The 'infuriating' 999 calls made to police

A female has dialled 999 and is telling the bewildered Humberside Police operator she wishes to report being assaulted by an alien.

It is not immediately clear whether the person is suffering from a mental health episode, but it will be logged by the force as a hoax call.

Contact officer Ben Parry, who took the call, reveals more.

"She [the caller] said that she had been assaulted by an alien outside her home address, and that they worked for the government," he says.

"We have to assess each call, even if we think personally that the calls are not genuine, we still have to take each call as they come in.

"We're here to help everyone."

By chance, the call has coincided with my visit to the force control room at Melton 2 near Hull, where I have come to hear the impact of hoax calls.

Ben, 23, who joined the team in March, says hoax calls can be "hard sometimes" to deal with, explaining that they take valuable time and resources away from dealing with genuine emergencies.

"It's really hard to try and give our victims the best possible service when the line is been abused," he says.

Ben says people should call 101, a non-emergency line, for non-urgent situations.

He and his colleagues work under a hazy light, with eight large CCTV screens mounted to a wall.

With their headsets on, they are poised to answer, with lives often depending on their sharp decision-making skills.

As I make my way across the control room with manager Michelle Chamberlain, I hear operators say: "Humberside Police, what is your emergency?"

Michelle, who has chalked up 28 years' service with the force, says hoax calls often spike at this time of the year, especially during Hull Fair.

"We have a lot of calls around the complaints of the additional traffic, congestion, parking, mess," she says.

Michelle begins to list inappropriate calls the team have dealt with.

"Recently, people have rung to say that a ghost has stolen their mobile phone," she says.

"People are ringing to say seagulls are stealing their ice creams."

Michelle say someone dialled 999 to report a mouse in their property.

One person even rang to say their garden "smells like wee", adding they had used lemon bleach "and it's not worked so now I'm calling the police".

She says the solution to the problem may lie in "re-educating the public" on "making the right call".

Michelle urges people to only ring 999 in an emergency.

She says there are other ways to report incidents, including 101 and Agency Bobbi, an AI tool that can be accessed via the force's website.

Michelle is clear: hoax calls prevent police from reaching those most in need.

"It's taking our resources away from our most vulnerable and we need to protect our communities and answer our calls at the most efficient time."

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