Text a cop

jaysay · 05-03-2009, 12:30

It appears we've cracked it, our wonderful Home Secretary Jackboots Jacqui has announced a new way of reporting less serious crime (all crime is serious if your the victim) Instead of ringing 999 you should text 66101 and a police office will contact you within 24 hours, ya reght. Well there's one thing about our Jacqui, when she finishes in politics, she'll have a ready made job as a Stand Up Comedian

cmonstanley · 05-03-2009, 12:38

effen joke just phone vigilantes r us

garinda · 05-03-2009, 12:50

'The initiative, which is part of a new Home Office drive to make police forces more responsive and accountable, is meant to help people who might not be certain how to report minor crimes.
Its introduction follows the failure of the new non-emergency number 101, which was introduced in 2005 to ease pressure on the 999 system but abandoned two years later.'

Text 66101 for police instead of calling 999 - Telegraph

I fail to understand how if Joe Bloggs didn't grasp the telephone number to ring for 'minor crimes', and that that initiative failed, how the introduction of a similar text scheme will be more successful.

I can certainly think of more important ways the police could have perhaps used the £3.5 million poind budget the scheme's cost.

cashman · 05-03-2009, 12:53

life just gets stupider with these Dimwits who think they know how to help the oiks.

jaysay · 05-03-2009, 13:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by cashman

life just gets stupider with these Dimwits who think they know how to help the oiks.

I have to say cashy that most of us oiks are far more intelligent than these planks, we can see it ain't going to work, yet when you live on cloud Cuckoo land must be very hard for them to understand the rudiments of real life

garinda · 05-03-2009, 13:14

Everyone knows you can access the police by dialling 999.

Perhaps the £3.5 million pounds that this scheme cost couild have been better invested in a system whereby the 999 operator directs a call to either an emergency or none emergency police response department. After all that's already done now, depending on which of the emergency services is required.

If your a vunerable person alone in your bed, and you think you hear someone breaking in to your house downstairs, you don't really consider whether what is about to happen may be a seriuous crime or not, or indeed feel like you want to start texting the none serious crime number if someone is only nicking your milk bottles.

Perhaps Jacqui Smith is losing touch with the reality of the world, aided by the fact that she has 24/7 police protection available.

cashman · 05-03-2009, 13:20

i can just imagine some of these texts they will get from kids, will take em more than 24 hours to decipher em.

magily · 05-03-2009, 13:21

What about community police stations that are in place just to deal with non- emergency situations. Locals would then have the number to call their local station rather than 999

Wynonie Harris · 05-03-2009, 13:47

So what about those, including the many elderly people, who don't have mobile phones? Yet another headline-catching gimmick from a gimmick-obsessed government.

onlyme · 05-03-2009, 15:42

I'm guessign this is part of the bigger picture of community engagement and a couple of other directives public sector have targets on.

So for example, engaging the younger members of the community with a service that they are comfortable with, for say a bullying hotline, youth events, other advisory services.

It is also being launched with some councils for crisis management, such as unforseen school closures, strikes or closures etc.

We currently in Lancashire have running, an emergency services text service for those hard of hearing or speech impaired, so that they can key a keyword to a shortcode number, ie FIRE or POLICE, with an explanation of what is needed. A system then 'translates' that text into an email that is sent to the control room. They can in turn reply back, using email which is turned into text message for the user. A two way conversation can be had, using the recepients mobile phone.

More and more people are looking at communication via a mobile phone as a cost effective way of communication. Text messages are a hell of a lot cheaper than stamps, you can minimise paper usage and so the need to cut down scores of trees, and are more responsive (you dont have to ait half an hour to speak to an operator)

Be interesting to hear your thoughts....

lancsdave · 05-03-2009, 15:47

It's going to be a bit of a ****** if you need to report your mobile phone has been stolen

cashman · 05-03-2009, 15:51

to me it should be all about providing the public with the best possible service to report things n that is not it. are my thoughts onlyme.

onlyme · 05-03-2009, 16:40

lol @ cashy and lancs

I think it depends on how they expect it to work. The scheme in lancs is an emergency service, the control room act straight away. Its been rolling for a few months and i believe it has been used 40 odd times already, not a huge amount, but its not a figure we'd want to be high.

As more people these days have access to a mobile phone than they do the internet, I think its a great way getting information across to people quickly and efficiently.

jaysay · 05-03-2009, 16:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by onlyme

I'm guessign this is part of the bigger picture of community engagement and a couple of other directives public sector have targets on.

So for example, engaging the younger members of the community with a service that they are comfortable with, for say a bullying hotline, youth events, other advisory services.

It is also being launched with some councils for crisis management, such as unforseen school closures, strikes or closures etc.

We currently in Lancashire have running, an emergency services text service for those hard of hearing or speech impaired, so that they can key a keyword to a shortcode number, ie FIRE or POLICE, with an explanation of what is needed. A system then 'translates' that text into an email that is sent to the control room. They can in turn reply back, using email which is turned into text message for the user. A two way conversation can be had, using the recepients mobile phone.

More and more people are looking at communication via a mobile phone as a cost effective way of communication. Text messages are a hell of a lot cheaper than stamps, you can minimise paper usage and so the need to cut down scores of trees, and are more responsive (you don't have to wit half an hour to speak to an operator)

Be interesting to hear your thoughts....

The point is that the police don't respond now to 999 or 101 so why spend £3.5 million on another scheme when they don't respond to the ones already in place. This government is top heavy with gimmicks and clueless people putting them in place

garinda · 05-03-2009, 17:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by cashman

to me it should be all about providing the public with the best possible service to report things n that is not it. are my thoughts onlyme.

9-9-9

Ring, ring.

'Hello, what service do you require?'

'The police please, there's someone in my garden.'

'Please hold caller I'll just tansfer you to the right police department.'

Seems simple enough to me, though of course if people know it's a non-emergeency they should call the correct number themselves, but that's not always possible.