Information on Loughborough

999 calls

Posted on 22/12/2007
P. Klein

police car in Loughboroughs Town Centre

Do you know a good stain remover? Ive left my mobile phone on a bus, is there any way you can stop it? There’s a rat in my kitchen! I want to report some lost property. I cant turn my tap off. The credit has run out on my mobile phone, can you put me through to a number in Loughborough? My neighbour is a spy. Im a little bit drunk and I need to get home but I dont want to walk...

These are just some of the calls received by the Police on the life and death emergency 999 number. 999 is for use when an "immediate" reaction is necessary and should only be used in cases where a crime is occurring now or if someone is in immediate danger. The 999 service started in London in 1937 and Britain was the first country to introduce an emergency number.

In November 2007, 999 operators at Leicestershire Constabulary received almost 12000 calls to the emergency number. Nearly a third of those were categorized as non-emergencies.

Chief Inspector Rob Hunt from Leicestershire Constabularys Call Management Centre said: "The 999 number is not a directory enquiries number, it is for serious or life and death emergencies only.

"If you call 999 other than in an emergency, you may prevent another caller with a real emergency from receiving urgent police assistance. In emergencies every minute counts and the time that an operator spends dealing with a hoax or misguided call could literally mean the difference between life and death.

"Please think before dialling 999. Ask yourself if your call is a genuine emergency? Is a crime or serious incident taking place or is anyone in immediate danger? Is it really the police that you require?

"If your call is not an emergency but is about a police matter or a crime enquiry you can phone 0116 222 2222."