Online or 999 – are you gonna call? New campaign aims to highlight police online reporting services for non-emergencies

Online or 999? That’s the question posed by a new campaign by Northamptonshire Police that aims to remind the public about the best ways to contact the police and to encourage people to use online services unless it is a genuine emergency.

On average the Force Control Room receives 950 calls a day, with nearly half being emergency calls to 999. The remainder are non-emergency calls to 101. FCR staff also deal with approximately 150 contacts each day via the Force’s online reporting services which, like 999 and 101, are also available 24 hours a day.

People should always call 999 if a crime is in progress, or whenever there is an immediate threat to life or property. However, in non-emergency situations, the Force is encouraging people to use online alternatives wherever possible. Head of the Force Control Room, Superintendent Pete Basham, explained.

“It is really important that we keep our phone lines open for genuine emergencies. These calls will always be prioritised over 101 to ensure officers can be deployed swiftly to those needing emergency assistance.

“Our call handlers are trained to quickly assess the threat and risk of an incident and deploy resources accordingly. If, however, the incident being reported is not a true emergency, the caller will be advised to call back on 101 or report online.

“So please, only call 999 if a crime is happening at that time, there is a risk to life or someone is seriously injured, if someone is using or threatening violence or if there is serious damage to property.

“For anything else, please use our other contact methods. Of course, we know some people will always prefer to call or that may be the only means available at the time, and 101 is always available.

“However, I would really encourage people to start thinking more about using our online contact services. For example, you can report crime and incidents that have already happened via our website at www.northants.police.uk/report-online.   

“We also operate a live chat service which, like our phone lines, is available 24 hours a day seven days a week. Simply look for the blue Live Chat icon in the bottom righthand corner of our website pages.

“When you report online, your report is dealt with in the same way as if you had called us. A call handler will triage your report and will give it the same level of risk assessment as when you call 101 or 999.

“So please, whenever possible, do report non-emergencies online, so our phone lines are free for our emergency 999 calls.”

The campaign is also raising awareness of another important message: if you call police by accident, stay on the line until the call is answered and speak to the call handler.

Superintendent Basham added: “We know it’s possible to dial 999 in error – maybe your child got hold of your phone and called us, or you ‘pocket dialled’ by accident. Or perhaps you changed your mind because you heard someone else calling the emergency services.

“If that happens, please don’t hang up. We receive thousands of calls each week, and all dropped calls need to be investigated to confirm the caller is safe and not in need of police assistance.

“So please do stay on the line, you won’t be in trouble, we just need to confirm all is well.”

To read more about the campaign visit www.northants.police.uk/onlineor999 and to access our online reporting services, go to www.northants.police.uk/report-online.