POLICE in Warrington and elsewhere in Cheshire have switched to a new, national non-emergency telephone number – 101.
The new number does not replace emergency number 999 – but police hope that its introduction will reduce the number of non-emergency calls that are made to 999.
In the year ending in March, police in Cheshire received 82,119 emergency 999 calls which were not classed as genuine emergencies – in other words, 69 per cent of 999 calls where were not emergencies.
Police hope the new 101 number will be easier for people to remember.
Assistant Chief Constable Janette McCormick said: “The introduction of 101 provides a simple, memorable number for the public to use.
“We believe the introduction of 101 will divert some calls away from the emergency 999 system. We know that 69 per cent of calls last year that came in via the 999 system did not require a grade one response which requires attendance at the location within 15 minutes of receiving the call.
“When a member of the public dials 101 in Cheshire they will hear a recorded message which will welcome them to 101. They will then hear a message that informs them they are being connected to Cheshire Police. Next they will be offered the alternative of being connected to one of our neighbouring Forces, GMP, Merseyside, Staffordshire or North Wales.
“If they do not require any of these forces, the message offers the option to press hash and to be connected to an operator who can put you through to which ever force you need.”
ACC McCormick said using 101 would not change the way police responded to non-emergency calls. They would still be dealt with by staff in the Cheshire Police call handling centre.
There would be a single flat rate charge of 15 pence, no matter of long the call last, what time of day it is or whether the call is from a landline or a mobile.
However, the public are reminded to always call 999 in an emergency, where there is a threat to life or a crime in progress.
By the end of the year, 101 will have been introduced across the whole country.
Dial 101 for the police
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Gary Skentelbery
Experienced journalist for more than 40 years. Managing Director of magazine publishing group with three in-house titles and on-line daily newspaper for Warrington. Experienced writer, photographer, PR consultant and media expert having written for local, regional and national newspapers. Specialties: PR, media, social networking, photographer, networking, advertising, sales, media crisis management. Chair of Warrington Healthwatch Director Warrington Chamber of Commerce Patron Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation for Peace. Trustee Warrington Disability Partnership. Former Chairman of Warrington Town FC.
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Considering it takes as long as it does for the Police to respond when you dial 999; they might have well saved their money and not bothered with this idea. By the time they get round to the 101 calls; the incident would need Tony Robinson and time team to investigate it!