Cambridgeshire Police who publicised every 999 call during a five hour period, report calls ranging from a man claiming his Amazon parcel had arrived empty, two people reporting their Facebook pages had being hacked, and a man complained someone had put children’s toys in his bin.
Police also received a call of a reported stabbing, which later turned out to be a hoax call. A man was consequently arrested on suspicion of wasting police time.
A gas explosion, a fire in a prison, and dangerous driving, were some of the calls police received and posted on social media during a “Postathon” event.
Between 4pm and 9pm on Friday (25 October) call handlers received 183 calls.
The force took to social media to share a short summary of all the calls during the five-hour event to highlight the volume and variety of incidents police are faced with on an average Friday evening.
Of the 183 calls, 23 were silent, nine were reports of domestic abuse, 12 were violent incidents, six were regarding missing people and 11 were road related.
SHOWCASE FOR WORK OF POLICE CONTROL ROOMS
The Postathon coincided with national Control Room Week, an annual event designed to showcase the important work of control room staff all over the country.
Social media users shared their thoughts on the Postathon, with one saying, “these updates are an amazing insight into life in the control room”, and another describing the Postathon as “absolutely incredible”.
Another user said: “I don’t think it’s recognised how many emergency calls just one police force gets in half an hour! Thank you to all emergency call handlers”.
Superintendent Nick Church, head of demand, said: “This is the fifth time we have done this for Control Room Week and every year it is no less eye-opening for the public to see just how busy our phone lines are.
“The incredible demand we face is why we encourage online reporting in non-urgent situations, as it is not always possible to have an operator on the other end of the phone if it’s not deemed to be an emergency.
“I’d like to say thank-you to all the incredibly hard-working control room staff who are kind, supportive, resilient, focused, and diligent. Their hard work never goes unnoticed.”
POLICE WIN ‘TOP RESPECT’ FOR CALL HANDLERS
One Facebook user commented that he had “top respect” for call handlers after tuning into the Postathon as he found it shocking to see some of the reasons people called 999.
During the Postathon, a man called 999 because his Amazon parcel had arrived empty, two people reported that their Facebook page had being hacked, and a man called to report that someone had put children’s toys in his bin.
Police also received a call of a reported stabbing, which later turned out to be a hoax call. A man was consequently arrested on suspicion of wasting police time.
WARNING TO USE 999 ONLY IN EMERGENCIES
The public are reminded they should only use 999 in emergencies. For non-urgent matters, log a report online or use web chat, or call 101 if you do not have online access. This ensures call handlers will always be available to arrange help for those who need it most.
If you want to read the updates from the Postathon, you can on the Cambridgeshire Police website.
