Police braced for glut of 999 calls

One woman dialled 999 to tell police that her cat had been playing with string for two hours and it was “doing her head in”.

A Bolton man called the emergency line to say he was driving on an icy road and was too scared to move forwards or backwards.

These are just some of the kind of non-emergencies police want the public to think about before dialling 999 after receiving a record number of calls over the festive period.

Greater Manchester Police took 1,377 calls between noon on Christmas Day and the same time on Boxing Day — but only a fraction were real emergencies.

GMP’s head of call handling, Supt Karan Lee, said: “Following the introduction of new telephone technology earlier in the year we are now answering calls in an average time of five seconds for 999 emergency and 15 seconds for the non- emergency calls.

“However, we are still expecting a high volume of 999 calls on New Year’s Eve.

“Research tells us that a very high percentage of these will not actually be related to an emergency.

“I urge the public to think first and only dial 999 in an emergency, where there is threat to life or property, so that we can focus on the real emergencies. If you do have to call us, please be patient and appreciative that there may be some delays in answering your calls.

“New Year’s Eve is the Force’s busiest night and we are now preparing to receive thousands of emergency calls.

“Silly pranks can have a major impact on members of the public who need the police.

“I don’t want a person to call 999 and be delayed because someone else is calling to report something that is not an emergency or, worse still, a deliberate joke.”

Last new year, GMP’s call handlers dealt with more than 2,400 emergency calls in only six hours after midnight. Thousands more were taken on the force’s non-emergency number.

The public should call 0161-872 5050 for non-emergencies or to report a crime and their Neighbourhood Policing Team with any concerns about crime and anti-social behaviour in their local area.