Leicestershire Police wants people to stop using 999 to complain about things. Whether it’s a noisy refrigerator or the weather, the department has received a number of inappropriate calls and is looking for people to only use the number in case of an emergency.
A man recently dialed 999 to complain that his fridge was being too noisy. Another raised the alarm and said it was too cold to wait for a train. A different caller complained she had flies in her house during summer.
This is only scratching the surface as control room operators have also picked up the phone to children several times. One of the children asked the call handler if they like gummy sweets.
The force reported that it had received more than 187,000 calls throughout 2022 so far. “Some members of the public do call 999 without knowing they should be calling the non-emergency line 101 instead,” Superintendent Steve Durrant said.
He added: “But we do also receive many calls from people who do not need the police at all and have made the call with blatant misuse and disregard. Every minute that our call handlers spend dealing with an inappropriate emergency call means those with real emergencies may experience a delay in getting through, potentially putting lives at risk.”
Source: https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/leicester-news/man-called-999-because-missed-7966990