Bobby Mhor
Legendary Member
- Location
- Behind You
Admit it, you miss this areaErmm, see post #9. Although I DO thank God that I no longer am!

Admit it, you miss this areaErmm, see post #9. Although I DO thank God that I no longer am!
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.
Nearly five years ago now.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??
Yes; but I'm working on my aim. And I sent Kim Jong Un the co-ordinates in case he's looking for a bit of target practice tooAdmit it, you miss this area![]()
I know your pain, having given your (now) local plods plenty of work in the 70s, YSYes; but I'm working on my aim. And I sent Kim Jong Un the co-ordinates in case he's looking for a bit of target practice too.
And do you think the small cost deters more time-wasters or legitimate calls? I doubt the likes of that woman checks the cost before calling.A friend of mine, ex-police, worked for a while as a civilian in their call centre. Some of the calls on 999 let alone 101 are mind boggling. One woman called 999 because her 5 yr old daughter wouldn't hand her the car keys!
Frankly anything that reduces time wasting calls on 999 or 101 is welcome.
Hey! That was classified information until last year AFAIKNearly five years ago now.
Putting it there helped then.Hey! That was classified information until last year AFAIK.
Call another number, there's usually a charge for it, charged per minute. 101 is a flat rate call, 15p.Oh, didn't know about the charge, you learn something new every day!