Not the answer to 999 problem

THE FRUSTRATION felt by members of the emergency services when the 999 phone service is abused by members of the public must be huge.

Deliberate attempts to disrupt the work of the police, fire service or ambulance crews should not be tolerated, ever. Those caught making nuisance and prank calls should be subject to the harshest penalty available because their actions have the potential to cause suffering to others or in some cases death.

Would it be right then to scrap the free 999 service and start charging for calls to try to deter idiots from abusing the system as suggested by Tayside Police Federation secretary David Hamilton?

It would be a dramatic step and one that would undoubtably send a strong signal that the misuse or abuse of the service will not be tolerated. It might even make some people who would otherwise have used the service for an inappropriate or trivial matter think again.

But would the few pence charged for the call really be enough to deter those intent on causing disruption through nuisance calls?

In Britain there is a noble and important tradition of vital services being available to people free at the point of most need. The 999 telephone system is one such service. It should not be abandoned as a free service without real cause and while there is still more that can be done by the courts service to mete out sentences on those caught abusing the service of sufficient severity to act as a genuine deterrent then it should remain as it is.

All who have had reason to use the 999 system for real will sympathise with Mr Hamilton and his call for a debate on charging for the system. They too, though will also know the value of having been able to make that call without a thought for the cost.