Think twice before dialing 999, pleads Dorset Police

Dorset Police have urged PEOPLE to think twice before making contact as officers face a surge in demand.

The force said minor issues such as noisy neighbors or lost dogs should be referred to councils to avoid clogging the system.

Emergency calls to 999 increased by 23% and 101 by 12% over the summer, a spokesperson said, with a 17% increase in incidents during a typical day.

Kieran Baker, non-emergency contact manager for Dorset Police, asked callers to consider whether their concern was best directed to agencies such as councils, the fire service or the NHS.

He said: “If you call us about something we cannot help, such as abandoned cars, lost or found dogs, loud music, rowdy or loud neighbors or barking dogs, you might arrest anyone we can help. pass through.

“All such instances should be reported to the local authority.

“We are here to help you if you need to report an incident or crime to us. All inquiries via our telephone or digital services will be answered as soon as possible.

The force asks members of the public to only dial 999 in an emergency, if there is a crime in progress or an immediate danger to life.

Superintendent Pete Browning, head of contact management for Dorset Police, said: ‘We are currently seeing a significant volume of requests coming into effect and therefore the wait time to answer calls and digital requests to be processed has increased.

“I want to reassure that genuine emergency calls will be answered quickly.

“Our contact officers review all threat, risk, harm and vulnerability reports to ensure we are using our resources as efficiently as possible and responding to those most in need first.”

But he added: “We want to remind members of the public that our teams should be treated with courtesy and respect.

“They are doing their best to help you in very difficult circumstances and we will not tolerate any abuse of our hard-working team.”