More ‘strange’ calls to Mid Sussex Police as residents urged to use 999 for emergencies only

Mid Sussex Police are still receiving non-emergency phone calls to 999 after urging residents to think before dialing the number.
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This Monday (August 23), Neighbourhood Policing Inspector Darren Taylor said there was ‘more strange usage of the emergency number over the weekend’.

“Someone rang 999 informing us their bag was missing and then informed us it wasn’t missing anymore,” said Inspector Taylor.

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“Someone else rang 999 reporting their cat missing and finally someone rang 999 to inform us about a water pistol,” he added.

Mid Sussex Neighbourhood Policing Inspector Darren Taylor.Mid Sussex Neighbourhood Policing Inspector Darren Taylor.
Mid Sussex Neighbourhood Policing Inspector Darren Taylor.

Last week Inspector Taylor said one Burgess Hill resident rang 999 to tell police that their neighbour was erecting a flag pole, while another Mid Sussex resident rang to report someone calling them a ‘dosser’.

One ‘abusive’ Mid Sussex resident actually rang the number 12 times to insult call handlers from 4am to 7.30am on Sunday (August 15), he said.

“We get three types of people,” said Inspector Taylor.

“We get the people that ring 999 who think it’s an emergency and it’s not,” he said.

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“We get the ones who clearly know they shouldn’t be using it and then we get the ones who are persistent,” he added.

Inspector Taylor said the person who called 12 times to be rude and abusive, while talking ‘absolute nonsense’, was given ‘strong words’ by the call handler.

He also said police would pay this caller a home visit.

“It’s wasting our time and blocking people who are genuinely trying to get through,” said Inspector Taylor, urging residents to keep the line clear and only ring 999 for emergencies.

“It’s a really important key phone number,” he said, adding that each call has to be logged and that non-emergency calls are a drain on Sussex Police resources.

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“I’m not saying people shouldn’t ring 999,” said Inspector Taylor.

“But just think: is it really an emergency?”.

He asked people with non-urgent issues to call 101 or contact police online at www.sussex.police.uk.

Other recent examples of Mid Sussex people wasting police time include a hotel guest dialing 999 when staff on reception missed a call for room service, and a Haywards Heath resident calling police after their kebab was delivered to the wrong address.

In May, a Haywards Heath woman called 999 over fears her neighbour had sent a ghost to haunt her house.

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“There are some people out there who clearly do not understand what ringing 999 entails,” said Inspector Taylor.

He said Sussex Police monitor persistent callers who often ring 999 when they do not need to and, if necessary, police can prosecute them.

“We have taken people to court or put sanctions on them to try to control their behaviour,” he said.

The consequences for needlessly ringing 999 can vary depending on what the individual caller has done, said Inspector Taylor.

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Repeat abusive callers could face public order offences and other people wasting police time could face fixed penalty notices, he said.

“We’ll always look at each case individually but where required we will be robust.”