Call charge for 101, Police non-emergency.

[Brandane]

I've just found out that if you call the Police non-emergency number from a mobile, you will be charged 15 pence for the privilege. Now I know that 15p isn't really going to bankrupt many of us, but it's the principle of the matter.
Up here, if you want to contact the Police, you have no choice other than to use either 999 or 101. Try the old number for any local Police Office and you'll find it is no longer available. You must use 101 and talk to someone in a regional call centre.
The cynic in me tells me that this is a way of cutting down on the number of calls people make to the Police, which in turn reduces their workload. That, coupled with the fact that they are unlikely to investigate routine crimes means people are less likely to report crimes; therefore crime statistics go down and it looks like they're doing a good job.
Progress, eh??

 

[Drago]

Its been that way for the thick end of a decade.

 

[mjr]

Report non urgent shoot for free online. It still gets termed a "call" as long as it ain't junk IIRC.

 

[Tail End Charlie]

Who gets the money? I really don't know.

 

[Slick]

I actually have some sympathy for them, especially when you consider some of the calls they do have to deal with.

 

[Brandane]

Its been that way for the thick end of a decade.

Not in Scotland it hasn't. The last time I had to call my local Office was only about 2 years ago and it was a local number. This 101 thing is a newish concept for us. I think it ran in tandem with local numbers for a while but no longer.

 

[midlife]

Who gets the money? I really don't know.

The telephone service provider, not the police or govt apparently.

 

[Brandane]

I actually have some sympathy for them, especially when you consider some of the calls they do have to deal with.

I concur, absolutely. Especially since in my previous life I was command and control trained which meant I was a relief controller at our Divisional HQ.. On the odd shift I had to do for holiday reliefs, and even covering for meal breaks, it was one of the most stressful jobs I ever had to do.

 

[classic33]

The telephone service provider, not the police or govt apparently.

Who used to charge extra for calling from a mobile phone. 101 is a single charge, irrelavent of the call length.

 

[Slick]

I concur, absolutely. Especially since in my previous life I was command and control trained which meant I was a relief controller at our Divisional HQ.. On the odd shift I had to do for holiday reliefs, and even covering for meal breaks, it was one of the most stressful jobs I ever had to do.

I didn't realise you did that. Must have been tough at times. Without quoting examples, there have been a few problems and accusations with the service as a whole up here especially. I'm still not sure wether they have been properly addressed yet?

 

[User33236]

Could always use 01786 289 070 to contact Police Scotland on a non-emergency basis. They say it’s for people calling from outside the UK but I’m sure they wouldn’t cut you off if you weren’t.

I used to use such numbers without issue when calling by bank as I refused to call their 0870 numbers.

 

[Supersuperleeds]

In Leicester you can call 0116 2222222 though again they say this is for people outside UK.

 

[classic33]

They took the old station number with them to the new station here.

Most of those working there don't know it even exists.

 

[Brandane]

Just thank God your not in the Police,

Ermm, see post #9. Although I DO thank God that I no longer am!

 

[Drago]

Not in Scotland it hasn't. The last time I had to call my local Office was only about 2 years ago and it was a local number. This 101 thing is a newish concept for us. I think it ran in tandem with local numbers for a while but no longer.

Alas, not lived in Scotland for a while now, so wouldn't know first hand.

Following my second elbow operation in 2010 I was packed off to the control room for a spell while the titanium healed over. I spent a while dealing with 101 calls. Many were people with genuine problems that needed help, but many more were people of, shall we say, questionable judgememt, who should never call the feds in the first place.

The proliferation of mobile phones in the late nineties meant anyone where could call the dibble any time, and millions of them do, and the Emergency Services have never developed an effective strategy for dealing with it, and for 2 decades they've struggled.

I comparison, 999 calls and dispatch were a doddle, particularly dispatch. I guess it helped that as a copper I knew the ground, the individual bobbies, and the law where the regular controllers didn't, and the difference was marked. But still, they'd rather save money and pay a civvy to do it than pay a bit more to have someone who actually knows what they're doing.