Met police says #ThinkBeforeYouDial 999 after man calls to ask time

UK man recently dialled the emergency number of the Metropolitan police only to ask the time compelling the latter to release audio footages of all the 999 calls where the incident reported was not an actual emergency. In the clip, the call handler can be heard saying, " Hello. You are through to the police," to which the man replies, "I want to know the time." The 8-second clip also featured a woman who called the police after she was sent three saveloy and chip portions instead of one from the chippy and a man complaining about a packet of biscuits being out of date.

Over 20K hoax calls in 2019

The footage was released as part a campaign #ThinkBeforeYouDial. Along with the video, the police also wrote that such calls are not an emergency and wastes police time, potentially putting other lives in danger. Between January 1 and  November 30 this year, the Met's Command and Control call centre received 2,157,080 calls. Out of the total calls, 25,448 were ended by call handlers after being identified as a hoax. Of these, 22,491 were hoax 999 calls, 2,912 were hoax 101 calls, while the remaining 45 were hoax burglar alarm calls.

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Chief Superintendent David Jackson, who is in charge of call handling for the Met, warned that hoax calls were not only a waste of police time but could also be putting lives at risk. He said that although these calls can be perceived as amusing, they are actually a huge waste of the Met's resources. This hoax calls to block the number from other members of the public who could be calling 999 in a real emergency, keeping people in danger waiting for longer and putting lives at risk. He added that if somebody is in a situation where they need to speak to the police, there are other channels that can be used. 999 system is only for the emergencies.  He further said that the Met Police advises people to call 101 in no emergency situation.

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