999 non emergency dial 101

[Gary L]

Non emergency calls are now to be contacted on the number 101

999 has been in use for 70 years. it was trialled and abandoned before. and now they're doing it again.

they have asked me to tell you because they forgot to advertise it.

so dial 101 for a non emergency and lets help these people make a big profit from it. (15p per call)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16495623

[dave6x]

Originally Posted by Gary L

Non emergency calls are now to be contacted on the number 101

999 has been in use for 70 years. it was trialled and abandoned before. and now they're doing it again.

they have asked me to tell you because they forgot to advertise it.

so dial 101 for a non emergency and lets help these people make a big profit from it. (15p per call)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16495623

Why do you see this as a problem.

The 999 emergency call service is widely abused for non-emergencies, one of the main reasons being that people do not know how to contact the police other than by using 999. 101 was not abandoned in all areas following the trial, it has been available in Hampshire since 2005. It was well advertised in Hampshire and I still have the card on my kitchen notice board!

101 will be available as a single contact number across a large area of the UK and hopefully will stop many non-emergency calls being made to 999.

The nominal 15p per call charge is not going to make a vast profit for anyone and will probably not even cover the operating costs, and in some areas it will be used as the general contact number for the police see 101 in Hampshire

[Gary L]

Originally Posted by dave6x

Why do you see this as a problem.

Because the calls will be answered by the same operators who answers 999 calls. and they will tell you to hang up and pay for the call. they won't put you through for free.

because people will think twice about calling at all for any event. be it emergency or otherwise.

which in effect will mean that crime will be ignored, which means it will rise.

you have to remember that the vast majority of crime gets reported via 999. if you say that a very small percentage of this crime will now not get reported due to resenting to pay for it. then it will rise and be ignored.

The nominal 15p per call charge is not going to make a vast profit for anyone

They've already made around £350,000.00 from it.

do you call 101 for a dead body. or is it free to report it?

[dave6x]

Originally Posted by Gary L

Because the calls will be answered by the same operators who answers 999 calls. and they will tell you to hang up and pay for the call. they won't put you through for free.

because people will think twice about calling at all for any event. be it emergency or otherwise.

which in effect will mean that crime will be ignored, which means it will rise.

you have to remember that the vast majority of crime gets reported via 999. if you say that a very small percentage of this crime will now not get reported due to resenting to pay for it. then it will rise and be ignored.



They've already made around £350,000.00 from it.

do you call 101 for a dead body. or is it free to report it?

You appear to be advocating the use of the 999 EMERGENCY call service for all calls to the police. You also appear to be suggesting that any call to the police for whatever reason should be free of charge to the caller.

In the 70 odd years since inception the 999 service was always for emergencies only. If the operator deemed your call was non-emergency they would direct you to ring your local police station, or more recently the 0845 police contact number for your area, then ask you to clear the line for genuine emergencies. The call to your local police station would be at local call rates, or latterly the 0845 rate.

101 will be a service provided by the Police National Network, meaning that you can use the same number for non-emergency calls across much of the country. The charge will help offset the cost of providing the service, the £375,000 made so far from 101 calls is a mere drop in the ocean compared to the £multi-million operating cost. So reporting your cat stuck in a tree won't stop an urgent call for assistance.

[Stephen]

What exactly is the issue Gary?

Seems simple and a really good idea.

An emergency call should be made to 999 when:

• A person is in immediate danger of injury or whose life is at risk
• Suspicion that a crime is in progress
• A building is on fire
• Another serious incident which needs immediate emergency service attendance

A non-emergency call should be made to the new 101 number:

• To report the theft of a vehicle
• To report damage to property
• To report a minor traffic accident
• To give the police information about crime
• To speak to the police about a general inquiry

[Kiwiibean]

I think it's a really good idea, especially for students such as myself and people who move house or travel a lot. If you're in a new area, it's unlikely you'll take the time to find out the number of the local police station. I've had to contact the police since living in Hampshire many times but not for things serious enough that I wanted to call 999. I think there are probably a lot of people like myself that would prefer to pay a few pence for a call to the police station than waste the emergency services' time

[Kymmy]

Originally Posted by Gary L

Because the calls will be answered by the same operators who answers 999 calls. and they will tell you to hang up and pay for the call. they won't put you through for free.

101 will be automatically diverted to your local police non-emergency number so instead of having to remember a 11-12 digit number your moaning about a 3 digit number..

Sorry but it's worked in many countries around the world and also the trials here so I don;t understand what you're moaning about?

[Taf]

15p maximum for the call is a lot better than paying local rates for ages whilst you get passed from pillar to post around the local force HQ until you finally get through to someone who can deal with your problem.

But it needs to be advertised a lot more, I agree to that. And not just a quick newspaper headline and then nothing ever again.

[AndyCambs]

Originally Posted by Taf

15p maximum for the call is a lot better than paying local rates for ages whilst you get passed from pillar to post around the local force HQ until you finally get through to someone who can deal with your problem.

But it needs to be advertised a lot more, I agree to that. And not just a quick newspaper headline and then nothing ever again.

Very true but most people are on inclusive minutes with land lines and cell phones - the 101 number won't be included in those minutes.
I personally believe it will deter people from calling in to report non-serious crimes (vandalism, anti-social behaviour etc). Maybe that's the idea to reduce workload?

[progers]

All people aren't incapable, our local contact number for police in Warwickshire is well advertised; it's a local number so if, like me, You have the XL phone package it costs nothing to call it. We have "police" programmed into our house phones so don't even have to remember the number.

I know for a fact that Leicestershire have a non 999 contact number so suspect all forces do.

The same people answer this number as the 999 calls, just that 999 calls generate buzzers and red lights so get answered first.

[Gary L]

Originally Posted by AndyCambs

I personally believe it will deter people from calling in to report non-serious crimes (vandalism, anti-social behaviour etc)

Yep. we'll get the ones who get an ear bashing from the 999 lady, and him saying I'm not gonna bother at all now. and the ones who say I aint paying 15p man, that's a rip off innit!

Maybe that's the idea to reduce workload?

Thay can get rid of some more police if the workload is reduced. at least figures will indicate that the crime rate has gone down.

[martyh]

so whats happened to 112 ?i thought that was the non-emergency number

[Gary L]

Originally Posted by progers

The same people answer this number as the 999 calls, just that 999 calls generate buzzers and red lights so get answered first.

I heard one person say that he called 999 because he thought someone by him was getting aggressive with him. 999 told him well he hasn't hit you yet so you need to call 101 and hung up on him.

[progers]

Originally Posted by martyh

so whats happened to 112 ?i thought that was the non-emergency number

112 is the EU wide EMERGENCY phone number, works in all EU countries, including the UK.

It is said that 999 was chosen in the UK as in heavy smoke, or the dark, all you had to do was place one finger against the dial stop and with the other wind the dial on the phone against this finger three times. The problem now, with push buttons is that it's more likely to be mis-dialled, especially by mobiles in pockets or by kids; unsure if this is why 112 was chosen for the EU number

[Stephen]

Originally Posted by martyh

so whats happened to 112 ?i thought that was the non-emergency number

That is the emergency number within Europe.