Police Say: ‘Remember 999 Is For Emergencies – Not Calling A Cab’

Published on: 30 Dec, 2016
Updated on: 2 Jan, 2017

“It’s Christmas and I’m smashed out of my nuts – get me a cab home?” was a 999 call received on Christmas Eve by a Surrey Police call handler.

Improper use of the emergency number is a regular issue in the force’s contact centre and the 999 number is at its busiest at this time of year.

A Surrey Police statement said: “The 999 emergency number should only be used to contact police for situations where someone is in danger or when a crime is actually taking place. Only use the 999 number for genuine emergencies and use the 101 number, or online services to contact police if it isn’t an emergency situation.”

Head of the Surrey Police Contact Centre, Sarah Durston added: “Although most people use the emergency number correctly, this call is a perfect example of when it has not been used correctly.

“This caller who did not have an emergency may have prevented someone else who was in danger from getting through to us. This presents a real risk to our ability to respond to genuine emergency calls.

“The 999 number must only be used for situations where a crime is actually in progress or someone is in danger. Calling us on 101 does not change the police response you would get in a non-emergency situation and using the right number could literally save someone’s life.”

Last year (2015) Surrey Police reported that they had received 999 calls including: “Will I get arrested if I move my housemate’s banana?”, “Fancy a chat?” and “My shutters aren’t working properly” all in a single day.

Other calls included: “There’s a spider in my bin, “My washing machine isn’t working” and “My TV is broken and EastEnders is about to start.”

Surrey police wish to remind the public that there are a number of different ways to contact police in a non-emergency situation. The 101 non-emergency number can be used to:

– report a crime that has already happened and the suspects have left the scene;

– speak to a police officer about an ongoing case;

– make officers aware of any policing issue in your local area.

Crimes can also be reported using the online reporting system at https://report.police.uk/

Responses to Police Say: ‘Remember 999 Is For Emergencies – Not Calling A Cab’

Jim Allen Reply

December 31, 2016 at 8:34 am

Perfectly correct – but there should be someone on the end of the 101 line to actually answer the phone. 10 or more minutes is not unusual before it is answered, in my experience. In the past couple of years the system has virtually collapsed with, I estimate, a better than 50% chance of a caller giving up rather than getting an answer.

And going to the web site will not let you report a crime without declaring all your personal details. They seem more worried about colour of one’s skin as opposed to type of crime. The site itself is an intrusion into personal privacy, another part of the snooper’s charter which starts today.