15p fee to call 101 police line scrapped
FEES for calling the 101 non-emergency police phone line are to be abolished, The Daily Telegraph can disclose today.
The move follows a campaign led by Baroness Newlove, the victims’ commissioner, who said it was “fundamentally wrong” to charge people 15p to report a crime.
The Home Office has pledged £5million to make dialling 101 free from April 2020 following a review of the service, which handles 32 million calls a year.
Lady Newlove said: “This is great news. What concerned me was those on pay-as-you-go [phone contracts] were particularly being penalised. This cannot be right.
“We need to encourage the public to report crimes and making this service free is a step in the right direction. I am glad the Home Office has listened.
“Well done to The Telegraph for taking up the cause and making the case so forcefully. The next priority must be to improve the speed and quality of responses so the public have full confidence in this frontline service.”
The 101 line has been criticised for keeping callers waiting for up to 40 minutes.
This has led people switching to 999 for non-emergencies. Last year, the number of calls to 101 fell by 675,000, while free 999 calls rose by 500,000. While the 101 line was never intended to generate money, the Treasury was accused of profiting from victims when it was reported it collected up to £500,000 in VAT a year from calls.
Vodafone, which holds the contract to run the service, and Talk Talk have already made calls to 101 free for some customers.
Announcing the news, Sajid Javid, the Home Secretary and Tory leadership contender, said: “Scrapping the charge for making a 101 call will benefit millions of people every year – especially the vulnerable.
“It’s vital members of the public have confidence in the police and are able to report any non-emergency incidents in a convenient and accessible way.
“I welcome the telecoms companies who have already made 101 free for some customers and am grateful to The Telegraph for bringing this issue to the attention of their readers.”
Mr Javid has also agreed to help fund a separate online police hub where people can report crimes, track progress on investigations, anonymously pass on intelligence and pay fines or licences.
The initiative, to be launched this summer, follows criticism from HM Inspectorate of Constabulary that said the public were losing confidence in the 101 phone line, which was introduced in December 2011. Under the overhaul overseen by the National Police Chiefs’ Council, all 43 forces in England and Wales plan to integrate their websites so that there is a single online home, or “digital front desk”.
It is proposed that it should be personalised so that victims or members of the public have a personal record of all their contacts with the police, as well as the ability to keep track of what happens when they make a complaint or report a crime.
So far, 41 police forces have signed statements of intent to join the online service and 10 are already using it.