Demands to make 101 calls free win backing of half the public

MORE than half the public believe that non-emergency 101 phone calls to report crime to the police should be free, a poll has revealed.

They said that the Government or phone companies should pick up the bill for the 101 line.

Just a fifth said callers should continue to be required to pay the 15p flat rate charge, according to the survey by Yougov.

The poll follows an outcry at the charge, led by Baroness Newlove, the victims’ commissioner, charities and MPS. They argued charging people to report a crime was fundamentally wrong and could deter some vulnerable victims from calling police.

The Home Office last week announced it would review the charges, and urged phone companies to follow the lead of Vodafone, which will axe the charge for its seven million pay-asyou-go customers this month.

Some 28 per cent in the poll said the taxpayer should foot the bill, while 26 per cent said it should be the phone companies.

Men were more likely than women to favour the Government funding the service, by 37 per cent to 21 per cent.

People in London, one of the highest crime rate areas, were more likely than any other area to argue that the Government or phone companies should cover the charge to make calls free.

Younger people – aged 18 to 24 – were also more likely to favour taxpayer or phone company funding.

Just one in nine (11 per cent) thought the caller should have to pay the charge.

There has been growing criticism of the 101 line, with callers claiming they are forced to wait up to 40 minutes and passed from one person to another. There is evidence that some nonurgent crime victims may turn to the emergency 999 line in frustration.

In 2018, 22 million calls were made to 101, down by almost 675,000 on the previous 12 months. At the same time, calls to 999 increased by almost half a million, a rise of five per cent.