Emergency services day: Essex Police warns against misuse of 999 system
A man in rang 999 to ask for a lift home after missing his bus
Last updated 9th Sep 2021
Essex Police is reminding the public that the 999 system must only be used for emergencies.
As 999 day is being celebrated around the country, Essex Police say they are keen to highlight how much non-urgent calls interfere with police work.
On average, the police department receive between between 1000 and 12,000 emergency calls every day.
But on the daily, a small number of calls are about issues that are trivial or not urgent.
Superintendent Craig Saunders, Deputy of contact management for Essex police, said:
‘Whilst the number of misuse calls is very small, every time one of our call takers is on the phone to someone reporting something that’s inappropriate, they aren’t free to take a genuine emergency call.
‘This has a big impact on our ability to support people when they need help.’
Recently, a man in Essex called 999 because his parrot had flown out and he did not know how to get it back indoors.
One man called to complain because he had been kicked out of a pub, and another rang asking for a lift because he had missed his bus.
Superintendent Saunders said:
"The list is never ending.
"We aren’t here to give people lifts home when they’ve missed their bus."
Although officers never hang up the phone and always provide callers with the proper advice, these types of calls take police time away from real emergencies.
The 999 number is for emergencies where there is risk of harm to someone, a crime is ongoing, or a suspect is still at the scene.
Essex Police would like to remind people that there are other ways to report a non-urgent crime.
You can ring 101, to be referred to a trained operative who will log details, provide advice and ensure the appropriate response is given.
A live web chat service has also recently been installed on the Essex Police website. The response time when using the chat is about 60 seconds.
This morning (9 September), a two-minute silence was observed for 999 Day, to honour the emergency response staff who risk their lives every day to keep us safe.