Police plea over barking dog and noise calls

A police force dealing with a surge in calls said almost a sixth were not appropriate - including complaints about barking dogs and loud music.

Bedfordshire Police handled 4,000 more calls last month compared with March last year, with the vast majority made to the 101 non-emergency number.

Most were "completely appropriate", the force said, but about 15% were 999 calls for non-urgent matters or 101 calls for non-police issues, including bad parking.

"When there are 999 calls that are inappropriate or not emergencies, it takes up that call handler's capacity to answer perhaps another 999 call in the queue," said Supt Lee Haines.

"Before you call 999, do you feel like it's something where you really need a police officer there right now, on blue lights, immediately?

"We're talking about things like, is there a threat potentially to someone's life? Is there a risk of someone becoming seriously injured or has someone been seriously injured? Is it a serious crime in progress? Has someone been detained?

"These are all things I would consider an emergency incident."

He said the control room had to make sure 999 calls got the quickest response - with a target of under 10 seconds - because those people need help "right here, right now".

People could relieve demand on 101 by using an online form or the force's web chat, having checked whether the matter was for police, he added.

Nuisances like loud music, barking dogs and illegal parking should be directed at the local council.

The cause of the increase in calls was not yet known, but Supt Haines believed it was because people viewed police as a "really helpful organisation" that could signpost them in the right direction.

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