County 999 calls escalate (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

County 999 calls escalate

JULY this year broke all records for the number of 999 calls received in a single month, say Gloucestershire Police. A total of 7,745 calls were received, which represents an increase of 13.2 percent over July last year.

Superintendent Nick Jefferies, Contact Management, said: "The previous record was set in August last year and early indications are that this August may well break the record again."

He added: "The extra demand appears to be caused by a combination of the good weather, school holidays and many people travelling around and through the county on holiday.

"Over the last weekend, 8th - 10th August, 932 incidents were recorded as a result of receiving 999 calls. That's an increase of 20 percent over the same weekend last year.

"Many of the calls relate to late night noisy parties and music being played in the garden as people moved outdoors to enjoy the good weather.

"Of course what people need to have in mind is that their enjoyment can be a source of disturbance for their neighbours and it adds to the demands placed on the police."

The Constabulary is currently running a 'Use It, Don't Abuse It' 999 campaign.

Supt. Jefferies said: "We recognise that often in a crisis, one's first instinct may be to ring 999, but we would urge the public to ask themselves the question 'is your crisis really an emergency?' before making the decision to ring 999."

* The non-emergency number is 0845 090 1234.