Nuisance calls

British police repeatedly urge members of the public not to dial the 999 number for emergency services unless it’s actually an emergency.

It’s a simple message but some people still don't get it. In December 2002, regional control centres in the UK dealt with over 300,000 calls to the police emergency number. An astonishing 76% were classified as nuisance calls, either because they were bogus or trivial in nature.

In an attempt to raise public awareness of the problem, Avon and Somerset Constabulary has taken to posting recordings of real (but trivial) 999 calls on its website. The first batch of four recordings went up in April and another batch was added yesterday.

I know it’s a serious issue but some of the calls are sadly funny: a dead pigeon, lost spectacles, a bedroom full of wasps and a man who calls to complain about his wife.

Audio quality isn’t great (I think it’s the operators gritting their teeth); choose the Flash presentations with subtitles.