Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
‘Hello 999?..Could you tell me where to get takeaway?
Warning as PSNI tackles nuisance calls
CALLING police for a lift to get cash from an ATM or pick up a takeaway are just some examples of the hoax emergency calls made in the past year, it has emerged.
The PSNI made the re velation yesterday as part of the “make the right call” campaign launch.
The new initiative, which will run until October 22, has been launched to “highlight” and “reinforce” that 999 calls should only be dialled in an emergency.
It comes after call handlers dealt with 3,502 hoax calls since September 1 last year.
Chief Insp Gerard Pollock, from the Police Service Contact Management Centre, said hoaxes were preventing “a genuine life-or-death call being put through”. He added: “Misusing 999 is dangerous because it endangers others who need to get through to police, fire and ambulance or Coast Guard.
“In the UK, there are millions of 999 calls each year and in Northern Ireland there are around 200,000.
“That means every day there are more than 500 emergency calls a day that all need to get through to an operator.
“Misusing 999 displaces a genuine
emergency and endangers that person in genuine need.
“Those who misuse the system need to ask themselves, ‘What if that was your family member who was unable to get help when they needed it?’
“While this is a 19% reduction on the same period last year it’s still too many hoax calls. It’s around 10 calls every day.
“We tend to have more i n the evenings and at weekends and during the summer months.
“The emergency call handlers deal with people when they are vulnerable and in danger, so to abuse their trust and professionalism in this way is appalling.
“It diverts our staf f and officers t o d e a l i n g wit h hoax calls, time should be spent on dealing with issues that matter to our communities. “Th i s i s n o t re mot ely funny, nor should it ever be done as a prank.”