Non-emergency number to tackle 999 time-wasters

An alternative 999 number for non-emergencies is to be set up as part of a drive to provide a better service from the police.

An alternative 999 number for non-emergencies is to be set up as part of a drive to provide a better service from the police.

David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, also announced what he described as a "copper's contract" that will ensure the police provide a more polite and speedy response when the public telephone for help.

In the next two years, police forces in England and Wales will be set minimum standards for handling telephone calls or responding to the internet and for providing clear information about help the public will receive.

As part of the move to improve the public's perception of the police, a national non-emergency number - possibly 333 - is being introduced to deal with the vast number of calls that do not require an immediate response. Of the 10 million 999 calls made last year, only an estimated 20 per cent required an emergency response from the police. The number of emergency calls has risen by three million in the past six years largely because of the increase in mobile phones.

Mr Blunkett, speaking at the annual conference of the Police Superintendents' Association of England and Wales, held at Kenilworth, Warwickshire, said that police were struggling to deal with the rising number of calls for help.

He said that research showed that last year 44 per cent of the public had some form of contact with the police but that the greater their contact the less satisfied they were.

The non-emergency number could be used by people wanting information about prosecutions, or to report lost pets or crimes such as vandalism.

Civilian police staff will be given training by call-centre supervisors. This will include telling people how long the police will take to respond to a non-emergency, whether it will be dealt with on the phone or in person, or providing details of another agency, such as the council, which can provide help.

Mr Blunkett said: "Not many organisations have to deal with the sheer range of calls for service that the police do, while maintaining an emergency service at the same time.

"Things as simple as showing that callers are being taken seriously, keeping promises made about how soon an officer can attend an incident and being dealt with professionally will increase the public's satisfaction."

Above all, having the telephone answered promptly and politely would create an entirely different relationship, especially where proper training ensures that calls are given the appropriate priority.

He said it was important to free the emergency services for genuine 999 calls. He gave an example of a recent shooting in a city centre where to get through on the 999 line took 150 seconds, but for armed police to arrive took only 90 seconds.

Chris Fox, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers, said that several police forces including Lancashire, West Mercia, Northamptonshire and Gloucestershire, had introduced call centres for non-emergencies. "This national initiative is about getting it synchronised around the country."