'McDonalds won't serve me': The banal calls that prevent genuine emergency calls gett

qetu1357

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2271885/McDonalds-wont-serve-West-Midlands-Police-reveal-banal-calls-999-operators.html#axzz2Jf8dPUS6

What a country!

peter_the_piper

Get their address and send them a soddeing great bill, prats.

vikingaero

The Police are going about this in the wrong way. We always periodically hear from the Emergency Services about people calling them for the wrong reasons. Yet what do the Police do about it? Whinge! They should trace the people, get mobile companies to block SIM cards and take the miscreants to Court. Yet they continue to faff about.

Nilrem

vikingaero wrote: »

The Police are going about this in the wrong way. We always periodically hear from the Emergency Services about people calling them for the wrong reasons. Yet what do the Police do about it? Whinge! They should trace the people, get mobile companies to block SIM cards and take the miscreants to Court. Yet they continue to faff about.

Unfortunately the Police (and other emergency services) aren't allowed to do that.
They have to wait until the same person has been a massive pita for ages before they can do anything, and as much as the papers love to show how public money is being wasted by things like silly calls, I can see the Sun headlines now "Mum of 4 dies after police refuse to take call" if the police did refuse to attend (or take a call) from a repeat retard.

I'd quite like the idiots that waste the Police (and other services) time over stupid things to be able to be charged, but unfortunately that is not likely to happen because it could put people off calling over real emergencies.
The problem is that some people are so stupid and full of self entitlement they think they are always right, and the slightest thing is an "emergency" (or simply too stupid to grasp that an emergency is generally something where life is at risk, or an ongoing crime - not being refused big mac with fries).

Zedicus

The problem is that these people are stupid rather than malicious and there is no law against stupidity and neither should there be. The best the police can do is give them advice - if they have the time.

pmduk

Wasting police time is still an offence isn't it? Why aren't repeat offenders prosecuted?

lemontart

I work on an emergency line and it scares me that peeps have not go a clue when calling an emergency number I do wonder how some make it through the day.

System

pmduk wrote: »

Wasting police time is still an offence isn't it? Why aren't repeat offenders prosecuted?

Is it the police? 999 is the number of the emergency services not the police so I'm uncertain whether that charge would stick?

Zedicus

goater78 wrote: »

Is it the police? 999 is the number of the emergency services not the police so I'm uncertain whether that charge would stick?

That would depend on which service they picked when the initial operator asked. I somehow doubt that someone refused service in a McD would ask for the fire brigade or an ambulance.

Pollycat

Zedicus wrote: »

I somehow doubt that someone refused service in a McD would ask for the fire brigade or an ambulance.

I agree - it would probably the people who weren't refused service in McD's who were more likely to need an ambulance! :rotfl:

DCFC79

Im not surprised really, those who do waste the time of the operators should be penalised.