In a recent tweet from the Metropolitan Police, the misuse of emergency number 999 was brought into the spotlight (scroll down for the video of the audio recording)
The tweet stated, “Calling 999 to report a cat following you is not an emergency. Calls like these prevent those who really need an urgent police response from getting through to us.”
This one instance of misuse reflects a wider problem that burdens emergency services.
The Impact of Hoax Calls
According to the Metropolitan Police, a staggering 22,491 hoax or inappropriate 999 calls occurred in the first 11 months of 2019 alone.
This figure encompasses both calls made deliberately to waste police time and those made by individuals who did not understand the severity required for their situation to be considered an emergency.
These nuisance calls represent more than a simple annoyance. They tie up call handlers, diverting resources away from genuine emergencies and even risking lives by blocking access for those needing assistance.
Additional Statistics
Furthermore, the Met Police received 2,912 hoax calls directed to the non-emergency 101 police number during the same period.
These non-emergency calls still impact the system, with resources being spent fielding inappropriate reports, which could be better utilised attending to legitimate concerns.
The Real Cost of Inappropriate Calls
As laughable as some of these unnecessary calls may appear, their implications are severe.
They pose a genuine threat to the system’s efficacy and can delay or deny help to those who need it the most.
Every call handler engaged with a prank or misguided caller is one less available to pick up the line when a life hangs in the balance or a crime is in progress.
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Followed by a cat? As we all know they walk among us. I was called on a 999 line direct to the station control room to enquire if the caller could shoot squirrels in his garden with his sons air rifle! Another caller called to her, the landlady of a pub, called to express her concern that the swans, swimming on the Grand Union Canal outside her hostelry could get frozen in the ice in the sub zero temperatures expected that night and could Police assist. Ever willing to protect the welfare of the Queens Swans, throughout the night officers attended to loudly shout encouragement to the swans to ‘STAY AWAKE’ and not get ‘FROZEN IN’ from just under the first floor bedroom windows. Thereafter the caller never repeated her request the next cold night.