self-entitlement that made him call the police? Did he really believe that police officers are here to make him dinner or force his wife to make him dinner?
Speaking as someone who spent several years on a police response team, then I would just ask people to think twice before calling 999.
Are you really experiencing or witnessing an genuine emergency?
Just to help anyone who is still perhaps unsure as to what is and what is not an emergency, the Government has even published the following handy advice:
Emergency calls
In an emergency please telephone 999.
If you are deaf, deafened, hard of hearing or have a speech impairment, a text phone is available on 18000.
You should use these numbers if:
- A crime is happening right now.
- Someone is in immediate danger, or there is a risk of serious damage to property.
- A suspect for a serious crime is nearby.
- There is a traffic collision involving injury or danger to other road users.
Non-emergency calls
For all other calls to the police in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland please telephone 101.
Calls cost 15p from mobiles and landlines, regardless of duration. They are free of charge from payphones.
If you are deaf, deafened, hard of hearing or have a speech impairment, a text phone is available on 18001 101.
You should use these non-emergency numbers to:
- Report a crime not currently in progress – for example a stolen car, burglary, or damaged property.
- Give information to the police about crime in your area.
- Speak to the police about a general enquiry.
- Contact a specific police officer or member of staff.
- See table below for complete list of forces and telephone numbers.
If you need to contact the police from elsewhere please check the website of the force you wish to contact.
Please see the complete list of force websites for links.
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