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Worst time-wasting calls the Met Police has received this year
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Over the last year, Met Police call handlers took more than two million 999 calls, but more than 20,000 of these were unnecessary.
To highlight the problem, the Met has released details of a number of nuisance calls 999 staff have dealt with. These included:
Listen to the KFC call here https://twitter.com/metpoliceuk/status/1075770258135277568
To highlight the problem, the Met has released details of a number of nuisance calls 999 staff have dealt with. These included:
- A person calling 999 in March to say KFC had run out of chicken
- A man phoning the Met on 6 July complaining that a bus driver had shut the door in his face - actually, the bus had broken down and nobody was allowed to board
- A man calling to report that his breakfast had not been served quickly enough at a pub on 19 September
- A woman on a bus calling the Met in November to complain that the driver had been "whistling all the trip" and should be more "respectful"
- A man phoning police to tell them he was having an argument with a female driver about who had the right of way on a road
Listen to the KFC call here https://twitter.com/metpoliceuk/status/1075770258135277568
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#3
Do these people truly think these are real emergencies? 😂Maybe ppl don't realise how bad time wasting calls can be.
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#4
The police force is greatly under staffed and suffering a lot as a result of the huge cutbacks that they've suffered at the hands of the Conservative government. They are struggling to cope.
I went down the local police station to report on the theft of my car a couple of months ago. I had to wait 6 hours to see a police officer. 6 freaking hours. There were people there that had been waiting longer than me. This one ladey had been there waiting since midday and she only went in to speak to an officer at around 8 pm. It was crazey. The que was around 20 people long and people where just walking out and not reporting their issues after like a couple hours of waiting. Everyone was very polite about it all, the police and the people waiting but you can see both the police and the people were very frustrated and sad about what was going on. So many people walked out without reporting their issues. I couldn't help but wonder what impact these cut backs are having on society. I mean, crimes are going unreported and undealt with and the police is just overwhlmed. It has to prioritise things so I can't help but also wodner how many issues they don't invesitgate properly?
I went down the local police station to report on the theft of my car a couple of months ago. I had to wait 6 hours to see a police officer. 6 freaking hours. There were people there that had been waiting longer than me. This one ladey had been there waiting since midday and she only went in to speak to an officer at around 8 pm. It was crazey. The que was around 20 people long and people where just walking out and not reporting their issues after like a couple hours of waiting. Everyone was very polite about it all, the police and the people waiting but you can see both the police and the people were very frustrated and sad about what was going on. So many people walked out without reporting their issues. I couldn't help but wonder what impact these cut backs are having on society. I mean, crimes are going unreported and undealt with and the police is just overwhlmed. It has to prioritise things so I can't help but also wodner how many issues they don't invesitgate properly?
Last edited by Pinkisk; 2 years ago
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#5
I think it's either one or a mixture of:
1) They were never taught under which circumstances the emergency services should and should not be called;
2) They have no understanding of the ramifications of their nuisance call;
3) They genuinely believe they are justified as they have the attitude of: "I pay taxes, I should be allowed to call the police whenever I want, I pay their salaries" etc.;
4) They have other underlying issues which may impair their judgement.
I have never had to call 999 or 101 for any reason, and I hope I never have to, so it amazes me how people actively do it (and maybe want to do it) for ridiculous reasons.
1) They were never taught under which circumstances the emergency services should and should not be called;
2) They have no understanding of the ramifications of their nuisance call;
3) They genuinely believe they are justified as they have the attitude of: "I pay taxes, I should be allowed to call the police whenever I want, I pay their salaries" etc.;
4) They have other underlying issues which may impair their judgement.
I have never had to call 999 or 101 for any reason, and I hope I never have to, so it amazes me how people actively do it (and maybe want to do it) for ridiculous reasons.
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#6
(Original post by Spirithorse)
Over the last year, Met Police call handlers took more than two million 999 calls, but more than 20,000 of these were unnecessary.
To highlight the problem, the Met has released details of a number of nuisance calls 999 staff have dealt with. These included:
[ul]
[li]A person calling 999 in March to say KFC had run out of chicken[/li]
[li]A man phoning the Met on 6 July complaining that a bus driver had shut the door in his face - actually, the bus had broken down and nobody was allowed to board[/li]
[li]A man calling to report that his breakfast had not been served quickly enough at a pub on 19 September[/li]
[li]A woman on a bus calling the Met in November to complain that the driver had been "whistling all the trip" and should be more "respectful"[/li]
[li]A man phoning police to tell them he was having an argument with a female driver about who had the right of way on a road[/li]
[/ul]
Listen to the KFC call here https://twitter.com/metpoliceuk/stat...70258135277568
Over the last year, Met Police call handlers took more than two million 999 calls, but more than 20,000 of these were unnecessary.
To highlight the problem, the Met has released details of a number of nuisance calls 999 staff have dealt with. These included:
[ul]
[li]A person calling 999 in March to say KFC had run out of chicken[/li]
[li]A man phoning the Met on 6 July complaining that a bus driver had shut the door in his face - actually, the bus had broken down and nobody was allowed to board[/li]
[li]A man calling to report that his breakfast had not been served quickly enough at a pub on 19 September[/li]
[li]A woman on a bus calling the Met in November to complain that the driver had been "whistling all the trip" and should be more "respectful"[/li]
[li]A man phoning police to tell them he was having an argument with a female driver about who had the right of way on a road[/li]
[/ul]
Listen to the KFC call here https://twitter.com/metpoliceuk/stat...70258135277568
These people need to get a life. How sad some people are.
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#7
(Original post by Spirithorse)
Over the last year, Met Police call handlers took more than two million 999 calls, but more than 20,000 of these were unnecessary.
To highlight the problem, the Met has released details of a number of nuisance calls 999 staff have dealt with. These included:
Listen to the KFC call here https://twitter.com/metpoliceuk/status/1075770258135277568
Over the last year, Met Police call handlers took more than two million 999 calls, but more than 20,000 of these were unnecessary.
To highlight the problem, the Met has released details of a number of nuisance calls 999 staff have dealt with. These included:
- A person calling 999 in March to say KFC had run out of chicken
- A man phoning the Met on 6 July complaining that a bus driver had shut the door in his face - actually, the bus had broken down and nobody was allowed to board
- A man calling to report that his breakfast had not been served quickly enough at a pub on 19 September
- A woman on a bus calling the Met in November to complain that the driver had been "whistling all the trip" and should be more "respectful"
- A man phoning police to tell them he was having an argument with a female driver about who had the right of way on a road
Listen to the KFC call here https://twitter.com/metpoliceuk/status/1075770258135277568
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#8
I wish people would stop bringing in partisan politics into everything. This has nothing to do with Tory's policy on how to deal with police waste.
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#10
And so much hastle around some ufo sightings down south too. :P
In all seriousness I think 101 needs more awareness. There are a lot of things that you might need to (or think you need to) report to the police that aren't an emergency and I think a lot of people just don't know that there's a number for that so end up resorting to the one number they do know.
And yes theres also idiots and drunks and genuinely mentally challenged people who have a complete lack of understanding for when 999 is appropriate or what is a police matter.
Apparently there's also an issue with awfully rude emergency services parking their emergency vehicles in inconsiderate areas whilst on emergency call outs (do you think I said emergency enough?) so clearly it goes both ways. Thankfully there are good citizens out there who are ready to leave angry notes on the emergency vehicles (looks like I wasn't done saying it) to teach them a lesson. Truly the heros we need XD
In all seriousness I think 101 needs more awareness. There are a lot of things that you might need to (or think you need to) report to the police that aren't an emergency and I think a lot of people just don't know that there's a number for that so end up resorting to the one number they do know.
And yes theres also idiots and drunks and genuinely mentally challenged people who have a complete lack of understanding for when 999 is appropriate or what is a police matter.
Apparently there's also an issue with awfully rude emergency services parking their emergency vehicles in inconsiderate areas whilst on emergency call outs (do you think I said emergency enough?) so clearly it goes both ways. Thankfully there are good citizens out there who are ready to leave angry notes on the emergency vehicles (looks like I wasn't done saying it) to teach them a lesson. Truly the heros we need XD
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#11
Well they've been so interested by calls about twitter spats and meaty doorknobs, it's understandable someone might think their chicken conundrum takes precedent.
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#12
(Original post by Jebedee)
Well they've been so interested by calls about twitter spats and meaty doorknobs, it's understandable someone might think their chicken conundrum takes precedent.
Well they've been so interested by calls about twitter spats and meaty doorknobs, it's understandable someone might think their chicken conundrum takes precedent.
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#14
(Original post by Jebedee)
Well they've been so interested by calls about twitter spats and meaty doorknobs, it's understandable someone might think their chicken conundrum takes precedent.
Well they've been so interested by calls about twitter spats and meaty doorknobs, it's understandable someone might think their chicken conundrum takes precedent.
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#15
(Original post by londonmyst)
Some twitter spats involve breaches of criminal law- e.g. death threats, rape threats, harassment, sending of unsolicited obscene or grossly offensive images.
Some twitter spats involve breaches of criminal law- e.g. death threats, rape threats, harassment, sending of unsolicited obscene or grossly offensive images.
One person sending threatening email to another repeatedly is something to look into. Unfortunately random social media threats can't always be taken seriously. There isn't the resource.
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#17
(Original post by Tom2001)
These people are the sort of people who spend all their time online.
These people need to get a life. How sad some people are.
These people are the sort of people who spend all their time online.
These people need to get a life. How sad some people are.
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#18
(Original post by Kangaroo17)
blaming the internet is a very dumb reason too. I doubt most of these calls were made by sad teens or adults playing games 24/7, but just some really dumb people which i cant understand.
blaming the internet is a very dumb reason too. I doubt most of these calls were made by sad teens or adults playing games 24/7, but just some really dumb people which i cant understand.
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#19
It's like with the NHS, they aren't underfunded, they are just misallocated and then you have the laws which are almost useless against repeat offenders.
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#20
(Original post by DrMikeHuntHertz)
It's like with the NHS, they aren't underfunded, they are just misallocated and then you have the laws which are almost useless against repeat offenders.
It's like with the NHS, they aren't underfunded, they are just misallocated and then you have the laws which are almost useless against repeat offenders.
OP what proportion of calls received are time-wasting?
It is EXACTLY the same as the NHS. In that the NHS and police force have been on the receiving end of severe, sweeping cuts. They are pulled tighter, and tighter and tighter.
And rather than recognise that these cuts will have consequences, will cause a reduction in quality of service, it is much easier to focus on the people.
Rather than recognise that these services need more money, just tell people to stop wasting time.
But I’d be interested if there were to be a study on the effect of the financial cuts on our public services versus the effect of time wasters.
I’m willing to bet you that the effects of the severe cuts to services have a bit more of an effect hun.
There have always been time wasters, but we have not always had such extreme cuts. Think about that for a second, and put two and two together.
Last edited by Waldorf67; 2 years ago
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