Bizarre and hoax emergency calls are being highlighted by Gwent Police to remind residents to only dial 999 in an emergency as misuse of this service can endanger lives.
Gwent Police receive around 90,000 999 calls per year and most of them are genuine emergencies. However many people are still dialling 999 to report issues that don’t warrant an emergency or even a Police response. The Force also receives many hoax or malicious calls.
These distractions are putting lives at risk by delaying the ability of the Force to attend genuine emergencies. Resources are devoted to every call so spending time on those which are not a matter for Gwent police prevents the Force from speaking to those who do need our help.
Examples of inappropriate 999 calls received by the Force include:
A caller requesting that we check on Tony Blair as “I haven¹t seen him on TV for ages.”
A caller stating “The electric has gone off and I was watching a film on telly in bed.”
A caller explaining “I need a taxi – I have no credit on my phone.”
A caller wanting directions on “how to get to London for Prince William’s wedding.”
A woman asking for help to “fix her kettle.”
Several people ringing up to see if they have been reported missing.
A number of people asking for help to put out fires and when questioned about why they didn¹t ring the Fire Service they explained that didn’t want to bother them
A man ringing on Christmas eve asking “if it was OK to leave his turkey in the oven overnight”
Chief Inspector Steve Thomas who is responsible for the operation of the Gwent Police Control room commented:
“The majority of 999 calls we receive are genuine emergencies, and when we are called we do our very best to answer calls within 10 seconds, and deploy officers appropriately depending on the nature of the call.
“However an increasing amount of calls, especially on weekends, are not appropriate 999 emergencies. Each call often takes minutes to deal with as our staff have to clarify the nature of every situation before terminating a call no matter how bizarre it may sound.
“It might not sound like much but if someone is trying to get through to report a genuine life-or-death emergency and it’s taking us a few seconds longer to respond as we are dealing with inappropriate calls, then tragedies can happen.
“While it’s frustrating having to deal with inappropriate calls, having to deal with people who maliciously dial 999, knowing they are making a false report is unacceptable.
“On average we receive around 1000 hoax calls per year – which is about 3 per day. Whenever possible we pursue those involved in malicious calls and the maximum punishment for wasting police time is six months in prison.”
Chief Inspector Thomas concluded:
“Sometimes it can be difficult to judge what is or isn-t an emergency, but in general, someone should dial 999 if:
- Someone¹s life is at risk or someone is being physically threatened
- When a crime is in progress or if the offenders are still nearby
- There is a road traffic collision causing personal injury or danger
“We would always urge the public to use the 101 number if it is NOT an emergency situation so we can deliver a professional and effective service for those people in real need.”
Case study – Ringland Newport
Between January and October 2010, Gwent police and other emergency services received over 130 hoax calls from a phone box in Hendre Farm Drive, in Ringland.
The calls included fake and malicious reports of fighting and assaults, all of which tied up vital police resources.
The Always Neighbourhood Team investigated the source of the calls, and arrested two 13 year old youths and a 16 year old youth all from the Ringland area on suspicion of making hoax calls.
The two 13 year olds received official police warnings. The 16 year old attended Cwmbran Youth Court and pleaded guilty to persistently making use of public communication network to cause annoyance.
On 01/03/11 The Court ruled that he undergo a youth rehabilitation order, he was placed under curfew and must wear an electronic tag for 3 months.
Sergeant David Morgan from Newport East Police Station said:
“I hope that this case acts as a warning to anyone who is tempted to make hoax calls to the police and other emergency services.
“It may seem like harmless fun but in fact it is quite the opposite. Everyday there are genuine calls for help that we are delayed from attending as we are tied up going to incidents that don’t exist.”
Sergeant Morgan is now visiting schools throughout the area to help spread the message:
“Some of the people we found making these calls were as young as 10. All young people and their parents need to be aware that we take hoax calls very seriously. Please don’t risk the possibility of a criminal record and prison sentence, it’s simply not worth it!”
