Call charge for 101, Police non-emergency.

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

screenman

Squire
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.

Two retired police people from this village work in the call centre.
 

classic33

Leg End Member
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??
Nearly five years ago now.
101.jpg


http://www.scotland.police.uk/whats-happening/news/2013/march/143965/
 

Sandra6

Veteran
Location
Cumbria
I discovered this a while ago when I tried to call them, but couldn't because I have a payg phone and no actual credit just a number of minutes.
I do however have an 0898 number (or whatever the number is) that I can use.
 

classic33

Leg End Member
Why is it possible to get a number for a specific police station in another country, but here it's down to call centres?
 

DRHysted

Guru
Location
New Forest
I first found out about this charge when I reported debris in the outside lane of a dual carriageway.
In my opinion I find it a bit off when you are charged for helping out.
 

byegad

Legendary Member
Location
NE England
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.
 

mjr

Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
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.
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.
 

Lozz360

Veteran
Location
Oxfordshire
[QUOTE 5154673, member: 259"]You can currently dial 112 in any EU country for emergency calls. No doubt the UK will be liberated from this in the near but uncertain future.[/QUOTE]
Very unlikely as 112 for the emergency services is part of the GSM standard and is used throughout the world.
 
Top Bottom